Allen G. Bagby

Isn’t that what you’re supposed to aim for? Honing your craft? Improving your skills? Being better? I think the only “flaw” with Blood was the later than the average first plot point which, wasn’t really that late. I had a lot of set-ups to do. And as the Amazon and Goodreads reviews show Blood really gets going at 30%. The complexity of laying the groundwork falls away and a fast paced story emerges with moments of depth and relevance along with harrowing battle and fight scenes.… Read more

I thought I would miss Facebook. Not only did I deactivate Facebook, I canceled all notifications from my expansive social network. It’s been wonderful. I was a social network addict. I encourage everyone to take, at least, a break from it.

Even though I’ve not totally capitalized on the freedom it’s made a huge difference in my ability to focus on the main task at hand and all other tasks of life. It’s such a relief not hearing constant “dings” on my computer and phone.… Read more

Hitting the mark.

Learning how to make your aim true is often about relearning the fundamentals. Great athletes and snipers must maintain the fundamentals. And so must every person that strives for excellence in any endeavor. I’ve reignited my mission to craft Out of Oblivion into a great book by re-reading the most inspiring book I’ve ever read on the craft of novel writing, Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. This is the book, of all the books I’ve read on story craft, that catapulted Blood & Soul out of my imagination onto the pages of Amazon.com where it stayed on Amazon’s Top 100 for 5 and half months.… Read more

Just wanted to let my family, friends, colleagues, and followers know before it hits the Drudge Report that I’ll be deactivating my Facebook. I’ll reactivate when I’ve sent the completed draft of Out of Oblivion to my editor. Until we meet again.

Dang. Too late. It’s already up.

While driving through Colorado, Utah, and Arizona recently I had a long heart-to-heart with myself.  And, I listened (text-to-speech on Kindle) to Blood & Soul while driving.… Read more

I saw John Wick: Chapter 2 over the weekend. This movie has a lot of brains …splattered on the walls. Was it well done? Yes! Check out Keanu Reeves practicing for the role. That’s why it has 90% on Rotten Tomatoes (at this point anyway). As said before, I go to movies a lot. It’s a hobby. I study story structure. If the story structure is great, the odds are the movie will do well. Wick has GREAT structure.… Read more

Me and my daughter on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in 1998.

It happened when she was ten years old. We were on vacation headed to the Grand Canyon. Father and daughter together on a truly special adventure. She was the cutest little thing. We laughed and listened to music for hours. Then I would spend hours in solitude driving while she slept periodically. I remember looking at her sleeping peacefully as shadows and sun rolled over her tiny face as we cruised down the highway.… Read more

I ask for tough questions on my Facebook. I said I would answer them by doing Facebook LIVE from my Author’s Page. The first question was:

“What is your take on so many old movies being remade? Is it because Hollywood can’t come up with anything new on their own?”

My YouTube answer is here:

Otherwise, keep reading.

I don’t mind remakes of old Si-Fi or Fantasy movies. Because back in the day their reach exceeded their grasp.… Read more

Since the inception of my website, 2 and half years ago, I’ve kept something about me in the dark.

In Africa he is a strange site. Because of my beliefs, I feel the same among creative types.

Alas, it caused writer’s block, preventing me from consistently creating content and clearing the production line. I’ve discussed with friends whether or not I should disclose my secret. Should I reveal the truth and risk rejection or remain stifled?… Read more

I’ve totally revamped Out of Oblivion the last 6 months after an epic bazillion words. When I got to the end of the first serious draft I was not happy with the ending. I don’t settle.

Recently I got together with two of my genius friends to discuss the end of Out of Oblivion. I sent them a message on Facebook prior to meeting basically saying the following:

What Makes a Story Great?

Let’s use Luke Skywalker’s “moment” in the finale of Star Wars over the Death Star.… Read more

I hate boring vacation videos. Thus, I suffered great anxiety over squeezing this video down to a gargantuan 19 minutes. I estimate I took about 12 hours video. I originally tried to whittle it down to 4 minutes and one song. But were just too many “moments”. So I worked hard to make it interesting and exciting. I’m a storyteller. So, tried to amp things up as it progresses to the end.

Good friends. Good times.… Read more