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PART 10: Casting Jewels

This is pretty much the final installment of my "How to..." Series.

I wrote ALL of the joints, and I dedicate this one to my lovely editor, Shon Bacon.

After I finished my book, I Hate My Job, she dropped this jewel on me. And it's so dope and funky, that I'll share her pearls with you.

Enjoy

Peace

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There are a few things that make Morrison, Ellison, and Wright great.

Heart - when I read them, I know that NO ONE ELSE could have written this work. Their blood is the ink to which the works are written.

Soul - the works BREATHE. They resonate of a time period, a slice of life that might have been in the past but still beats in today.

Culture - they closely examine the culture; they use a glaring, raw lens to look at the world - whether it's the American culture or the Black culture as it is related and influence by American culture.

Poetics - and it's not about metaphors and similes. It's about their unadulterated love for the English language, for words, for how THE word and how THAT word sounds alone and in combination with other words. They breathe new life into old sayings, they create new sayings, they do it in a way that's not heavy, but when it's done, the reader can TASTE it on the page.

Universality - even a book like BELOVED (my fave Morrison novel) is universal despite its specific subject. Yes, it deals with slavery, but it's also about the human condition, about love, about loss, about many other things, and when beautifully fused with the specific - it creates a universal appeal.

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PART 9: Re-Inventing Yourself

There’s an old saying that pushed me to write this as Part 9, “Good things don’t last forever.”

In my humble opinion, a writer should NEVER let the public pigeon-hole his/her writings. I’m a firm believer that every novel is like baking a cake; you got chocolate, caramel, vanilla, butter pecan, and other flavors.

Re-inventing yourself with each book, or every other book, will not only show diversity, but also keeps you from becoming a has-been in a category/genre that was once popular.

And of course, there’s a catch. Yep, that monster known as “good news-bad news.”

Humans are habitual creatures, and we are most comfortable with what’s familiar to us. If you, as a writer, decide to switch up your style, it’ll be wise to leave a reminder of the past so you won't lose supporters in an effort to gain new fans.

For example, if you write street fiction or erotica, I don’t think it would be good to write a Harry Potter-type joint when people are used to one style of writing.

It would be best to leave some elements of the past while you feed the readers with something new.

My next book is a Science Fiction joint. It’s not too far from the style of I Hate My Job. The use of symbolisms, metaphors, punchlines, etc in I Hate My Job will be present in the Sci-Fi joint. One of the differences is instead of poetically rhyming some paragraphs, the ENTIRE storyline will be written in a rhyme form.

Contrary to popular belief, not a lot of people embrace change. Change is easier said than done. I would say the majority of the world is content with dealing with the old, whether good or bad.

And with that said, the future should ALWAYS give the audience a nostalgic taste of the past. Not only you’re a writer when dealing with people, but also a psychologist. If you could remember that, then everything will be gravy.

So once again, re-invention is an ART, not action. Anybody can re-invent themselves, but not everybody can make someone accept that change.

P.S.

On the flip side, there's no reason to switch up when you're doing Harry Potter numbers...Don't fix it if it ain't broke, especially when you're making millions.

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PART 8: Know Thy Self

If I had to bet my last dollar, I would say 95 percent of the novels that are deemed “American Classics” have some type of culture to them.

Of course I haven’t read every classic American novel that’s listed in the literary canon, but the ones I’ve read have detailed the culture and lifestyle of the characters and settings of a certain time period.

For example:

Toni Morrison – her books usually reflect the culture of Blacks either during slavery or the struggles in the community post-slavery, which ultimately shape the attitudes of the characters in her books.

Shakespeare – his books reflect the culture and lifestyle of England, not to mention that he'd set the standards of English writing.

James Baldwin – his books reflect the culture of the inner city struggles of Blacks, whether it’s racism, sexual orientation, or politics.

Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim – their books reflect the culture of the streets, and the codes and ethics of the underworld.

You get the point...Let me further make my point by using one book: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

Things Fall Apart masterfully describes the culture of Nigerian tribes, which include their way of thinking, customs, religion, style of dress, food, the traditional relationship between man and woman, and not to mention how the lifestyle of the clans had changed once Europeans influenced some of the people in the villages.

