My writing is very character based. Character development is more important to me than any other aspect of writing…commas included. Now, to be fair, this is the way I have always written. I don’t know why. Psychology is far more interesting to me than crazy plot twists or unicorns. My novel, Joe Café, has been described many ways. People ask me what it’s about frequently, and I can never find a good answer. It’s about people. Sure, there’s a plot and murder and sex and fishing and fist-fights, but it’s really just about people. People who happen to do stuff. Interesting stuff.
Author: JD Mader
JD Mader is an award winning short story writer and novelist. 'Joe Café' and 'The Biker' are out now, as well as 'Please, no eyes'. and the collaborative 'Bad Book'. Mader has been writing for half his life and has no plans on stopping any time soon. Learn more about JD Mader at his blog and his Amazon author page.
#tatertots #pizzafridays
When I was in high school, lunch was where you found out where you fit in. I fit in with the quiet, punk rocker kids who smoked cigarettes instead of eating. Open campus, FTW! I couldn’t wait to get off campus. And not just for the nicotine. I hated high school. And I hated the scene in the cafeteria. Cliques and pods of douchebags and douchebaguettes. So, it is much to my chagrin that I am forced to come to terms with the fact that twitter has become my high school cafeteria.
Dead Poets and Video Games
No one reads anymore. Kids are the worst offenders. Right? But why? I mean, I liked to read when I was a kid…so, what happened? For six years, I was fortunate enough to work for a non-profit scholarship program in San Francisco. My teaching background was in reading remediation. I had grown accustomed to working with kids who were dealing with severe learning issues. Autistic kids. Kids with Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Kids with deep comprehension issues. I loved the challenge. It was a big change to work with kids who did not suffer from any diagnosable condition. These kids shared one common trait…they came from the poorest parts of San Francisco, the deepest recesses of the ghetto, and most of them read at about a second grade level. This is a problem if you are attending an exclusive Catholic High School.
Work in progress…
It has been less than a year since I got serious about getting my writing ‘out there’. I thought I would share my experiences thus far. I have made some mistakes, but I’ve done some things right, too. Prior to embracing the web, I spent a lot of time accumulating stories on my computer and submitting to literary magazines that three people read. Then, I wised up. I self-published my novel, ‘Joe Café’, and started a few blogs. I joined Facebook and Twitter. I joined a few groups on Linkedin. I learned a lot of things. Some of them the hard way. Most of them by paying attention.
I played in punk bands when I was younger, so I came into this Indie writing thing with some prior experience in ‘the independent arts’. I knew that it was important to make contacts…not people you can ‘leverage’…friends. I knew that it was important to find like-minded people and work together towards a common goal. I knew that it was important to promote your friends’ work before your own. I knew that community was the most important thing.