Randolph Randy Camp

Randolph Randy Camp
SCREENWRITER/ NOVELIST

Monday, July 31, 2017

First Person Tip

Writing in someone else’s voice is certainly not an easy task. When I wrote ’29 Dimes’, I wanted to make the reader feel as though he or she was walking or sitting right beside the main characters, making the readers feel as though they were physically there “in the room” with the characters. When you’re writing your narrative in the first person, or from the character’s point of view, you’re pulling the reader closer to the character without them realizing it. It’s a way of bringing the reader deeper into the story and into the main characters’ consciousness.
When I was writing the thoughts and dialogue for the characters in ’29 Dimes’, I had to totally clear my brain of my own upbringing and thoughts, and then I began to briefly reprogram my brain and body to think, eat, drink, walk, and talk like Valerie, Pepe, Kalib, Teki, Tip, Brittany, and Ronnie, the seven colorful characters in ’29 Dimes’. I absolutely believe that you, as a writer, have to mentally walk in your characters’ shoes to get a sense of who they are and where they came from, which will help to better explain why they are currently in whatever predicament or situation you had written them into. Walking in your character’s shoes leads to great dialogue and character development because you are assuring the reader that “this voice” is not yours.
Writing the ’29 Dimes’ characters in the first person was an exciting and fun experience for me. If you haven’t tried this writing technique before then I certainly encourage and recommend that you do so. Writing voices from the first person perspective is a creative way to draw your readers right into your character’s living room. Keep writing! – Randolph Randy Camp
More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Monday, July 24, 2017

Wrong Cheerleaders

In my own life, I’ve witnessed an old adage to be true: Do something you love and prosperity will follow. Mind you, over the years I’ve realized that once you stop chasing the dollar you will have a better understanding of true prosperity. Reaching someone, touching someone, moving someone, inspiring someone all have such greater impact than simply having a fat wallet and handing out bills.


We must be careful not to envy and idolize those with fat wallets who maybe keeping us in a state of mental slavery. Sadly, there are those around us who, inconspicuously, don’t want to see you rise. Secretly, they seem to get a kick out of seeing you always below them. Regardless of whatever, stay focus on your passion, your goals and dreams. You will be amazed at how inner peace comes into your life, which is true prosperity.


Surround yourself with those who genuinely celebrate your steps towards your goals. Often, we have the wrong cheerleaders around us. – Randolph Randy Camp


More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Monday, July 17, 2017

Riding The Metro

In my inbox this morning were several letters asking advice about “feeling stuck on the page.” If you’re an aspiring writer, especially those of you who may have a public transit system in your area, it will greatly benefit you to park your car for a day or two and take the city bus or train to wherever you need to go. In the car we tend to be confined and a bit isolated. Riding the metro allows us to see and hear things we often take for granted. Who knows, these fresh sounds and colors might even inspire a new scene in your story.


Veering from our daily routine and stepping outside of our usual comfort zones will benefit us all in so many ways. Maybe I’ll take the metro today, what about you?  – Randolph Randy Camp


More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Go Far

I don’t know how many times I had the door slammed in my face. And early on, receiving rejection letters became the norm. Don’t let others define you. Don’t let your day job define you. If I’d let the rejection letters slow me down and stop knocking on doors, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now writing this piece to encourage you to go as far as you can and don’t let anyone or anything stop you. – Randolph Randy Camp
More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Monday, July 10, 2017

Beauty Beneath Our Feet

I’m a thousand miles away from my hometown. I have  some fond memories of my childhood in Virginia. It would be a lie if I said that it didn’t bother me whenever there’s national news coverage of an event happening in Virginia that may directly or indirectly cloud certain of these precious memories.


During my elementary years, our class was blessed to partake in one of the best school field trips ever! Underneath the picturesque Blue Ridge mountains that flank the scenic Skyline Drive through Shenandoah Valley, there are beautiful, massive caves. Our field trip to the Luray Caverns so many years ago will stay with me forever. After this amazing trip, I remember being so inspired that I wrote one of my many short stories as a kid. That story was about a lightning bug named Gloria who led me to a secret tree trunk in the woods, which then led to an underground world where everybody would light up and change colors every few seconds. No one stayed the same color. It’s because of this and many other reasons why I cherish some of my childhood memories.


