I'm Late For The Hunger Games

Ok, so I FINALLY got around to getting "The Hunger Games." I've finished it and am ready to take on the 2nd in the series. I'll give my personal review here soon, but I will say this, it would be an understatement to call it good.


I have to confess though, it's only because my mother-in-law hooked me up with her Nook after getting a new tablet. The Nook has allowed me to read on the go, since it is much easier to carry around an e-reader than a book. Now I catch myself reading at times that I normally wouldn't.

Yay for technology, no matter how late I stumble upon it.

Four Ways to Make Your Own Luck Using Social Media

The lovely and talented Alexis Grant guest blogged today on Rachelle Gardner's literary agent blog. The post is not only extremely relevant, but insightful to those writers who spend more time in their manuscripts than in the digital world.

Go take a moment and read. It'll be well worth it.

Four Ways to Make Your Own Luck Using Social Media

Best Typo

I was doing a little more editing on a novel of mine and came across a typo. I'm sure I was frantic in thought and just typing too quick to notice, but when I read through it I couldn't help but wonder how in the world I missed that.

The line was supposed to read: "...as she held up two flamboyant Hawaiian-print shirts."

What I wrote: "...as she held up two flamboyant Hawaiian-print shits."

I got a good laugh out of that one.

How about you? Do you have any funny typos you'd like to share?

When Red Apples Turn Sour

How long into a book do you allow yourself to go before you realize your idea or novel concept just isn't working?

1,000 words?

10,000?

I'm at a stopping point in one of my novels and I just feel like it's not coming together... it's around 10k, but I hate to stop. I really enjoy the concept.

I Said What?

I spent a little time yesterday working on one of my novels, tweaking up the intro a bit and as I made my way through the first few paragraphs I found a word that I used that shocked me.

"Cantankerous"

Now, I know it isn't the rarest word out there, but it certainly isn't used in every day speech. At least I've never ever heard a soul actually use that word. I've only ever read it. So I got to thinking that maybe I should force myself to use that word today. At some point, I'm going to use it when talking to someone and see if they say anything or even notice. I'm not sure if they'll give half a rats-butt or if they'll just think I'm being stupid. Either way, I think it could be a fun experiment and would challenge you to do the same thing.

Find a word that you've written in your novel, but that you rarely ever hear, and try to use it today. Let me know what happens.

If I see 1 More Vampire-Based Query Letter...

As writers, most of us are overflowing with ideas. Hell, I have a list of nearly 10 novels that I'd love to be working on right now. Unfortunately, there's no way I'd be able to spread myself that thin and produce anything of value. Oh and let's not forget that putting all our stock in one story violates the "egg in the basket" principle leaving us vulnerable to failure.

The book market is like anything else. It is not static. It shifts and shapes according to the latest trends, news or market ting schemes. Take Twilight for instance. Prior to Twilight, vampires were always popular, but never dominated the market like it does today. YA paranormal is so saturated now that one can hardly imagine how we used to live without our "Team Edward" bumper stickers and "Bite Me" T-shirts.

This brings up my point. Before Twilight, I was in the middle of a WIP that was based on...wait for it...Vampires. Now I realize that every author thinks their story is original, so I'll spare you from saying mine is, BUT mine contains a very strange take on vamipric origins that would be a key selling point in my query to any agent. That being said, do I stand a chance of getting published now? Nope. Will it be a few years before I can even begin to submit? Yep (at least). Does that tick me off? Absolutely.

See, up until then, I'd been spending all my time and effort on that one story. Sadly, when the market shifted in favor of that genre I wasn't finished with my novel. I couldn't jump on the wagon, but instead got a full mouth of dust.

So, what's the moral of the story?

If you have desires to get published for the first time, don't burn yourself by only working on 1 novel. By the time your novel is finished, you may find that the market has shifted against your favor and your masterpiece will be nothing but a paperweight on the shelf.

Does this mean you should be simultaneously writing 3 or 4 books... No. Just means that if you have other ideas, don't squelch them just because they pop up in the middle of your WIP.

Question: How many novels are on your "to write list" and how many are you currently working on?

Let's Have Some Fun

It's chapter 7 of your novel. You have one task. Connect the dots.

Your protagonist is trapped in an elevator, with a stranger, after the building just got hit by an earthquake (Point C). You know that the next major plot point in the story will be when they are broken out by a mysterious hero (Point D), but you can't simply jump right to that point. You need at least a few more pages between.

Assuming this is where you are in your story, what would you prefer to use to "fill the space" between Point C and Point D?

A. Action: Something suddenly happens, and then the characters are forced to...
B. Dialogue: Little chit chat or back and forth while the characters wait to be rescued...
C. Description: An elevator is such a unique place and you will share with us why...

