The Patient--new book coming soon

The Patient

This is a book about all chronic illness.

If you are a patient, then this book is for you. IF you are sick, then this book is for you. If you have cancer, depression, HIV, lupus, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, etc. This book is for you!

If you are a patient somewhere in America, this book is perfect for you. It tells all and talks about all that a patient has to go through. Disability, medication, treatment, death, funny stories, and much more. This book tells it all. 

To whatever disease that you have to whatever treatment you're taking, pick this book up today. 

please email sonyathescreenwriter@gmail.com for more information on when this book becomes available.

GRAMMAR POLICE AND BOOK REVIEWS

Every author goes through the same thing. You have a pile of fingernails that you've bitten off in a nice neat pile on your desk. You try to get inside the head of your reader, hoping that they pay attention to the parts in your story that you believe you placed so much emphasis on.

You hope that they cheer when you want them to and feel what you wanted them to feel at the appropriate time. But it is nearly impossible.

As a writer, once you realize that everyone is reading your book for different reasons, you will see that not everyone will get the same thing out of your book.

I wrote a light comedic novella named Serial Me, where my character is the opposite of what most heroines look like in a book. She is overweight with low self esteem. She is trying to find Mr. Right while holding onto a job that she doesn't feel worthy of.

I hope that women with weight and self esteem issues will see that they too are beautiful. I hope that they stop worrying about self image and learn that once they accept themselves, others shall too. I should know. I'm in a wheelchair and suffer from many chronic illnesses. You think carrying a few extra pounds around is a possible deterrent. Try having 24 inch rims stuck on the side of your ass.

What will others get from the book? A great light and funny read on a Sunday afternoon. Perhaps someone interested in a high concept novel. Maybe someone looking for a few laughs. Or someone that just wants to size you up as a writer. Competition perhaps? Maybe.

I've noticed where a lot of reviewers will immediately make comment about grammar usage and misspellings. While there are so many horrible books out there that don't even grasp the basic concepts of the English language, there are some great books out there with just a few mistakes.

But there are those comments where the reviewer will berate the author over these errors. But what do you do when your book doesn't have errors?

I read one review where this woman was taking the author to task over grammar. But other reviewers chimed in and said that they could find no mistakes. Surely not as many as the first reviewer mentioned. Then it hit me....

What IF the reviewer didn't know what she was talking about? Novel idea, right? Of course! It makes sense. Most people that claim they know perfect grammar DON'T. What are their qualifications? Do they have a degree in English? Are they professional editors? What made this woman so sure that the book wasn't grammatically correct?

I saw two commercials and ten websites that  displayed the word WALLAH! When it's actually written Voila! But you couldn't tell the original authors of these websites that they were wrong. How many people do you think they go on "correcting"?

Don't take it too personal when someone takes you to task over a few mistakes here and there. I've found an error in World War Z but the story was so good, I didn't care. I still don't. The ones that lament the most about how the English language is going straight to hell are the ones that's sending it there with gasoline drawers on.

Unless you're one of those writers that really need to take an English class or two. IF so then stop reading and get there....FAST!

All Zombied Out? There Aren't That Many Shades of Gray!

There are two trends with ebooks today. One is Zombies, Zombies, and more Zombies. The other you ask? Erotica. We have "The Walking Dead," World War Z", and "Fifty Shades of Gray" to thank.

There are literally thousands of books on each subject with different spins. Give me a apocalyptic thriller with twists and turns, and zero unpredictability, and I'm a happy girl. I'm in the bed for hours trying to get to the words The End!

But this is a genre that  has turned outrageous. Erotica is a subject that I'm not too keen on but with the success of Fifty Shades of Gray, the literary world has taken note!

Of course when I'm feeling low, I like to read a book that takes me to a time when the world is a normal place. The dog craps in the same part of the house when you're just inches away from taking him outside. The coffeemaker is broken...again. Your car insurance check is late so they are about to cancel your policy and this is all before you've had your morning coffee.

Then you turn on the news and a zombie is eating the reporter as a snack after finishing off the entire camera crew.

And. Shit. Just. Got. Serious.