This past weekend, Charlottesville, Virginia, was in the national spotlight again. The scars from the Civil War still lingers, and recent  heated debates over the removal of Confederate statues are opening old wounds. Ironically, underneath the feet where all of this ugly fussing n’ fighting is taken place is the beautiful caverns below Shenandoah Valley. These majestic caves have been here long before the Civil War and will be here long after we’re all gone. For our kids’ and our grandkids’ sake, there must be something that we can learn from the beauty beneath our feet. – Randolph Randy Camp


More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Thursday, July 6, 2017

No Checkbook Required

If you’re a waitress, plumber, cashier, reporter, journalist, delivery driver, mechanic, factory worker, farmer, lab tech, teacher, ect. you’re impacting lives every day. Keep doing what you’re doing. You don’t need to be famous or wealthy to help somebody. I’ve never been on the New York Bestsellers List, but my joy and wealth comes from my conversations with engaging students during our classroom book talks. Helping someone doesn’t always involve money. Inspiring someone, igniting the spark in others to better themselves is one of the greatest gifts you can give….no checkbook required. – Randolph Randy Camp
More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Monday, July 3, 2017

What Abby Did

As America celebrates its independence, I would like to share with you a recent letter I’d received that gives a true snapshot of today’s America and offers a bit of hope for our future, and a better America for our kids and grandkids. With her permission, here’s Shannon’s exact letter:


Dear Mr. Camp,


My name is Shannon. I live in a small town in Georgia. Me and husband got married in 1995 and we have a beautiful daughter in high school named Abby. One day our daughter excitedly brought a book home in which they had read as a class assignment and kept urging her father to read it. Mind you, my husband is not a book reader in any sense, but my daughter was persistent and somehow got him to read it. After dinner my husband sat in his favorite chair and finished the book later that night. When he came to bed that night my husband looked me straight in the eye and told me that he loved me. I began to cry because my husband hadn’t told me that in ten years.


You see, I’m White and before I married my husband I’d dated a Black man. Some people knew about my past in our town but my husband only found out about it ten years ago. We only had one real conversation about it and it wasn’t good. Our daughter was only six at that time and I remember her waking up and overhearing most of it. Our family hasn’t been the same since that night. I love my husband very much and he’s a good man, but just like a lot of White men in our area he is still struggling to come to terms with the ways of his father’s and his grandfather’s generation.


That night, after my husband told me that he loved me he began to explain how a character in the book named Jack had opened his eyes. Mr. Camp, thank you for writing Wet Matches. Our home is a happy place now. What you did and what my daughter did probably saved my marriage.


Forever grateful,
Shannon

Please have a Happy and Safe Independence Day, Everyone! – Randolph Randy Camp

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Skyline Lessons





It’s getting increasingly harder every day to maintain a positive attitude and outlook, especially when your daily newsfeed is filled with negativity and hints of outright hatred. At times, the stuff in the news can make you sick to your stomach. It’s certainly not an easy task, but try not to let anyone or anything shade your world. Always remember that thunderstorms are temporary.
Growing up during the 60’s and early 70’s in rural Virginia made it difficult to keep a sunny outlook, especially for people of color living in a society that tried to make you feel inferior or secondary.


When I was a little boy I had a revelation during a school field trip. One of my most memorable field trips was when I was at Robert E. Lee Elementary and our class went to the beautiful Luray Caverns, approximately an hour or so drive from Charlottesville, Virginia. If any of you have never been through this part of Virginia, I strongly urge you to put it on your ‘to do’ list. Traveling through Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains is priceless, simply heaven on earth. As a little country boy I was awestruck as I couldn’t stop looking out the window as our chartered bus made its way along the scenic Skyline Drive through the mountains to the Luray Caverns.


As long as I can remember, I’d always been a nerd and had a crazy thirst for knowledge. Regardless of where I was at and whenever I had a chance, I would read newspapers and various magazines in waiting rooms, ect. About a week prior to our school field trip to the Luray Caverns, I had read an article in a magazine about the Emmett Till murder. This was the early 70’s, and this particular article touched upon the approaching twenty-year anniversary of this American tragedy that was one of the sparks which ignited the Civil Rights Movement. Reading this piece as a little boy of color, the article sadden me greatly.


My thoughts and outlook slowly began to change. I kept asking myself how could people be so cruel to one another. Then, about a week later, the very moment our class and a big group of other tourists stepped into the enormous Luray Caverns and was surrounded by the gigantic stalactites and majestic stalagmites, my little kid mind instantly thought how equally tiny we all were in this massive, magnificent cave.


From that moment on, every time I heard or read about a group or someone trying to belittle someone else in an effort to make themselves feel superior, I wish that they could take a trip to the Luray Caverns, step inside, and see how, in the big scheme of things, how we, as human beings, are so very equally small, and that no one is bigger or better than anyone else.


As I grew older, I always try to check out the local natural wonders in my area as a reminder to myself that I, too, am very tiny in the big scheme of things and that I am no better than anyone else.  – Randolph Randy Camp


More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp