'
​     ​There are so many of us who don’t 'make it', and by this I mean getting rich, famous, or having it all.

     This is especially true with music. As a former member of a high school garage band, I can attest to this. I knew a lot of other musicians at that time, and they too can be counted as the many who never 'made it'.

     Ultimately it's not the 'making it' that's important, but the attempt that becomes a catalyst pushing you to put yourself out there and explore. This drive tends to go hand and hand with the growing pains of adolescence.

     It is that journey, that coming of age, that is so compelling to me.

    The journey we all go through to become an adult is so uniquely personal and yet so relatable.  Like a well-known song that everyone can sing along to,  but it has a different meaning to each of us.

     It is that time frame, under the guise of a struggling punk rock band, I try to capture as a setting for my latest graphic novel.

     I have an amazing amalgamation of stories and memories about neighborhood bands, open mic gigs, and certain musicians who were, well, incredible assholes that were impossible to work with.

     When we are young it feels like life is beating us up, and sometimes it truly is. We may express this as the 'everything sucks mentality', and sometimes it does suck. At this point many of us realize everything is not as easy as the media and our culture made it seem. We end up working for the man just to keep our dream alive all while trying to divide our attention between friends, family, work, and relationships. Our dreams become utterly exhausting. Fame is such a fleeting thing, and yet something compels us to push through this 'suck' . Maybe it's naivete or misplaced confidence, but somehow we endure and keep going.

     I think there are a lot of great stories in this particular period of life.
    
     I'm looking to capture the feel of growing up in this culture at this time.

     Consider how I use Charles Shultz brilliant comic strip; Peanuts as an influence. 

     Peanuts gives us a glimpse into young minds trying to figure out the adult world. It gives us a  feeling of neighborhood, and social aspect. And that has influenced BBCM and my group of characters and ensemble cast, although they are quite a bit older than the Peanuts gang. My goal was to really get to that adolescents angst.

     Another, completely different example, Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim, a monumental six volume graphic novel tower of awesomeness, encapsulates teen angst and struggle in a very real way. 

     When I read this story, I felt like O’Malley ripped parts of my life out and put it in his story. He nails the familiar situation of adolescents. He sprinkles maintaining life and trying to 'make it' in with the challenge of constant distractions like relationships and wondering if you’re ever going to manage it all, let alone succeed. O'Malley brilliantly captured what I, and many of my peers went through at that age. 

     If you have not read Scott Pilgrim. Do yourself a favor and devour this graphic novel series. If you have ever been in love, young, or in a band you will especially dig it.

     My goal is to make a tale relatable to as many people as possible. Like a dream you can’t quite remember or a song that you can hum the tune, but don’t know the words to, it should feel like you know it intuitively.

      Letting go of the specifics gives me the opportunity to do creative world building which  enriches the story and allows me to really work on the identities of my characters. Things like where they live, how they dress, fake names, band names and all the things that mirror the adolescent attempt to pull away from what you know and make your own thing. Which, by the way, is the essence of the punk rock lifestyle.

    You better believe I’m goanna get all philosophical here too. I'm taking a lot of philosophical ideas and melting them into this story because it will be paramount for helping the characters through to the end.

     The journey of world building and writing is long. Like my story, it's littered with pitfalls, setbacks, budget concerns and obstacles galore.

     The story is in my head, notes are made, outlines and scripts to be produced. The next step is getting it all written. Because I think in pictures not in words, for me there is an interpretation that happens during the transfer of visual thoughts to written words. They give me a road map for the physical drawings (graphics).

     As stated before; 'long is the journey', 'Great' maybe 'is the reward'.

     We have to keep plugging away and keep noting those interesting aspects of life that could add to our story. Getting out there making something for yourself, not listening to naysayers that don’t understand … sounds like a punk rock song to me.

     Maybe that song is called 'Make It'. 

     Kody Mooneyham is a Graphic Artist/Writer living in the western burbs of Chicago. He work on stories in both traditional and digital mediums. Most of the time he does both the writing and drawing. He has digitally published three web comic series: This Is Making Me Nervous, Top Shelf and Space-O-Nauts. I currently working on an epic punk rock journey of a band  called Big Blue Corporate Machines.

https://www.facebook.com/ko.d.mooneyham/, https://twitter.com/Ko_D_Art
https://ko-d_art.artstation.com

     One day all our fictions will come true, today we are one step closer!

