Brock Talon

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Posts by Brock Talon

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  29

  Fading and not "outing" yourself, what are your thoughts on it?

  by Brock Talon in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  fading and not "outing" yourself.. what are your thoughts on it?.

  i ask, because i just received a scathing personal message on facebook from a person who read my latest book and in it i describe myself as a fader.

  i was not dfd and i did not da myself.

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  Brock Talon

  Steve2, Magnum, Rip... much appreciated. I'm feeling better. I needed those words today. This community has been very helpful to me in my own healing. This day was another example of that.
  

  Signing off for now...

  Brock
  
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  29

  Fading and not "outing" yourself, what are your thoughts on it?

  by Brock Talon in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  fading and not "outing" yourself.. what are your thoughts on it?.

  i ask, because i just received a scathing personal message on facebook from a person who read my latest book and in it i describe myself as a fader.

  i was not dfd and i did not da myself.

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  Brock Talon

  Simon, Ignornace, NVR2L8, Billy... I'm feeling a bit better now, reading your words.Thanks so much.
  

  I've been soundly criticized before, but for some reason, this one really got to me. I guess it was terrible review on Amazon.com with a follow up FU message on Facebook from a person who had "friended" me at first and praised me for my first book that really got me discombobulated. I actually tried connecting with them at the time of my first book publishing and then they did this... really strange.
  

  The really weird thing is that the worst criticism I get is usually from ex-JWs. Not JWs.

  Strange days indeed...
  
• 
  29

  Fading and not "outing" yourself, what are your thoughts on it?

  by Brock Talon in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  fading and not "outing" yourself.. what are your thoughts on it?.

  i ask, because i just received a scathing personal message on facebook from a person who read my latest book and in it i describe myself as a fader.

  i was not dfd and i did not da myself.

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• 

  Brock Talon

  Fading and not "outing" yourself.. What are your thoughts on it?

  I ask, because I just received a scathing personal message on Facebook from a person who read my latest book and in it I describe myself as a fader. I was not DFd and I did not DA myself. I faded because I didn't want the drama associated with the other options. I wanted to be able to talk to JWs if I should meet them on the street. I also faded because to me the DF/DA situations were just playing by their rules. I felt they didn't have any real hold on me and I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of making judgement on me. So, I just walked away and didn't feel I needed to explain to anyone why I did it. Should I bump into them on the street, I could chat with them and tell them I was happy and reverse Witness to them. Should they try to get me to go back to meetings or meet up with me socially, I would just politely change the subject.

  Now I'm being hated on by an angry reader who called me many names for that: Dishonest, narcissistic, needing therapy, fooling myself, and other ugly words by a person who calls themselves Christian. This because I faded and because I don't want to use my real name in public "to out myself properly" after writing a book on the subject.

  What are your thoughts on that? Do I have to out myself or write a letter of DA to really be a real ex-JW and not be dishonest? Do I have to expose my real name to a person like this who Facebook friends me and praises my first book (which used Brock Talon as the author's name) one day, but then turns on me for using Brock Talon again for my second book and attacks me that same exact thing?

  I know this: I'm not fooling myself that I'm happy now. That much I am sure of. But whether this makes me a "real" ex-JW or not because I faded and refuse to out myself, I'm not sure.

  What's your take?
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  22

  Escape from Paradise: a new book by Brock Talon

  by Brock Talon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  after a one year gestation period, as well as an extended labor, i am finally happy to announce the birth of my latest book: escape from paradise.. cigars all around!

  like any new parent, i need to get some much needed sleep now.

  zzzzzzzz.

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  Brock Talon

  NewYork44M,

  Sorry I missed your message until now... I just didn't see it. It's a fair question, so I'll try to answer it.
  

  First, understand that I am fairly new to writing myself, so I'm no expert on all this, but my wife is a published author and has been for many years, so I have seen some things that seem to work for her. I'm also assuming that you are not just talking about writing ex-JW memoirs like I have, which is a pretty narrow genre and has a limited audience. So, that said, my advice would probably be considered fairly generic, but I'll give it a go here anyway:
  

  1. Pick a subject you are passionate about or have some emotional connection with. You would probably have to be exceptionally good to connect with readers with something you didn't have any connection with yourself. So, don't try to write a murder mystery if you are not a crazy fan of that genre yourself and don't know it inside and out. Write what you know and write what you feel strongly about. That's the only real way the average person can have a chance at connecting with readers.
  

  2. Pick a basic outline of what you are going to write. Have a beginning, middle and end idea, so that it is a complete book before you write it. It only has to be an idea and it could change while you write it, but don't just start writing without some plan of what you are going to accomplish. If you don't know where you are going with your writing, that's probably where you will end up.
  

  3. Write a little every day, even if it's not very good at first. Get used to thinking about things before and after you write. When you go to sleep at night, stuff will come to you by itself because the mind is an amazing thing that works in background while you do other things, even sleep. So, don't try to force it if it is not coming to you. My wife calls it her "muse," and I didn't understand that until I starting writing myself. Sometimes I would wake up at 3 AM with an idea and I would dictate it to my phone so as to not forget it. If it was an especially strong idea, I'd actually get out of bed and put it all on paper so I wouldn't lose it.
  

