Richard Schiver

Blog

  • Exploring Time Travel in 11/22/63 by Stephen King

    In 11/22/63, written by Stephen King, the hero of the tale, Jake, is shown a portal to the past. It’s where Al, the proprietor of the small diner where it was located, has been buying his hamburger, taking advantage of the price. Offering a much better reason for his lower prices than was generally believed by those who thought he was using stray cats and dogs. It’s here we get to the gist of the story. Al enlists Jake’s help to save President Kennedy from his assassin. Those who have read the story know what happened. I don’t want to post any spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that. If you’re wondering what happened, go grab the book, it’s worth the read.

    It’s a pretty good tale that grows into your typical King story that he is well known for. It also serves to make one wonder about alternate realities and the multiverse. Theoretical physicists have proven, via math, that alternate realities do indeed exist. Not every physicist subscribes to the theory, but it’s out there. Some believe every event, or decision, creates a new branch in the timeline.

    It’s here where things really start to get muddled. I’m sure there’s not a  limit to the number of timelines branching from each of the others, creating a swarm of timelines traveling in multitudes of directions.

    Could you imagine the headache that would cause to whoever had to keep these things straight.

    One of the first things you come up against is what triggers the timeline to branch off? Is it major events, such as the aforementioned assassination of a sitting president, or does the timeline branch based on either/or decisions? If so, is it a worldwide phenomenon, or say a collective decision? Or is it a more personal one.

    On the one hand you have a solitary timeline with other timelines branching off of it with every major event in the world. If it’s a more individual level, does the branching occur at major intersections in one’s life, or does the branching occur based on everyday decisions and changes in our routine.

    Like something as simple as forgetting to turn off a light causes you to leave the house thirty seconds later than you normally would. Now we have dual timelines for your departure where in one you arrive safely to your destination, while in the other you’re delayed by an accident, or possibly involved in one yourself.

    It starts to get really confusing when you consider all the possibilities occurring at every juncture in your life.

    The biggest question of all is what forces are at play to create the branch? Is it a mechanical process that requires extreme amounts of power, or does it use a type of power that for a lack of a better word we might call magic?

    Say these portals do exist. Are they visible? Are they permanent? Do they move? What would happen if somebody accidentally walked into one? Would that explain some of the assorted mysterious disappearances that have occurred over the years? Maybe it’s an explanation for the assorted mysterious strangers that have appeared throughout history.

    You would think these portals would have to be in remote locations to prevent major problems. Could you imagine one appearing in the middle of New York City during rush hour. That would be one hell of an excuse for missing work. Sorry I couldn’t make it in today. I fell into the stone age and couldn’t find my way back right away.

    It’s all just more fodder for the what if machine operating at the center of every writer’s mind. Of course it’s not really restricted to writers, as most people run into situations and events that prompt them to wonder, what if?

    But it’s usually the writer who takes that idea, throws a few characters into the mix, and hits the blend button. As a writer myself I’m always running into these what if moments. They fuel my fiction and inspire me to try harder.

    One such event occurred recently when my wife and I were visiting our grandson, he has two children of his own, a little boy, and a little girl. The boy is four, and his little sister is nine months old. I caught him looking at her, and the expression on his face was one of pure love. In my mind I saw them fifty years from now having to say goodbye to one another. It hit me pretty hard on the emotional level.. It’s one of those moments that will remain with me as my subconscious comes up with a vehicle to carry it properly.

    I’m sure everybody else experiences this. If you’d like to share, I’d love to hear it, put it in the comments below.

    New Update: Zomething Dead This Way Comes will be off to the editor at the end of this month. Had to find another one as my former editor is no longer taking work. It is what it is. See you next time. Be safe.  

  • Our Subconscious at Work.

    It’s amazing how the subconscious works.

    I wrote All Roads Lead to Terror, the first book in my post-apocalyptic series, This Lawless Land, way back in 2013. The story focused on four teenage boys exploring a world that had moved on. At the time it was only going to be a one off, then I’d move on to other projects.

    In All Roads Lead to Terror, one of the characters grabbed a bundle of hundred-dollar bills from a bank. Which on the surface made no sense. I mean in the world I’d built, who would want to be weighed down by such a useless object? But the character wanted it, so who am I to stand in the way? Right.

    One book became two, then grew into three. In 2018 I wrote book four of my supposed stand alone. I’m not as fast as many other writers out there, I usually only get about an hour a day to do what I love. But through all four books my character insisted on carrying that damn bundle of money no matter what. He’d been through a great deal by this time. He’d grown up a good bit, but a small voice in his head kept telling him to keep the money. Yet I still did not understand why he was being so particular.