      I’m often asked, “What is the most important advice you can give aspiring writers?”

     I tell them: Don’t wait for that “right time.” Open a journal and start today.
Too much time is wasted doing nothing when it takes so little to do something!
     This is for those who want to write their first novel. It is not necessarily for non-fiction, short fiction, or experienced writers, although some material may be helpful to all writers. 
    I am a novelist. I write historical mysteries with a paranormal element.
 Writing a novel is not for everyone. But it is for anyone.  You decide.
     There are important questions you need to ask before you begin. Don’t worry, you’re not committing to the answers. 

                                          WHY DO YOU WANT TO WRITE?
     Are you looking for fame and fortune?
     Is writing a creative outlet or a hobby?
     Do you want to write a memoir, for yourself or for your family?
     Did you promise someone to write something, for example, an employer?
     Is seeing your book in print your dream?
     Are you just compelled to write?
 
      An understanding of your expectations will avoid disappointment. It will also dictate some of the rules you will choose for your work. For instance, if you are writing for yourself or your family, promoting your book will not be a priority. Be honest and don’t neglect identifying your motivation!

     IS IT IMPORTANT THAT YOU WRITE WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS TO READ?
                                           Today’s most popular genre are:

• Romance
• Crime/mystery
• Religion
• Science fiction/fantasy
• Horror

 
             Perhaps these genres don’t interest you. Maybe what fascinates you is:

• Westerns
• Historical (Roman, Roaring Twenties, US, English)
• Literary (character driven)
• Contemporary/Coming of Age
• War/Military
• Cross-genre

 
     Should you give up your interest and write what is popular? Definitely not, but you should know the consequences of writing a less popular genre. If you choose an unpopular subject, your work will be harder to sell if that is your goal. Readers expect characteristics of the genre to be followed.

                                                 WHAT ABOUT RESEARCH?

• One common piece of advice is to write about what you know. That is certainly easier. But it is a suggestion, not a rule.
• You will always need to do some research. Even memoirs and opinion pieces entail research, fact checking, visiting sites, and interviews.
• How much do you like research? This may influence your choice of genre.
• What interests you and what you enjoy is not always the same as what you like to read, but it could be.

 
     I spent my life in medical administration, and my favorite genre to read is police procedurals. Yet I don’t write medical thrillers. I discovered an interest in history and love crime fiction. I do a lot of research, but I enjoy research as much as writing.

               Bottom line: write about what interests you and enjoy the trip.
                                                               
          Writing is not for you if you don’t enjoy most aspects of the process.

                                                 GETTING READY TO WRITE
     1) Find a comfortable place to work – free of distractions. (It’s not a perfect -  world do your best.)  
    2) Pick out some materials dedicated to writing. Surrounding yourself with favored writing materials will give you pleasure and put you in the mood to work. 
     3) Computers are not essential for a first draft, but eventually you will need a computer for editing and to prepare your manuscript for submission if you want t​o  publish your work. 
 
    ** Don’t forget to save and back up your work, and label all drafts clearly. It is too easy to confuse multiple drafts.
 
     Think carefully about naming your files and be consistent in naming and the folders you store your files in. There is nothing worse than spending hours looking for a chapter and having to rewrite it because it got into the wrong folder.
 
                                                   READY TO WRITE?
                                                   STORY ELEMENTS
     Before you begin putting words on paper, you still need to make a few decisions. Yes, this is true even for writers who don’t outline but write “by the seat of their pants,” like Stephen King.
     Don’t worry, you aren’t stuck with these decisions, Try them out and change them if they don’t work, but you need a place to start.
​
               SETTING: WHEN AND WHERE DOES YOUR STORY HAPPEN?
     Consider the following story – close your eyes and envision this scene:

     A female character is being held captive by an evil man, his purpose not known. Somehow, she is able to escape. Now she must get away before he comes after her, hide, find help, and a weapon would certainly be useful.
​     What are you going to have her do next? There are things you need to decide first.
     When she escapes, does she discover herself on a farm? In a forest? At the beach? In the city?
     Is she in today’s world, or sometime in the past or future? The action will depend on where the character finds herself.
 