Those types of books will have me engrossed for hours. But I must say that I'm getting a little zombied out. I think the subject has been covered a thousand times over. I'm looking for something totally original. Witches and wizards have been done to death since Shakespeare. Thanks to the Twilight series and True Blood, Vampires have had their day. Now it's almost time to say goodbye to the Zombies....or is it?

In terms of erotica, there are those that can write a sex scene so memorable, Viagra would become obsolete. Others, not so much. It's a genre that requires special talent, which many writers simply don't possess. It is an act that many adults find quite pleasure in but have no clue how to put the process into a believable and credible sex scene that can totally engross a reader instead of just grossing the reader out.

Hopefully many writers will stop beating these two dead horses who have been on the side of the road deteriorating and decomposing rapidly. There isn't too much of them left so let's move on shall we? Looking to break the mold? Create a new monster. One the world has yet to see. Then my fellow writers and readers...you've got yourself a freaking story.

The Sad and Sorry State of Urban Fiction Novels

I may catch a lot of flack for this one but it needs to be said.

I love my Kindle and not a day goes by where I'm not on the Amazon website trying to find new and awesome books to read.

As a Black woman, there is a certain genre that I stay away from, but only because I don't find it very interesting. I grew up very sheltered in a middle class family so I can't relate to many of the stories. It just wasn't my life experience.

I don't consider myself to be some great scholar of the English language and have made quite a few grammatical gaffes myself. It's all in the process of learning and trying to do better as a person and perfecting my craft which is the goal of all writers.

With that being said, I have downloaded a few of these Urban fiction novels out of curiosity and I have not been pleased with what I've found.

I don't mind the violence as much or the liberal use of the dreaded "N" word. But what I do find challenging is to even figure out what the book is about because the sentence structure is terrible with many of the books that I come across. I can overlook typos but when they take up most of the book, it becomes a huge distraction.

Please keep in mind that I'm not speaking of EVERY black author out there that writes in the genre. I'm sure there are many books out there that are well written and edited for clarity. It's just I haven't had much luck finding any.

I reviewed a book yesterday that seemed to have a lot of promise, but I couldn't get past the writing style of the author. Quotes were not used properly so I had a hard time trying to figure out who was speaking.

His book is not alone. It is very easy to identify an Urban book. There is usually some scantily clad dressed woman on the front along with some tough looking men with guns or other weapons in their hands.

I had another "discussion" with an author over her book (which shall remain nameless). She marketed as a true story about a mother who loses control over her children to the streets. But from the very beginning, you could easily see why the mother lost control. She was violent, often had physical confrontations with people in the neighborhood, and yelled and screamed at her own children. Then she was "flabbergasted" that her children turned out to be killers. When I pointed this out to her, her answer was simply that black women have to raise their children differently, a myth that I've heard from many other black people.

Really?  Children should never watch their mother go "upside someone's head" with a baseball bat, constantly use profane language, and scream at them on a daily basis. Children will act out the things that they see at home.

If an alien from outer space touched down and wanted to know what Black people were like, downloaded a few of these books on his kindle, he would have a very low opinion of us. It is just downright disheartening. Yes, I find it wonderful that black people, young and old, are finding ways to creatively express themselves. Not only are they using their talents, they are also creating material for other Black people to read and enjoy. Many young people are actually READING more!

But if they have THIS to look up to, then we have a long way to go. One can read Zora Neale Hurston and see the type of slang that Blacks use to communicate with each other, but there is a clear message in her writing that can be enjoyed by everyone.

A lot of the Urban fiction have gangbanging, prostitution, drug dealing, and just over the top violence. Is that all there is to Black people? I understand that it is apart of the genre "urban fiction" but some of the stories aren't even put together that well and the point of the story is just lost.

Most women in these stories are gold digging hussies that strip for a living. The men are pimps, gangbangers, and drug dealers. It's like a thousand black writers wrote the same story over and over again just under a different name and cover. 

So I stay away from this genre. Hopefully I'll find a gem out there that I can write about and give a glowing review to. Hopefully we can do better and put out material that people from other cultures can enjoy as they learn about us as a people.

And it is not gangs, drugs, sex, violence, and money. We have a rich history and that needs to be center stage.

Amazon Authors! What's Up With All The Serials?