    Book four burned me out on their story so I moved on to other things for a bit. But I never strayed far from the characters. My thoughts usually returning to them as I wondered what they were up to. During my break I wrote Not of Us, Cursed, and the third installment of a trilogy I started in 2012, I know another project I need to clear up.

    I returned to the story last year and recently completed the first draft of book five. Whereupon I turned my attention to book six, which I felt would be the last chapter in their story. But at this stage, twenty thousand words into the first draft, I believe there will be a seventh and final book in the series. One I hoped to dive into once I have finished the first draft of book six. Of course there will be the rewrites and editing and all that before my creation can finally see the light of a new day.

    In 2013 I never imagined that ten years later I would be writing book six. What’s more amazing, is that in book six I finally figured out why this young boy insisted on carrying all that useless money around with him. If you want to know as well, you’ll have to wait until I get the series done. Sorry.

    Update: I’ve found a new editor and will be sending him Zomething Dead This Way Comes, when his schedule clears up at the end of October. I’m also shopping for a good cover for it. If all goes well it will be available by the end of this year. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available. Things are finally starting to jell on the writing front, and I’ll be posting more often as more news becomes available.

  • Are We First?

    For years it’s been accepted that the universe is 13.7 billion years old, but lately there has been speculation it might be twice as old as we believe. Last year the James Webb telescope focused on several distant galaxies that appear early but look more grown up. More details about this development can be found at Big Think .

    But what does that have to do with your creative process? You might be wondering.

    A lot, and we’ll get to that shortly. I’ve always had an interest in space and space travel, so I find myself drawn to articles of that nature. I uncovered something called the Silurian hypothesis. A thought experiment which assesses modern science’s ability to uncover evidence of a prior civilization. More information about the Silurian hypothesis can be found on the Discovery website.

    For those of you who are fans of Doctor Who, yes the hypothesis was named after the Silurian race featured on the show. Put forth by physicist Adam Frank and Climatologist Gavin Schmidt its purpose is to try to pinpoint the methods of spotting deep time civilizations in other planets. Every civilization leaves a mark after it’s passed. Be it an increase in carbon emissions from an industrial revolution, or the microplastics that will remain long after we’re gone. But these traces will be so small as to be missed unless we’re specifically looking for them.

    As a writer my mind is always working in “what if” mode.

    The Silurian hypothesis first came to my attention when I was working on the final book in my Shadows of the Past trilogy. I thought what if the creature threatening our future was an indigenous inhabitant of earth and we were the invaders, having come from the stars ourselves. The more I dug into the hypothesis, the more I came to understand their method might be a little short sighted. Using the effects of our current civilization would only locate those civilizations that mirrored our own historic timeline. How would you look for signs of a say silicon-based life form? What if the barren planet we ignore once carried life that was wiped out by a bomb we have no knowledge of? What if the emerging civilization took a path entirely different from our own because they viewed the world differently than we did? What if they discovered fission power early in the process and their industrial revolution did not leave the same traces as our own.

    I’m not saying I’m an expert at any of this, nor do I have a thorough understanding of how they go about searching for the clues they seek. But it’s something that sparked my interest, and my mind tends to wander in those directions when I’m confronted with new knowledge.

    What do you think?

    Are we indigenous to this planet?

    Or did we come from the stars?

  • Update 09/19/2023

    It’s been nearly a year since my last update. Work continues to progress, and the first draft for Faces of Our Fathers, book 5 in This Lawless Land is nearly complete.There’s a lot more to do yet, I’ve started tinkering with book six that will be titled Lair of the Broken Queen. Will it be the last in the series? I’m not sure. I’m just following along where the story leads me.

    I’m currently editing Zomething Dead This Way Comes to get it ready for my followers. If you’ve been here in the past you may have noticed the changes as I started working to improve my site. I struggled for a few months with the decision on where to place my site. Considered several alternative options for hosting, but finally settled on keeping everything on wordpress for the time being. If you have any suggestions on hosting options, or improvements for my site, I’d love to hear from you.

    Work continues on The Shadows of the Past trilogy. The first draft of Assimilation is finished. Now comes the overwhelming task of rewriting the entire trilogy to bring it in line with my original vision. Both my series and the trilogy have taught me a very valuable lesson. Don’t release book one of anything until at least the first draft of the remaining books has been written.

