Monday 29 February 2016

What Lives Hidden Beneath

I'd like to wish you a Happy Rare Disease day. Why Happy? Diseases are terrible right? In my less than humble opinion, the answer is, "well...not necessarily." As I talked about last week, one's life experience, including health and other challenges shape one as a person to varying degrees. It is my unusual physical situation that contributed to my humor and overall approach to story telling. McCune Albright Syndrome and Fibrous Dysplasia have their difficult moments, but have also blessed me and others in countless valuable ways. Today, is about celebrating what makes us different and uniquely strong, while acknowledging our individual gifts and challenges, regardless of what those may be for you.

In much of my work thus far, I've used my own health to shape some of my characters. I feel that doing so is another way of adding personality and depth to the people in my stories. Most tales contain archetype characters, such as the arrogant jerk, the misunderstood loner, the individual with simmering anger issues, the fragile yet beautiful maiden etc. I personally like to throw in someone with a disability. To me this challenges my skill as a writer to portray a character's disabilities clearly and strongly so as to give you, my charming reader a more thought provoking and interesting person and situation about which to read.

I'm in the midst of outlining a second novel whose main character has McCune Albright Syndrome. To this point, my disabled characters have possessed physical issues that are noticeable to the other individuals in the story. My challenge here though, is to portray the main character's condition as an invisible disability. So many people have illnesses or physical issues that are not visually apparent, yet still present them with significant hurtles in their daily lives. I'm sure you, or someone you know has seen someone using a handicap parking spot who appeared to be perfectly normal, if I may be so trite. I request that you take a minute to consider in such situations, the person you are observing may have some sort of physical issue that is serious and impacts their world, but that may be difficult to notice, especially at a distance.

An example from my own life is the appearance of my eyes. Now, I am totally blind, but my eyes are fairly normal looking. Yet, I cannot count the number of people who found it difficult to believe I do not have vision as my eyes are quite normal. I've even encountered people when I used to do presentations on blindness, who were amazed I was blind because I still had eyes at all. My point here is there are many myths and stigmas about all sorts of disabilities and health issues, and looking unusual in someway is not the defining factor for a lot of them. Many of them are hidden beneath the surface.

Now, the reason I'm making a point about this, is my other physical issues and disability are easily noticeable to your naked eye, or your foot if you've been so lucky to be a victim of my walker's wheel. Invisible health issues and disabilities were something I myself hadn't thought a lot about for most of my life. It was a bit of a shock when I considered that there were people out there, with significant disabilities that did not stand out in a crowd due to an altered or unusual appearance, so even I was somewhat a believer in the common stereotype of disabilities being visually apparent.

Characters in stories should have weaknesses, flaws or some other quality or aspect that makes them relatable. That engages you the reader much more and simply just makes an interestingly entertaining tale. Depth in both character and story to me are imperative in my work, and I like to fill both with details and wit that may or may not be obvious. As I am regularly involved in disabled communities, it just feels natural to me to use physical issues and struggles in my work to create those extra dimensions, hence the above written, invisible condition monolog.

I've recently, as part of outlining this second novel, begun picking the brains of my compatriots in the Fibrous Dysplasia community. I would like to extend to you the invitation to share with me any experience you have had with a nonvisual disability or illness. Both sides of the coin to me are most interesting, so if you have known someone with an invisible health issue, or have one yourself, I'd love to hear from you on my Facebook page, Facebook.com/writerjonathanbirdsall either via post or private message. I may even fire a free copy of the above mentioned book your way when completed, for sharing your experiences with me.

A fitting quote to me, by poet Hughes Mearns:

"Last night I saw upon the stair,
A little man who wasn't there,"

"Antigonish, Hughes Mearns, 1899"

See you next week.

Monday 22 February 2016

How McCune Albright Syndrome Made Me a Writer

Rare Disease Day, February 29, is approaching. In honor of that dubiously marvelous day I felt I'd share how and why I chose to become a writer.

I was born with a bizarre condition called McCune Albright Syndrome, which is a rare form of another rare condition called Fibrous Dysplasia, in itself strange. McCune Albright can do numerous things to one's body, and as others sharing my shoes can attest, also likes to get freaky with one's sanity. For me personally, MAS has mostly effected my bones. It has caused extensive deformity in my leg bones, causing them to break and weaken, eventually requiring the insertion of steel rods to straighten and strengthen them. A delightful bonus to this was that I could now claim, all be it weakly, that I am bionic and have legs of steel.

On top of the deformities of my leg bones, I experienced additional deformity to much of my skull. My left cheek bone, my jaws, the crown of my head and an area of bone behind my eyes were all effected. The cheek and eye areas required a handful of their own operations to address some issues. Furthermore, the bone behind my eyes when I was eight years old, wreaked havoc and crushed my optic nerves, which are special nerves that transmit the visual information detected by your eyes to your brain, where it is then processed into conscious images. This left me totally blind, save for a tiny, and rather irritating ability to detect really bright light in one eye.