  3. If one part of your book is not taking shape, write another part. Write in "snippets." You can always weave them together later, or throw out stuff that doesn't work. There are many stories, ideas and other snippets of writing that never made it into either of my books. Think of it as a film maker who leaves extra footage on the cutting room floor.
  

  4. After you think you are done and you want to congratulate yourself because you now have your final book, take a break from it for a week or so. Re-read it again. You should be surprised to find that you are not done at all. Fix the stuff that is broken or isn't working. Tighten it up. If you can say the same thing with less words, do it.
  

  5. When you are done with all that and think you are NOW done. Taken another break and do it again. All through these steps do your due diligence with spell check and grammar check and cutting out more extra stuff. Also, check to see if you use the same words or phrases over and over again and find some other way to say those things. Don't be repeating yourself unless you MEANT to repeat yourself.
  

  6. Now have at least one other person read it that you trust. This person should be able to tell you honestly what works and what doesn't. Don't argue with them, or get defensive. You don't have to change what they think isn't working, but you should seriously consider it. Do it with more than one person if you can. The more feedback you get, the better.
  

  7. When you are done with all that, get a free "natural reader" software and have it read the entire book back to you while you listen for potential problems or issues. Fix what you find because you will still find things.
  

  8. Now have your book edited by a professional editor or a person with those skills. They will mark up your book all over the place and hurt your feelings because you thought your book was done and was perfect as-is. But of course, they found tons of stuff that they think needs fixing. SERIOUSLY consider fixing those things. Don't involve an editor if you can't take the criticism from somebody who does that kind of thing. Trust me, they will mark up your book A LOT. So, fix everything you think they are correct about. One word of caution here: Don't let the editor take away your "voice." Every author has their own voice, so don't let them edit it into a neutered version of yourself. Stay true to your voice, but fix the things that you know they are correct about.
  

  You are now most likely ready to publish, which is another odyssey entirely, one that I can cover later. But, you have to get through what I just suggested first before you can get to that stage.
  

  Good luck.

  Brock
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  22

  Escape from Paradise: a new book by Brock Talon

  by Brock Talon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  after a one year gestation period, as well as an extended labor, i am finally happy to announce the birth of my latest book: escape from paradise.. cigars all around!

  like any new parent, i need to get some much needed sleep now.

  zzzzzzzz.

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• 

  Brock Talon

  Hi Thruthexplorer,

  Thanks for the kind words about Journey to God's House.

  I hope you enjoy Escape From Paradise too.

  I'd love to hear your take on which one you would give to someone trying to escape from the Watch Tower and which one you might give to a non JW to learn about that world.

  Brock
  
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  101

  You will never grow old in this current system of things... - Awake, May 22, 1969 p. 15

  by cappytan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  check this out.

  got this bound volume from my dad.. .

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  Brock Talon

  Great minds think alike.
  

  Here is an excerpt from my new book, Escape From Paradise, taken form the chapter I call "Wallpapering the Titanic" which talks about this idea affecting my young life back in 1969:
  

  
• 
  22

  Escape from Paradise: a new book by Brock Talon

  by Brock Talon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  after a one year gestation period, as well as an extended labor, i am finally happy to announce the birth of my latest book: escape from paradise.. cigars all around!

  like any new parent, i need to get some much needed sleep now.

  zzzzzzzz.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Brock Talon

  My thanks to you Magwitch... for your recommendation and kind words.
  

  Brock
  
• 
  9

  "Escape from Paradise"

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have just finished reading brock talons second book (see above).

  well worth the read.

  terribly honest and humbling to read.

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  Brock Talon

  Kairos, Interesting idea (using mysterious Kingdom Melodie music), but I don't know if I have the musical chops to pull that one off.
  

  Juan Viejo2, Thanks for the feedback. If I ever did do a voice-over, I could probably use one of my good friends for that because he has an awesome deep voice and actually does voice-overs professionally (as a side income).

  Awake at last, You are so welcome. Even though I do have a "style" (of sorts), I tried very hard to have the second book stand on its own and to have a different tone. I was thinking the same as you, that is, that "Escape from Paradise" might be one that more people can relate to, perhaps even the non-JW. Hopefully even the non-JW.
  
• 
  9

  "Escape from Paradise"

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have just finished reading brock talons second book (see above).

  well worth the read.

  terribly honest and humbling to read.

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  Brock Talon

  Simon,

  Thanks for the book link reference, much appreciated.

  You are a good parent by the way because you told them not to tell the other, as well as saying it to them both. You wanted them each to feel special... and so they are.  That's why they laughed when they found out, because it's a neat trick.
  

  --
  

  While I'm at it, I'm curious as to what anyone might think of the book promo.  Is it cool, or eerie, or what?
  

  Escape from Paradise - YouTube promo

  Brock
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  9

  "Escape from Paradise"

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have just finished reading brock talons second book (see above).

  well worth the read.

  terribly honest and humbling to read.

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  Brock Talon

  Zeb - For your kind support, I thank you again. I'm the one that's humbled.

  
  

  BlackFalcon98 - I was kind of hoping someone would say that I had improved in my art of writing. I was actually going for that.

  That said, the two books are like my children, so I'm not allowed to like one more than the other...

  Brock