Then you wonder why this book has sold over 10 millions copies and is heralded as a joint that every school should have in its library. The work also deals with the human condition in great detail. Not to mention a great style of writing.

I’m not saying every book in the market has to be deep. If that was the case, I’ll rather read Playboy magazines. But it’s a disservice to any writer-author career to follow the “in crowd” by writing what everyone else is writing just because it’s selling.

That shit is wack to me, to be perfectly blunt with you.

We are born to STAND OUT, not follow the leader.

Let’s fast forward to today’s society...most folks today think they aren’t struggling. I mean, why should they? They have the IPOD, video games, internet, cable TV, etc...folks nowadays think shit is sweet when reality tells them that today is NO different than the past.

I think culture is missing in today’s popular Black novels in the mainstream...but then again, how many Black American writers today know about their culture and the past, and do they even know WHAT they’re way of life is about???

And if a writer DOES decide to write about Black culture, the joint is boring as the pet rock...I'm an avid reader, but even I sometimes have to stomach thru a book that lacks "spice,” for the lack of a better word.

My suggestion is if any writer decides to pen a story about culture, then that piece has to serve as entertainment as well...not mindless entertainment like bum and crackhead fights, but kinda like feeding someone medicine in the ice cream.

Remember this, my fellow writers...

Art is the reflection of life...so if people crave for reality TV as an escape over history and culture, then that pretty much tells you the mentality of today’s people...which is why certain books are more popular than others.

In closing: writers from the past used their pen for impact. Their writings breathe, ate, sang, walked, and talked their current settings, whether it was filled with laughter, cries, joys, and pains.

And that is why universities study their work because they have SOMETHING to say instead of your run-of-the-mill story.

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Peace

-King

PART 7: I Hate Reading

Reading books that you either normally wouldn’t read, or just hate might actually help you write a story that’ll keep folks from falling asleep.

If you think a book is boring, you’ll pretty much know why certain elements of that joint make it Nyquil material.

Are the characters dull? Does the story drag? Are there too many descriptions of a person, place, or thing? Does the background history of each character or place disrupt the flow of the book? Are the storyline and characters unoriginal? And so on, and so on.

Everybody has their own tastes, however, we’re living in a microwave society where people want excitement and action the SECOND they crack open the book.

Folks want a quick nut instead of yearning for the foreplay, which is why there’s a lack of plot and character development in a lot of stories nowadays, but I’d already touched on that in the past, so let’s move on.

Gone are the days when you can actually sit down and read a book with peace and quiet. As writers, we’re competing with other folks’ jobs they hate, their crazy ass boy-girlfriends, crumb snatchers crying all the damn time, trashy reality shows, the IPOD, the addicting game called Mafia Wars on various social networks, etc.

This ain’t your great-grandma’s era when all you had was the jukebox and a black and white TV.

I’m not saying a writer should go overboard for entertainment sake. My personal belief is that the FIRST paragraph of a novel should Kung-Fu grip a person’s curiosity, and every chapter of the book should have something, whether it’s comedy, drama, suspense, erotica, etc, that will FORCE the reader to yearn for more.

I’m not a firm believer of “dumbing” down my art...but a wise man once said, "writing strictly for you is nothing but intellectual masturbation."

And on that note, I’m out. Have an illustrious weekend, and don’t do something I would do.

*pimp giggle*

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Peace

-King

PART 6: Sketch and Outline

Learn the mechanics of character development.

Now, you might ask...what mechanics are you talking about?

Mechanics means understanding character development.

Are your characters memorable? What makes them tick? Can people relate to them? Do they go thru a period of struggle and redemption? Are they multi-dimensional? Blahzay Blahzay.

If your book is more storyline based, then of course, make the joint entertaining as possible with an easy flow. Otherwise, you would need to make people FEEL the characters as if they're reading about real folk.

Not for nothing, before people remember the story, they'll remember the CHARACTERS...the characters are there to move the stories and force people to relate to them.

Me personally, I write the storyline FIRST...then when I feel more comfortable with how the story is written after figuring out the plot, I create a sketch for each character in the book.

