{"id":38103,"date":"2020-10-22T08:30:24","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T12:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/?p=38103"},"modified":"2022-01-08T17:11:02","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T22:11:02","slug":"james-s-murray-and-darren-wearmouth-five-things-we-learned-writing-dont-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2020\/10\/22\/james-s-murray-and-darren-wearmouth-five-things-we-learned-writing-dont-move\/","title":{"rendered":"James S. Murray And Darren Wearmouth: Five Things We Learned Writing Don’t Move"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Megan Forrester has barely survived the unthinkable. Six months ago, she witnessed a horrific accident that killed her husband and son, and lives with the guilt of knowing she could have done more to save them. Now, Megan hopes to mend the pieces of her broken spirit by attending a local church group\u2019s annual camping trip. But the church group members\u2014riddled with dark secrets of their own\u2014make a catastrophic navigational mistake, leaving them stranded in an untouched canyon in the West Virginian national forest.<\/em><\/p>\n

Isolated from any chance of help or rescue, Megan and the others quickly realize why this side of the canyon has never been surveyed by humankind: it\u2019s home to a terrifying prehistoric arachnid that patiently stalks its prey through even the slightest movement or vibration in the forest. And it\u2019s desperate for a meal.<\/em><\/p>\n

Grief-stricken and haunted by her tragic loss, Megan now faces her ultimate test of endurance. Can she outwit a bloodthirsty creature hellbent on ensuring that no one gets out of alive? When a single wrong turn can mean death, she only has one option: DON\u2019T MOVE.<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Nothing Beats Terror in the Woods<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s something uniquely spine-chilling about forests. When night falls, the enclosed space of the trees mixes with an infinite chorus of sounds: creaking, crackling, buzzing, unexplained echoes, you name it. It\u2019s almost otherworldly. Darren and I wanted to capture that deep sense of uncertainty\u2014that feeling of being preyed upon. And of course, we aren\u2019t the only ones who\u2019ve used the woods as our setting. I grew up on classic movies like Friday the 13th and The Evil Dead, and even more recent films like Cabin in the Woods. All of them remind us that forests are a perfect playground for bloody, nightmarish mayhem. I think what makes it so personal is that we\u2019ve all been on camping trips. We\u2019ve all been hiking. Culturally, we use the woods as a place to escape, to get away from the lights of the city. But it\u2019s also a place that\u2019s far away from any potential help. It\u2019s a lot like being willingly stranded. And if we\u2019ve done our job right with this book, you might think twice about your next woodland getaway!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Grab Them From The First Chapter and Don\u2019t Let Go<\/h2>\n

Creators must compete. Whether we like to admit it or not, our work and the things that we create need to capture an audience. Why would someone read your book when there is a lifetime of amazing shows on Netflix or cute puppy videos on YouTube? Your story needs to start strong, stay strong, and end strong. Make it so the reader can\u2019t put the book down. You need to end each chapter with something that scares the hell out of you. Thrillers are called thrillers for a reason. Because if you\u2019ve written a good one, that\u2019s exactly what it should do. It should thrill you even as you write it. If it\u2019s boring to write, it\u2019s damn sure going to be boring to read.<\/p>\n

Zoom Call? Turn Your Camera On<\/h2>\n

Like most authors, this was our first experience writing and working through a pandemic. With Darren living in Toronto and me in New Jersey, the physical distance alone was enough to drive us crazy. When the whole world is shut down, your creative process can either go one of two ways. The first is that you finally feel like you have all the time in the world to write and get stuff done. The other is that with the whirlwind of stress and other factors going on, all of that can blend into your work and bring the writing process to a complete stand still. My advice for those trying to create in a virtual, socially distanced world is to always turn your Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, whatever camera on. Whatever method you use to communicate, make sure you\u2019re getting the most out of it. Coordinating with our publisher, editors, managers, agents, and each other was almost entirely virtual on this book. Working on a novel is such a personal project and being able to connect with each other in that way (even during a pandemic) was crucial. Not to mention that it helps us stay focused. Plus, it\u2019s always nice to see Darren face-to-face. What can I say? His smile lights up a room.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re Never\u00a0Really<\/em>\u00a0In Control<\/h2>\n

In a similar vein\u2014if this pandemic has taught us anything, it\u2019s that no matter what goals we\u2019ve set for ourselves or how we expect certain years to go, the world has a way of slapping us in the face. Mother Nature, especially, has her own methods of making us feel small. I think that\u2019s part of what makes\u00a0DON\u2019T MOVE<\/em>\u00a0feel so relevant. It plays on that idea of helplessness. How do you build yourself back up after senseless tragedy strikes? Our lead character is forced to ask herself these questions. When you\u2019ve seemingly lost everything, how do you gather the courage to face something potentially even scarier? Or more specifically, how do you outsmart a gigantic prehistoric arachnid that has survived for thousands of years as an evolutionary apex predator when it wants to eat you for lunch?<\/p>\n

Every Character Deserves A Second Chance<\/h2>\n

Darren and I started this novel with a clear idea of our protagonist. We went into it knowing Megan Forrester would be a master problem solver\u2014someone with a highly logical and methodical mind who faces enormous challenges every day as a part of her job. (She was inspired by the real-life people I met while touring the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center about a decade ago.) But in a moment when her family needs her to make a life-or-death decision, she freezes. It\u2019s an instant that will haunt her for the rest of her life. She becomes riddled with grief and for the first time in her life, she\u2019s uncertain about everything. Her foil is Ricky Vargas, a streetwise, tattoo-covered man who\u2019s always been alone and as a result, hasn\u2019t always made the best decisions along the way. That\u2019s why the church-sponsored camping trip Megan and Vargas embark on seems like a perfect chance for a fresh start for both characters. But throw a murderous beast into the mix, and what do you have? You\u2019re left with two flawed characters who both need to overcome their demons and their pasts while simultaneously fighting for their lives. That begs the question: Are we destined to repeat history? Or is it possible to override fate by working together?<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

James S. Murray\u00a0<\/b>is a writer, executive producer, and actor, best known as ”Murr” on the hit television show\u00a0Impractical Jokers<\/i>\u00a0along with his comedy troupe, the Tenderloins. He has worked as the Senior Vice President of Development for NorthSouth Productions for a decade and is the owner of Impractical Productions, LLC. He recently starred in\u00a0Impractical Jokers: The Movie<\/i>, and also appears alongside the rest of the Tenderloins, and Jameela Jamil, in the television series\u00a0The Misery Index<\/i>\u00a0on TBS. James is author of the internationally bestselling novels\u00a0Awakened, The Brink<\/i>, and\u00a0Obliteration<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Darren Wearmouth\u00a0<\/b>spent six years in the British Army before pursuing a career in corporate technology. After fifteen years working for multinational firms and a start-up, he decided to follow his passion for writing. He is the author of numerous internationally bestselling novels, including\u00a0Awakened<\/i>,\u00a0The Brink<\/i>,\u00a0First Activation<\/i>, and\u00a0Critical Dawn<\/i>. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario.<\/p>\n

Don’t Move<\/strong>: Blackstone<\/a> | Indiebound<\/a> | Bookshop<\/a> | Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Megan Forrester has barely survived the unthinkable. Six months ago, she witnessed a horrific accident that killed her husband and son, and lives with the guilt of knowing she could have done more to save them. Now, Megan hopes to mend the pieces of her broken spirit by attending a local church group\u2019s annual camping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-38103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-theramble","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pv7MR-9Uz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38103"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38115,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38103\/revisions\/38115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}