Yes Harry Potter was an exceptional example of a successful series, but if you're not a known name, then your series won't be worth the paper that it was written on.

Yeah, I'm kind of cynical about them, but hear me out first.

Within minutes, my cat can become an author on Amazon and publish whatever she wants to basically. I don't have a problem with that at all. It's just that publishing serials doesn't work for the average reader.

When you're new, you want to write an amazing story from beginning to end. When you write a serial, you don't want to leave out so much that the reader HAS to purchase the second book in order to find out what happens. If this is your first time, what if you suck? You're almost guaranteeing that they won't come back.

New writers need to find their audiences in different  ways than teasing their audiences with books that are sixty six pages long and that have titles that say this is "Book #1 out of 60 of the Dragon Knight Baby Specials"

Huh?

Have you even built an audience yet with the more  traditional route?
What makes you so sure that I'm going to stick with you long enough to read through the second book all the way to your sixtieth?

It's presumptious.

Stick with your first book and knock them dead with that one. Join book clubs that deal with the subject matter that you're writing in. Smooze book club owners. Talk with other writers. Utilize social media. Create a blog. Read other books in the same genre. Read books in other genres. Completely immerse yourself in the world of writing. Find out what the experts are doing. Find out what the idiots are doing and then, don't do that.

Then if you think you've got what it takes to write a trilogy (and God help you if you don't) go for it. It better be damn good and damn worth it.

A writer should never go into a project thinking that they want to create a series off the bat unless they are under a contract to do so. You, as the inexperienced writer with no base, have no clue that people will give a crap about what you write. You could very well be wasting your time.

Write that first novel but leave a little room at the end to possibly create a teaser. Then wait damnit. Wait. Check the reviews. Have other people professionally critique your work. Mull some ideas over in your head for a possible part two of the series.

Have you ever seen any of the Pirates of The Caribbean movies? The first one was genius but then the scripts became some overloaded with such nonsense that even Johnny Depp threw up his hands and said, "I don't even know what this means!"

You're in the business of writing and entertaining people. You want them sitting on the edge of their beds while their spouses are asleep waiting to jump up at any moment and scare the daylights out of them. You want them rooting for your characters! You don't want the main character in the middle of the scene that YOU wrote saying, "What the fuck is THIS shit?" It's not good.

 Concentrate on what makes a great story. Concentrate on how to tell a great story. Then go from there. If you're new in the game, the trilogy will come much further down the line. Captivate your readers and then you shall build a great and loyal audience. They will follow you wherever you go from there.

J.K. Rowling and Writing

It's happened. The most popular writer on the planet famous for the Harry Potter series has come out with a novel very different from her usual work.

The Casual Vacancy is causing a media storm that is not going to let up soon. A million copies have been sold at the time of this blog post and it hasn't hit the stores thanks to pre-orders.

Because of Mrs. Rowling's celebrity, many people are waiting to see if she, who's famous for witches and wizards, can write a novel geared towards adults.

The haters (and I hate that word) have their fangs showing and they're ready to tear her novel to pieces if she can't stand up to the critics. Surely any work should stand on its own merit but there will be those that are already naysayers and the book isn't even available in the stores yet.

I've already heard from several other writers that they don't believe that a  writer has the ability to switch genres like Mrs. Rowling has braved to do.

To them I say it is pure utter nonsense. Most agents and publishers admonish writers, telling them to write what you know and then stick to it!

It is utter nonsense that it's impossible to switch genres for good storytellers. I use the word storyteller because I believe the two are very separate. It's one thing to use proper English and grammar, delivering four hundred pages to an editor ready to publish.

Storytelling goes back to ancient times. It's the oldest form of entertainment. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors sat around a fairly new invention to keep themselves warm as the storytellers would make up stories to explain their way of life. You can teach someone to write. You can show them the rules of grammar. You can show them how to create the perfect sentence.

But you can't teach someone how to tell the perfect story.

I've always envied songwriters as well for they tell stories in a shorter version. I've always dreamed of becoming a writer when I was a young girl and that's where I am today.

Real storytellers can tell a story in any genre and keep an audience mesmerized. If Mrs. Rowling was able to do that with Harry Potter and keep a couple of billion children entertained, I'm sure she won't let the adult fans of her work down.