    This was really brought home to me when I was writing Faces of Our Fathers and a whole slew of new characters necessary to move the plot forward were introduced to me. I spent nearly a year just writing their story before incorporating it into the narrative of the series. All Roads Lead to Terror is pretty much set, just a few tweaks here and there before I update the files. Then it’s onto The Reaping Season, Legion of the Damned, and A Call to Arms. The last title feels sort of weak to me so I may update it.

    Beyond the series and trilogy are other works I want to dive into. Bitter Hollow needs to be finished. It’s siting on my desk waiting for me to dive back in. What’s stopping me is it’s a first person narrative and I worry that I’m not up to the task to bring it to the conclusion I see in my mind.

    There will be two more books tied to Cursed. A Bad Place and The Gathering, will feature Sheriff Paul Odenton from Cursed.

    That’s all for now, I’ll try better to keep everyone up to date as work progresses but it’s a slow process getting these stories exactly the way I originally envisioned them. When Zomething Dead This Way Comes is ready I’ll let everyone know. It will be a freebie for everyone who joins my mailing list. When it’s ready I’ll activate the links.

    On the reading front so far I recently finished Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. I’m now nearly through his Disappearance at Devil’s Rock. Strange Weather by Joe Hill, and Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi.

    Have you read any good books lately?

  • Update 10/18/2022

    It’s been a while since I’ve been here. My last update was the end of May, so it’s been nearly five months since we’ve last spoken. To be honest I really don’t know what to write about in these updates aside from what I’ve been working on, and what’s been happening in my life. The biggest problem I have is I’m a private person who doesn’t like to air personal matters with others. As for updates on my writing I worry no one really cares. I could be wrong, I know.

    On the writing front I’ve been quite busy. Played around with Amazon Vella for a bit, posted a couple of short stories and an ongoing story that I eventually called complete and unpublished. The ongoing story was originally called This Way to Heaven, but the title didn’t really bring to mind the subject matter of the story.

    If you’d like to check out the two shorts they’re still available here:

    The Locked Room

    They Dance to Mother Moonlight

    This Way to Heaven is about four boys trapped in an apartment building during the opening days of the zombie apocalypse. I know original right? But there’s a little twist in the tale I’m not going to reveal, you have to read it to see what’s going on. Which you’ll get a chance once I’ve taken care of some other things.

    I re-titled the story to:  Zomething Dead This Way Comes. At it’s core it’s a coming of age story that delves into the extremes people will go to survive. Jimmy, Wayne, Todd, and Robert will be forced to grow up or die as the dead come back to life and attack the living. I’ve completed the first draft and it’s coming in at around 97,000 words. I’ll trim this to around 80k by the time It’s done.

    I know the title is a rip off of Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, it too was a coming of age story. But my book will be available as a reward for everyone who signs up for my newsletter when I get that started up again. I’m looking at the early part of next year. Each month subscribers will receive a free short story and updates on my current projects along with the occasional contest for unique swag only available to my followers.

    The biggest problem I face with my writing is I tend to compare everything I write to the writers I enjoy reading. At the top of this list of course is Stephen King, I’m a big fan of his work, but I don’t restrict myself just to his work alone. Two other writers get my money every time they release a new book. Ronald Malfi, and Greg Gifune. There are many other writers I enjoy as well. Dan Simmons, Christi Nogle, Ben Eads, just to name a few. Were I to sit down and focus on building a list I’d probably have a hundred names on it. But this post isn’t about them, it’s about me and my writing.

    As I said every time I write something I look at it and think, Would so and so do it this way? I’ve got to quit doing that and trust my own instincts about my writing. I feel like I’m good at what I do, and getting better, and I’m, confident there’s an audience out there for my work. I’m looking for my tribe, those people who enjoy the way I write. Are you one of them?

    Currently I’m working on Assimilation, book three of an alien invasion trilogy I started in 2012 with Adversary, then followed up in 2014 with Parasite. I’m about 40,000 words into the first draft and working strong towards the end, managing anywhere from 900 to 1800 words a day.

    After I finish Assimilation I will then turn my attention to my series, This Lawless Land.

    While writing book 5, Faces of Our Fathers, a new character introduced themselves and I realized they should have appeared at the beginning of the series. Work stopped on book five as I focused on this new character’s story, that is intertwined with the main characters of the series.

    There will be two other books after Faces of our Fathers. book 6 will be Lair of the Broken Queen where we will learn about what happened to Window’s mother after his birth. Book 7 is tentatively titled, Birth of a Gunslinger. The circle will close, and the trinity will be joined as the forces of evil face defeat. From this cataclysm one will emerge to embark upon a quest to bring order to this lawless land.

    Quick question, Who’s your favorite author?