There is a Place I Know

There is a place that I know
It's an old house full of stories I don't know
The smell fills my nose
the memories, my mind
I wander and hurry
the space full

There is a place that I know
past round-abouts
and long flying wings
through lines
and past screens
ticket lines and aeroplanes
In the snow I skitter
Half gone away

There is a place I know
tucked away like a silly joke
golden in glory of times gone by
people line shelves
blinking with eyes that are embossed
fading
looking on through letters
from linolium floors to ceiling tiled heights
now all gone away

There is a place I know
which no longer knows me
We are familiar ghosts
from Christmases past
each year fades us just a touch more
until our relationships glisten
just lights on the tree

There is a place I know
over the plains and beyond the tall mountains
those that are frosted with the Joten gleam
I know a place
which is quiet and close
my heart hurts to go
yet my mind always clears
Old wooden houses in all the worlds we know
they are quiet
no space for who we are now
only more tales which crackle and spin

- Ryan P. Freeman

Current Musings

So do I want to make writing what I do all the time?

Sure thing!

How? - that's the question I'm buzzing my brain about lately... I'm currently reading an excellent book on the writing career of Neil Gaiman... and one of the big things I've noticed so far is how he didn't just try to get published... with the whole traditional route and everything. What he did (as well as Stephen King, to an extent) was go to where people would publish him. And he would typically only write and pursue what he loved. What awesome advice. A lot of times, the beginning people who would publish him were softcore porn magazines - buying up his articles to fill those pages not full of pictures. Through this process, he made connections... like-minded friends who loved similar things. It wasn't about networking- it was about continuing to pursue what he loves - and I think that is the key to staying above the soul-less papermills...

Another thing I noticed was how Neil Gaiman didn't just write- he branched out into different mediums of story, too! Wherever the story was fresh and new - that's where he ended up... because he was following whatever he loved and he had an excellent BS detector. He invested in himself.

The last thing I've noticed so far, it's that he surrounded himself with friends who lived in a place where they could meet and get right to their art. They weren't necessarily at the whim and mercy of big publishers or had to yell into the hurricane of social media or e-publishing.


I know with the advent of e-publishing and the shifting of publishing power, the story landscape has and is changing... but it leaves me wondering what is possible now! And since I don't know what is possible, it means I can do anything I like - which is perfect.

-Ryan

For What It's Worth...

What Writing the End of Rienspel Was Like 

and How It Changed Me

 

After reading a delightful post from one of my favorite living authors, Christopher Paolini, I was inspired to write... so here we go! (you can read his article HERE)

What was writing the end of Rienspel like?

I actually got really serious about making headway with Rienspel at about the the 6th or 7th year out of the 8 total it took to finish writing it. I was in a terrible place then. I was out of work for the first time in my life and was quite literally living on others' mercy and the answers of bitter, desperate prayers. I would get up in the morning - finally - make some coffee (if we had any that week), pull out a laptop and write. It was my job - the only job I had.

As I've written, who I really write for are the heartbroken - the dispossessed - and down-and-out. Real people who I know - not some pie-in-the-sky feel good sentiment. Hard times at their best can melt and carve our arrogance, but I never imagined I'd be one of the people I write for. There, at the end of Rienspel, I was who I wrote for.

For awhile, I had known what the ending would generally be like for my first book (and no, I'm not giving the conclusion away, either! Rienspel will be out by no later than Fall 2016!!). But by having something meaningful to do - where I could see daily progress which I did by my own hand and will - helped make me a better person. I feel like just about every other job I've ever had quails in comparison to the strength unveiled and developed within myself from the final few delirious keystrokes of Rienspel.

I know... I realize... I understand I am, in the mad grand scheme of things, just one more random shmoe cranking out books... but one of the engines which hurtles me forward was forged during those last few summer months of 2014. I really do hope you enjoy Rienspel, for what it's worth, when it finally releases.

When you find out what you love to do - what you can do and ought to do... what you know you must do and can't help but do - do it. Do it with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength (even if you're weak). For when your heart is broken, perhaps it's because you've broken it over Principle; when your soul is sick, perhaps it is because you Hope; when your mind is fogged, perhaps it is because you Care; and when your strength is gone perhaps it is because you have have learned the power of weakness found in Humility.

Write on, fellow adventurers... write on...

-Ryan

Spirit.

Why do you write?

The general answers may vary, but I am convinced that people write specifically because they are animated by a guiding spirit. It's what fires their typing fingers and speeds their pens. Something deep within you keeps you burning the midnight oil to keep writing on long after the initial fervor burns out. It's something which is invisible, yet produces page after page of highly visible words- stories- tale: A Vision, meant to be shared with the world.

What you do, as a writer (go ahead, dare to call yourself one) is special. If you're still a bit timid about calling yourself a writer, then here- take a knee (internally or otherwise). I've taken up my sword letter opener from my desk! By the spirit within you, I dub you Writer of words. Rise a Writer, or not at all! Beware the naysayer and self-doubt- but be quick to safeguard others, by word and by deed. Write! and fear no darkness! For your words are Powerful - and even more so as you continue to hone your craft and art unto perfection.