IF you could only stick to one of the above (no mixing and matching) what would you choose and why?

Let's Talk About Sex

We've all heard the classic advice for writers, "Show don't tell." When describing a scene, character or situation it can be challenging, but well worth the effort to truly show the reader. When it comes to sex though, there's a fine line between suggestive literature and just plain old smut.

Where does one draw the line? If so, how much can be shared with the reader before it crosses that line?" These are some of the difficult questions that authors must battle through as they deal with (or avoid) the biggest issue to face your typical red-blooded human being... SEX.

I don't pretend to have the answer for when it is, or is not, appropriate for an author to include a sex scene (romance novels and erotica aside). I know in my own reading adventures, I've discovered a lot can be implied with little said and that sometimes the best place to take the readers is into the darker recesses of their own minds via the "..."

In a good book (Romance and Erotica aside) do you prefer a sex scene or two? How much it too much?

Tell Me a Story

So my 3 year old step daughter and I have begun something of a nightly routine. Upon telling the kiddos that it's time for bed, she promptly runs up to me and begs "Daddy!? You read me a story?"

What daddy could say no to a request like that? Honestly though what she really means is, "will you tell me a story."

So, I take her to her bed and make up something cheesy along the lines of a "once upon a time...something about a princess...gets married to her prince after... and lives happily ever after."

The wonderful part is, no matter how terrible those "..." details are, she always loves the story. Unfortunately our writing critiques don't hold that same mentality when they read our manuscripts. For us, the details are what it's all about. Anyone can make up a character and a scene (yes, some are more dimensional than others) but it takes a lot of skill and effort to pull those characters together and fluidly detail a believable, if not lovable, story.

Question: Does your plot command the details, or do the details determine your plot?

Scrambling the Pot

Today I'd like to propose a little creative writing exercise for you writers out there. It's no secret that with so much of our effort and energy poured into our WIPs that we can sometimes drive straight into a roadblock of ideas. At the very least, we can become so immersed into our current WIP that we develop a sort of tunnel vision that stifles our creativity. With this in mind, I present to you my creative writing exercise, which I'll call:

"Scrambling the Pot"

First of all, in order to participate in this exercise, you need to have at least 2 WIPs (even if one of them is on hold)

The object of this exercise is to write a short story using protagonists from your WIPs. You may only use Protagonists in this short story and may use as many as you like from any work in progress you currently have. This short story should be general style of beginning, middle and end, as well as contain some kind of conflict/solution scenario.

The idea behind this is to help you see how dimensional your MC's are. It will help you to understand their similarities as well as contrasts, giving you room to expand on their development.

Math Attack

I've never been a big math fan myself. I always did better in English and Science as they are more interesting subjects to me, but strangely enough I never realized how closely related some math questions were to those subjects. For instance:

"If one typist can type 1 page in 3 minutes, how many typists would it take to type 36 pages in 5 minutes?"

Of this question I remember thinking to myself... 'who the hell cares?'

Now that I'm "all grown up" I find myself in a funny situation to actually caring. I'm in the process of putting together a business proposal/plan to submit to an investor so I can possibly start a new small business in the writing industry. Ultimately, I've actually had to do the math in that above, dreaded, question since it does apply to my business proposition.

Question: How does your K-12 education affect your writing today, be it career or hobby writing?

Back to Business

Ok, I'm back for some more from the literary community. Finished my degree, had my eyes fixed up nice so I can shoot lasers out of them (well maybe not lasers, but I can see again!) and I've settled into my new house!

The stars have aligned and my literary side is begging to break free and be all it can be. So, I post these questions:

How've you been and what have you accomplished over the last year?

Is it where you expected you'd be?

Pompeii Lovers

If you aren't familiar with the story of Pompeii, go check it out on the Wikipedia. I wrote this love poem as if we were lovers in the time and location of the great Vesuvias eruption of Pompeii.

A faerie wing of burning light,
In sunless day like starry night.
We dance on dusk as daytime dies,
Embrace each other with our eyes.

The lupine children call our name
The lords of air they do the same.
We dance on dusk as daytime dies.
Embrace each other with our eyes.

Leafless root-worn grassless field,
Burning wind's touch does not yield.
We dance on dusk as daytime dies.
Embrace each other with our eyes.

Storybook love not false but true,
History will speak of me and you.
Of how we danced,
While others cried.

Locked in embrace,
Until we died.

Fantasy Friday

Ok, my earlier post stunk. It bored me to tears... Let's have a little more end-of-the-week fun.

Here's the scenario:

You've been shipped out to an exotic island, one where you'll have access to everything you need to write a novel. You have a deadline of 2 calendar years to complete it. Beyond the bare essentials, you are allowed to bring one person and one object. Here's the catch though, you and your mystery guest can talk ONLY about your novel. Nothing else! They are to be your idea sparker, your muse, your... you get the idea. As for the object, it can be anything, so long as it will help you write your novel successfully.