All of that played a major part in shaping my personality and imagination. I spent a lot of time lying down or sitting in reclined positions recovering from various surgeries, mainly to my legs. This freed me up for hours upon hours of imagining other people and places. That was further fueled by the Canadian National Institute of the Blind, which set me up with its audio book library, exposing me to countless worlds, personalities and ideas. Access to so many books was an amazing gift and sparked many fantasies about becoming a singer or a writer.

Both singing and writing are forms of telling stories and entertaining others, which I loved. As well, both could be done from a sitting or lying position, which saved my legs from needless stress and activity. I played around with writing on and off for years, but for a long time wanted to become a singer far more than a writer.

My shining dream was to be a death metal vocalist, and to do that I'd need to learn how to sing properly first, then branch out into learning how to scream safely. I took a few lessons from Heather Hutchison, (new window( a talented singer/song writer friend of mine and realized before too many months that maybe singing was not in the cards for me. Disappointed, I shelved that goal, and reserved it mainly for annoying my neighbors who insist upon caterwauling loudly along with boy bands in the great outdoors, where I and other innocent town folk are subjected to such brutal torture.

Eventually I gave up on the singing dream and over the span of a decade or so, played around with writing. This was a painful and intermittent process, as I suffered from major periods of self doubt, both struggling to come up with ideas I felt were solid, and tales that other people would find enjoyable enough to want to read. Finally, in October of 2014, while recovering from my latest surgery I became serious about story telling again. It occurred to me that I have a bizarre sense of humor that others seem to enjoy, and I possessed mountains of random and seemingly useless information. As well, I loved playing with words, entertaining other people and expressing ideas about numerous subjects and issues. I did the math with all of that and decided to make a serious attempt at writing once more.

This time however, I spent a lot of time carefully plotting my attack on the fiction world. I did some research and worked out some techniques to develop story and plot lines with which I was comfortable. I applied those ideas and soon came up with a short story, which of course was, "A Touch of Wolf's Bane," with which I was more than satisfied. I floated it around to online magazines and got a bite on it from the second webzine to which I sent it.

That only encouraged me more so I dove into writing what would become my first, completed novel manuscript, "The Cripple's Game," currently in editing. I paused during the work of that book to pen a couple more short stories, so as to continue seeking publication in online magazines, and after nearly a year, had another story accepted. That is, "The Heinous Measure," due out in April.

All of this had me most excited. At last I had something that accommodated the strengths McCune Albright Syndrome had fostered within me. Even more meaningful to me was the unique perspective and experiences from my health and disabilities. They creep their way into my stories and I like to think that perhaps they give my work a flavor different from the works of other writers.

If you would like to learn more about McCune Albright Syndrome and Fibrous Dysplasia visit: FD/MAS Awareness (new window) or, FD Warriors (new window).

I post every monday as that is my favorite day of the week, so check back next week for another exciting installment of my brilliance.

Follow me on Facebook at: facebook.com/writerjonathanbirdsall

I look forward to seeing you again next Monday.

Monday 15 February 2016

Pen Up My Name

A pen name, or pseudonym, is a fictitious handle an author uses for various reasons, much like an actor uses a stage name. A notable example of a writer using a pen name is, "Anne Rice." That, is your mildly exciting fun fact for the week. I'd suspect you probably already knew that though, particularly if you are a fan of erotic vampire novels, whose contents make for fascinating, yet frightfully impolite dinner conversation.

I myself use a pseudonym, and have already been asked a few times now for the reason why. The answer to this is simple, marketability. My actual name is a very common one. It is a strong name and one of which I am very proud, despite my middle name translating to, "elfin princess." The sticking point for me however, is the fact that my name is shared by many, many people.

For example, in my home town with a population of less than five-thousand, there were at least two of us. Just down the road in a nearby community of roughly similar size, there was at least one more. Google searches revealed countless ranks of me, including one version who apparently is a fine arts photographer in Singapore. Other choice returns from Google amidst the ninety-seven-million results, included interior design, a Welsh politician, several professors and a women's soccer coach. All of that suggested my actual name would have too much competition and I would be better suited with something different.

I set about looking up my first name combined with various interesting sir names, finally settling upon, "Jonathan Birdsall." This happily, out of all the writing handles I concocted, returned the fewest results, almost ninety-seven-million fewer than my actual name. Indeed most of the returns I looked at were obituaries, which I suspect are probably not going to offer any stiff competition.

The reason for carefully selecting this pseudonym as I've mentioned above, is marketability. Massive amounts of websites and information are now available online, making it extremely difficult to come up with something unusual enough to stand out. Your author handle is essentially your business or brand name, writing and selling books being your business, your author name being what you'd post in neon letters above your front door.