Rise a Writer.
Rise a fellow Adventurer into the Realms yet unknown.
Writer so that others, too, shall take up the pen and the keyboard, and with their imagination, heart, and guiding spirit, inspire others to take heart in their own journeys.

May the pain of your next writer's block ever remind you of your oath.

Welcome, fellow Writer!

 

What's the hardest part about writing?

What's the hardest part about writing?

I realize this probably varies from one person to the next, but for me, the hardest part about writing is the beginning. How does my story begin? Once I have the idea for a beginning, the rest can be 'pantzered' out. The tale falls into place. One of the things I always remembered from being forced to awkwardly butcher Shakespearean plays by reading them out loud together with the rest of my high school English classes, was how The Bard did his beginnings. His trick (and you can check it out yourself, of course) is always to begin with either an action scene or with something bawdy. I figured, hey! If that trick good enough for Will, then it's good enough for Ryan.

The second excellent piece of advice I've picked up about beginnings was actually from one of my favorite writers, CS Lewis. Mr. Lewis, in his essays, talks about how he starts writing stories- for him, they always begin with what he capitalized and called Desire and then with a specific image or two which sticks to his mind as he begins. I get that. For me, I usually have a mood or a feeling which I then extrapolate off of - as if the rest of the entire story to follow is only the materialization of an immaterial thing. Does this make me some sort of novice literary conjurer? Who knows? Maybe? On Desire - if you read Lewis' other works, you learn that when he says 'Desire' (with a Capital 'D', mind you), what he is really meaning is Joy (check out his Surprised by Joy, for more). When I write for long spells, I often fight between reveling when my wandering Muse finally decides to show up and just plain and simple not wanting to write any more that day. I've learned that, (and don't go spreading this around, will you?) it's okay to not always want to write. Don't, by any means, become a slave to your transient fairy Muse - for she's a cruel master, and rather neglectful at that. Joy is a living thing we chase. We chase it all our lives. (again, another excellent CS Lewis book on this his Pilgrim's Regress) For some of us doomed souls, telling stories makes up a significant amount of our chase. It's our Yearning - our Desire for something entirely Else which leads us on and on into realms hitherto unknown and unexplored. JRR Tolkien talks a bit about this in his wonderful On Fairy Stories... If this sounds like you- if you feel that inexpressible pull in your gut - BEWARE. Faerie is a perilous place. Don't try to get there. Do not attempt to lock your Desire into a vending machine. It won't work, and it can often drive you nuts.

Your calling to write is special. Let it remain so - free and unburdened. Allow yourself to follow it, however it chooses to express itself. Prepare as best you can for your Desire to pop up in the most unlikely of places. Be true to yourself and it. As CS Lewis's Master (and mine), George MacDonald, once said - 'More Life!' - don't burden and weary yourself with deadening things - let your rally cry be More Life! Whether it's new stories or simply focusing heartily and cheerfully on the task at hand.

Good luck, fellow Wanderer! And happy writing (when it comes)

-Ryan

Meet Rienspel's Cover Designer!

Meet Rienspel's Cover Designer... Laura Faraci!

 

Laura Faraci is a determined artist and current Communication Design student at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Especially interested in typographic design, Laura previously studied at Liceo Scientifico A. Roiti in Ferrara, where she grew up. Ever since she was a child she enjoys figure roller skating and playing the piano. As a self-taught illustrator, Laura dedicates herself to different drawing styles in her free time, including pencil drawing and digital painting.

When I first launched my debut fantasy novel, Rienspel, on 99Designs, I wasn't sure quite what to expect. The competing designers were amazingly talented- and it was really difficult to choose! But in the end, Laura Faraci won the day with her skill, timeliness, and incredible versatility - plus she's an absolute pleasure to work with. I highly recommend her for anyone's future design needs- just ask her and see exactly what I mean! She proves her merit with intuit and determination, and I'm excited to work with her again, as my design needs arise.

If you'd like to find out more about Laura, or hire her for your own design needs, you can visit her at https://www.behance.net/LauraFaraciDesign

- Thanks Laura!!

 

Drum Roll Please!

And now, after nearly a decade of blood, sweat, tears and pestering... Ryan P. Freeman is proud to announce...

THE OFFICIAL COVER FOR RIENSPEL!!

I would like to especially thank Laura Faraci, whom I had the wonderful pleasure of working with via 99Designs. It was a hard choice which came right on down to a three-way tie, but her persistence, vision and charm helped prove her design the best, in my opinion. 

Even now, she's hard at work designing the cover for my next work, an e-novelette called 

The Grey Isle Tale! - If you'd like to help donate toward my next work's cover, you can check out https://www.gofundme.com/TheGreyIsleTale 

Thank you everyone who helped weigh in on the recent design process and who helped encourage me for nearly a decade to keep on dreaming and writing- this one is for you!

-Ryan