My sketch of each character may consist of their habits, likes-dislikes, moods, how they act in certain environments, the type of slang some of them use, their own individual behaviors, style of dress, etc...it's almost as if I'm a psychologist when I create my characters.

I outline my story with plots, sub-plots, symbolisms, etc. once I have everything in place as far as content.

To put it in a simpler way, find ways to make your characters stand out as opposed to readers forgetting about them...it's like how New Yorkers will always remember the naked Cowboy on 42nd street than the average Joe.

Let me remind you, there's a thin line between memorable and over-the-top

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Peace

-King

PART 5: Thinking Outside the Box

What kills me is when people write a certain genre because it’s hot at the moment. Back in the 90’s, everybody and their mamas wanted to write about relationships because the “chick-lit-sista-girl” novels were poppin’.

I remember hittin’ up Barnes and Noble around my way back in the late 90’s. Finding novels other than stories that copied the Waiting to Exhale formula was like finding a Black man at a Klan rally.

Fast forward to 2009, and all you see is pretty much street fiction and erotica. I’ve asked myself before writing my first book, “There has to be more to the Black experience than sex, crime, violence, and poverty with a positive message weaved between them.”

I’m not here to tell people what the hell to write. What people eat doesn’t make me shit. However, my philosophy in life is, if everybody’s wearing white in the room, I’m rockin’ black.

In other words, I made a conscious effort to add some socio-poltical topics in my book like gentrification to separate myself from the rest of the pack.

Gentrification is pretty much another way of saying, “We kickin' your ass out if you can’t afford the land and tax increases.” And as a native Chicagoan who’ve experienced gentrification second hand, I thought it was only right for me to shed light on gentrification that is CURRENTLY happening in Harlem and Brooklyn, as well as in other urban cities in America.

If everybody in Black fiction was on some Black Power tip, best believe you’ll see me hit em off with some erotica just to mix it up a bit. I don’t like to do what everybody else is doing. It’s bad enough that I get tired of negroes keep telling me I look like Neyo every time I rock fedora hats.

...but that's another issue.

I’ll be pissed the hell off if those same authors who currently write nothing but street fiction and erotica ditch those genres if politically charged topics all of a sudden became popular, especially when they had to chance to drop jewels to the masses earlier in their literary careers.

So on that note, legacy is everything in whatever you do. There were several other Street Fiction writers back in the 60’s and 70’s, and even earlier than those times. Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim are the only two who stand out.

Enuff said.

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Peace

-King

PART 4: Silence is Golden

One technique you can use to develop the realism of dialogue in your story is watching DVD movies with sub-titles.

One of my dudes in Chicago had put me on to this technique; watching movies with the sub-titles on so he can feel like he’s reading a story.

Watching movies with sub-titles not only help you develop a realistic dialogue between characters in your book, it also help you to know where to place quotes, commas, periods, and other punctuation marks in the dialogue.

Sub-titles also spell out sound effects, like when a person say "pfft" when he/she hears something that's bullshit...LOL

Checking out movies on mute is also a special technique of mine. Yeah, it looks hella weird, but hey, a writer gotta do what a writer gotta do to perfect his art and discipline.

Watching flicks on mute not only draws out the moods and body language of characters, but the technique also helps me focus on real-life situations where I study what people DO NOT say that can be contrary to what they DO say.

85 percent of communication is non-verbal...a person's smile might not match the handshake or hug.

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Peace

-King

TEN Reasons Why You Should Buy I HATE MY JOB

What's wood, folks? (“wood” is good in Chicago *smile*)

The weather is getting colder, so that means you’ll cuddle up in the house looking for something to do. Leave it to me to help you out by showing you why I HATE MY JOB should be considered for your “things to do” list.

1. The story is FAR from boring. Within some instances where you may receive some sort of message, best believe you’ll also laugh your butt off from the comedy as you read.

2. You can relate to AT LEAST one character in the joint. And if you cannot relate to any of them, you’ll either love ‘em or hate ‘em.