                                                          CHARACTERS:
                                WHO ARE THE PLAYERS IN YOUR STORY AND
                                                  WHO DOES IT HAPPEN TO?
     Is the woman escapee in your story a sexy twenty-year-old? Is she a skinny eighty-year-old? Maybe she’s an eight-year-old child with tears in her eyes. Or she’s Katniss from the Hunger Games, drawing a powerful bow.
     Maybe the man she escapes from is “Jaws” of James Bond fame. Or perhaps it’s Donald Trump.
      Once again, you must know your characters pretty well to be able to have them act appropriately, consistently, and have readers care about them. What they do as the story unfolds depends on how well "you" know them. You may have to change the story, or change the character. The 

                                         STORY (PLOT): WHAT HAPPENS?
     What is your story about? To begin, you must know either what happens to change the main character’s life or what he or she will need to battle to resolve the issue. The plot is not about what happens. It is about how what happens affects your protagonist.
 
     It is not about what the protagonist does, but why the protagonist does it.
 
     It is this struggle that drives the action,

The protagonist encounters a problem that grows and forces him or her to change in order to solve the problem. You don’t have to have all the answers to begin, but you need to know something about either the problem or the struggle.
 
     Stories have a beginning, a middle an end, right? Sort of.
 
     You must decide when your story starts and ends, but always remember that the characters lived long before your story begins (backstory) and will continue when the story ends.
     A difficulty, especially for beginning writers, is to decide at what point to start the story and how much backstory the reader needs. These decisions often make the difference between a compelling, well-paced page-turner and a lackluster read.
     Often good stories start in the middle, with the recognition of the problem, and weave backstory in only insofar as the reader needs to know it. When the protagonist has solved the problem, the story is over. End it!

                                       TENSE, PERSON AND POINT OF VIEW

• You must decide whether to write in past or present tense. Most fiction is written in past tense: “He looked at her.” (Third person, past tense.) There is a growing trend toward present tense: “I look at her.” (First person, present tense.)

     These days perfect tense is frowned upon in fiction (use of had, have, etc: “He had felt that way before.”). It reduces the immediacy of the action. Similarly, passive voice (subject is acted upon instead of performing the action: “He was affected by her words,” instead of “Her words affected him.”). If you use perfect tense or passive voice, do it sparingly.
 

• Will you write in first person (I, me, we, etc.) or third person (he, she, it, etc.) Second person (you) is rarely used in fiction, except in dialogue.

 
     First person has the advantage of being more intimate and revealing the character’s inner thoughts, but it can be tiresome to sustain over an entire novel and you must remember that you can only use what that single character knows or sees.
 
     Third person allows for multiple points of view, but can be less intimate.
 
     Some writers vary the person, but unless it is done extremely well, you should use a single choice in a scene, or the reader will be confused.
 
         Narrator: Who is telling your story? It could be one of the characters   involved in the story, or a bystander. Someone narrates the story, and the reader must understand who that person is.
 
                               Most Common Person and Point of View Choices:

• First person
• Third person (can be limited or omniscient): Limited describes only what a single person experiences. Omniscient describes everything, also known as “God’s eye” or “fly on the wall.”
• Multiple third person or variations

 
     The important thing is to make a conscious decision, study the rules, and be consistent. It is generally best to stay with a single choice through an entire scene. Some variety is acceptable but you don’t want to confuse the reader.
     An example from my books: I use first person narration for the parts of my story that take place in the past. I want to have the reader quickly understand the character from the past and what their world is like, and I find first person does this best.
     I use multiple third person scenes in present day portions of my books, because it allows me to present the views of a variety of characters, who may not all be on the same page at the same time.
     Don’t expect that you will understand point of view immediately. It is a skill that grows with experience and even seasoned writers make errors from time to time (hopefully caught by their editors before publication!). There are many articles online to help with this. The link below is to a single article on Scribophile that I found useful. 

                                                         Now start writing!
 
                   https://www.scribophile.com/academy/using-first-person-pov

Pat Camalliere is a Lemont resident and author of local historic mysteries, Pat is also a member the of the Downers Grove Writers Workshop. 
Pat wants people to know what a great place Illinois is. 
“This is why my books are set here. It’s a fascinating area, geographically unique with an important history, many quirky stories, and ghost lore. It’s a great fit for a mystery series,” Camalliere says.
Camalliere released the award-winning The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods, the second book in the Cora Tozzi Historical Mystery Series, in 2017.