All of the above went into my decision to use a pen name, and then to devise one and research it. It was not a simple or quick process. It was a tough decision and I experience occasional pangs of self doubt. coffee I've found is most helpful with such times. Its near medicinal effects chase away my doubts, and empower me to reaffirm I indeed made the correct choice regarding my writing handle, lady soccer players or not.

Just before I sign out, I have some exciting news to share! My short story, "The Heinous Measure," is set to appear in the April 2016 issue of, "Inner Sins." I'll post more information when available.

I post every monday as that in my less than humble opinion, is the best day of the week, so check back next week for another exciting installment of my genius.

Follow me on Facebook at: facebook.com/writerjonathanbirdsall

I look forward to seeing you again next monday.

Monday 8 February 2016

Call me Crazy, but I Like Editing

Hopefully you're sitting down, as today I open with a confession. I am more than a little bit unique. For example, I find heavy metal relaxing, love eating zucchini, treat my chronic health issues and disabilities as a source of fun, enjoy speaking in random accents and know how to make balloon animals. The list goes on, but you get the picture. I am most definitely weird.

For years the label of weird bothered me. It was the wisdom and advice of two sage and good friends that taught me to not only accept my individuality but to embrace it. There will always be other people that have negative opinions of you, so why not just be yourself and enjoy life. This, if you've not yet discovered it for yourself, is invaluable advice and may banish much stress from your world.

The reason I open with that nugget of social commentary is simple. As a writer, being weird is a huge asset. Indeed, most creative people live outside of the box, and I suspect that even amongst writers I might stand out for my level of weirdness. That is because I love the editing process.

Few things bring me as much joy and contentment as digging through one of my own completed drafts looking for mistakes ranging from things only I'd notice, to glaringly obvious word tragedies screaming for help. Editing is something all of us writers must do to polish and shine our manuscripts, but much of the buzz I hear about my fellows is that they find editing to be horrible, agonizing, tedious etc. Maybe it's because I have a passion for holistic therapy and healing that I love this, as to me my drafts are like word people. Each story contains numerous elements, some deep, some shallow, some right on the surface, all of which need tender loving care so that they can be pulled together into the best damn piece of writing they can be.

I suspect as well, that one of the reasons other writers dislike editing so much is that it makes them question their own talent. When I first started, "A Touch of Wolf's Bane," my first published piece, I experienced this feeling. However I quickly learned that each successive revision of that story was better than the previous one. That in turn lead me to realize that the original draft of a piece of work will probably be terrible, but eventually through numerous edits, will enter the light at the end of the tunnel, and stand as polished work worthy of the eyes of others. Now, when I edit I look forward to that time when the current draft will at last enter that glimmering magnificence, and I can enjoy knowing that I was responsible for creating and shaping the word person before me.

I hope that if you are a writer yourself, or aspiring to become one, that this post helps you. Throughout my short writing career I've already learned that it is a world full of stress. My goal is to help you ease some of that, so that you enjoy the amazing rewards the world of story telling brings.

Finally, I am excited to share my first novel, "The Cripple's Game," has entered its third stage of editing, and draws closer to its release. I shall post periodic updates about its approach, so stay tuned.

Starting today, I'll be posting every Monday as that is my favorite day of the week, so check back next week for another exciting installment of my brilliance.

Follow me on Facebook at: facebook.com/writerjonathanbirdsall

I look forward to seeing you again next Monday.

Saturday 6 February 2016

Hello Reading World

As this is my initial post in the blog world I shall give you a simple introduction, telling you who I am, what I write and some of the things you may expect to find here and in my work. Such an opening may seem bland to some, but I"m sure you'll agree it's preferable to an intro like, "There once was a fiction writer from Nantucket whose..."

I'm from a small Canadian town, well known for a notorious rock band, whose name for now shall remain unspoken. I have a Master Practitioner Certificate in Psychosomatic therapy, and spent several years attempting to be a web programmer before turning writing from an occasional pass time into a career. My holistic therapy experience finds its way into much of my work, as does my eccentric sense of humor, and my fascination for mythology and the supernatural. I love writing stories that make you think and that play upon multiple emotions.

In my blog world you shall find snippets of my work, some of my experiences as a writer, some of my musings, which do not happen to fit a current project and delicious tidbits from other writers in my genre. As well, there may be occasional information and references to a disease called McCune Albright Syndrome, with which I was born, a rare form of another condition called Fibrous Dysplasia. My health and disability have shaped who I am, and in turn shape much of my writing.

I thank you for joining me on this journey, and look forward to seeing you return soon. Be sure to check out my website, jonathanbirdsall.com or my Facebook page, facebook.com/writerjonathanbirdsall.

Jonathan Birdsall