3. RESPONSIBILITY is one of the underlying main ideas of the book. You can pass the book down to your nieces, nephews, sons, daughters, or any faction of the youth once they turn 18 (Maybe younger if they can understand adult situations.) They can learn about responsibility from the characters due to the circumstances they face.

4. Gentrification is one of the main themes of the book. If you don’t know the meaning of gentrification, then look at the Starbucks in the middle of the ‘hood. If you still don’t know the meaning of gentrification, just check out the book and see for yourself.

5. The book has a mixture of erotica (intimacy without nastiness), drama (conflict without buffoonery), comedy (laughter without corniness), suspense (twists without predictability), and socio-political content (knowledge without boredom).

In other words, the diversity in the book makes the storyline fluid and a representation of reality.

6. The book is written in a poetic form, which means words in some of the paragraphs rhyme with each other as if you’re reading a song. I just wanted to do something different from the norm.

7. You’ll receive inspiration to go after your vision. I won’t say dream because you dream when you sleep. I say vision because you’re conscious of what you have to do in order to reach the ultimate fulfillment in your life.

8. Dictionary words are sprinkled throughout the book. They say reading increases literacy, so I used at least 30 words (for example, ossified) that folks normally don’t use in their daily conversations to possibly enhance anybody’s vocabulary.

9. The book pushes you to THINK instead of giving you mindless entertainment. Yes, there’s plenty of entertainment in the book. However, it would be a disservice to not only me as a writer, but also you as a reader if you don’t take anything out of the story once you reach page 358.

10. And finally, it’s worth EVERY penny. The book is so good, you’ll want to give me an extra 10 dollars on the strength of its dopeness.

With that being said, please treat yourself to a copy of I Hate My Job @ http://www.kingdhakir.com/orderbook.htm

Peace

-King

PART 3: When Showing Goes Wrong 

If a section of the novel is important to the story, then SHOW.

If a section of the novel is a bridge to another scene or doesn’t hold any importance, then TELL.

There's no reason to give a long-winded account of what's in the bedroom of a particular scene if those items don't serve a purpose.

The difference between showing and telling is shown below:

Johnny coughed in a room filled with smoke: TELLING

Johnny breezed through a plume of smoke in the tavern and the fumes squeezed his lungs as he coughed: SHOWING

There’s no wrong way of knowing when to show or tell, but the reader needs to at least FEEL a part of the scene.

You can also fit the description of a scene in between a story or dialogue.

Instead of stopping the flow of the novel by using a paragraph to describe a scene, you can also fit the scenery with the action.

Small example, using the same excerpt from Part 2:

Johnny breezed through a plume of smoke in the tavern and the fumes squeezed his lungs as he coughed.

 

“Damn, Terry,” Johnny pounded his chest while coughing up spit. “What kind of shit you’re smoking?”

 

“Man, this that Cali bud. I got this out west from my cousin.” His lips hugged onto the joint, as the wind blowing through the open door pushed the smoke away from Johnny while sending chills across his flesh.

You can feed two birds with one crumb by describing the tavern and using character interaction at the same time.

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Part 2: The He Said-She Said Crap

Even the smallest things in a book can either turn on or turn off a reader. And dialogue is one of them.

Dialogue is very important to engage the reader and allow them to feel each character. I use "said" sometimes after a quote, but it's rare.

You could use... "he blasted", "he shot at", "he whispered", "he asked", "he yelled", "he shouted", etc. Make the quote an action where the reader can see the emotion behind the words sometimes.

Small example:

Johnny breezed through a plume of smoke in the tavern, and the fumes squeezed his lungs as he coughed.

"Damn, Terry." Johnny pounded his chest while coughing up spit. "What kind of shit you smoking"

"Man, this that Cali bud. I got this out West from my cousin."

Terry's lips hugged onto the joint, as the wind blowing through the open door pushed the smoke away from Johnny while sending chills across his flesh.

Now, which quote can you picture the most; me writing, "Johnny said", or "Johnny pounded his chest"?

But the trick is to not going overboard when using this technique. Sometimes it's good to say "he said/she said" as long as the reader know you're capable of writing a good dialogue.

The more you write, the better you'll figure out when it's necessary to use action quotes. Switch up this technique so the reader can imagine the scene sometimes.

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