Who is the 1 person you bring?

What is the 1 object you bring and the reason it will help?

Eagle Eye

When I look at my art, whether sketches or paintings, I have something of an eagle eye. I can see the most minute problems from any distance. They stand out, they scream, "FIX ME! I'M RIGHT HERE!" Sometimes, they add character to the art, other times it really is an issue that needs to be fixed.

Writing is no different. Last night I had the opportunity to scan through a rough draft of a short story, that I needed to submit, and I saw the glaring issues. My eagle eye shot through all the bull and went straight for the kill.

Question: Is it easy or difficult to spot the trouble in your WIP? I'm not talking about grammar or spelling. I'm not even talking about formatting in any way. I'm talking about the story trouble. Those loop holes or issues that take a story from being sub-par to great.

Sheesh...Cut it out!

We spent a bit of time last week, in creative writing class, doing some edits to editing our short stories. It's often been said that "sometimes less is more," and this is certainly the case in writing. You can read a myriad of 'how-to' books on writing and find suggestions for keeping it straight forward and to the point, but nothing quite impacts you like reading a book and saying out loud, "c'mon c'mon, get to the point already."

If you've found yourself saying that, it's likely that the writer could have cut out some unnecessary words, sentences or even whole paragraphs.

So, what's the point!?

The point is pretty much summed up in that phrase. "Sometimes less IS more." Give it a try. Take a look at your WIP and see if there's anything you could reasonably cut out. You may be sharpening your story!

OUR Story

I went over to visit Megan Rebekah's blog yesterday and she had a progressive story going that seemed like some fun. I've seem em before and participated too, but haven't done anything like that on my blog. Sooooo, here goes.

1. I'll start the story.
2. You follow up and continue the story in the comment section.
3. Make sure to read the comments in order, so you know where the story's at before you add to it.
4. Have fun and let's see where this goes!

Three thousand years of walking the earth, pretending to be a mortal man and all I have to show for it are some lousy scars and a few campfire tales. The fire within me is growing dull and I've nearly forgotten why I was cursed to continue on like this. If only I hadn't ...

ok, your turn

Methods of Madness

We all have our unique style of....everything. In this case, I'm curious about your unique planning methods for novel writing. I'm well aware that creativity can't always be reigned in, but sometimes there is a method to our madness.

For me, writing a novel is a mix between planning and unbridled creative expression. Usually, I need a bit of a foundation laid before I can let loose and just write. For example, I will start most novel planning by filling in some of the following, very basic, information:

Title:
Subtitle:
Genre:
Sub genre:

Protagonist:
Primary Goal:
Occupation:
Alignment:
Character Trait:

So on and so forth for antagonist and other main characters. Then I'll do a little more of a detailed character study for each character to get more of a visual idea of just who they are.

CORE CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Role: (i.e. protagonist, antagonist etc...)
Character Name:
Nickname:
Age:
Gender:
Ethnicity:
Religion:

VISUAL CHARACTER INFORMATION
Height:
Weight:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Body Type:
Skin Color:

RELATIONSHIPS CHARACTER INFORMATION
Siblings:
Parents:
Love Interest:
Children:
Best Friend(s):
Unique Relationship:

After I've filled in some of this information, I have a similar method to filling out basic scene & plot-lining. All of these are simply what I like to consider the skeletal structure of the novel. They help lay a foundation for which, I can then let loose and just fill in the details. I make sure that I view this foundation as fluid, in that, things obviously are bound to change, but it at least sets me off in the right direction.

How about you? Do you have anything planning methods like this?

$eX $ells

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few hundred years, then you're probably keen on the idea that sex sells. I'm not talking about a $20.00 harlot, with bright crimson lipstick and mini-skirt, on the downtown street corners. I'm talking about the idea of it. The taunting illusion that somehow, a product or service will be coupled with sex in some way, shape or form.

I'm bringing this up today, because I was reminded at how powerful this concept is. Even in the literary world. I posted a very quick blurb yesterday about a tattoo'd author and when I went to look for a picture to post for it, I just grabbed one of Megan Fox with her tattoo showing. Within minutes of posting that picture and my blurb, I had a bunch of comments...

I have a lot of different questions that this brings to mind, but I'll only ask one.

Who would you choose, based on sex appeal, to sit with you and help promote your book. Assuming that you could have any celebrity for a day in promotion.

Your Literary Tattoo

I ran into an article that talked about an author who, after some success, made a point of getting a tattoo on himself that says "New York Times Best Seller."

This leads me to wonder, if you succeed as a writer, what would your tattoo say?

Or, is there anything wild or crazy you've promised yourself "if you make it?"