...when done correctly.
First hand written accounts of historical events are something that I treasure greatly. There is nothing better than to get an accurate account of an important historical event. I love history just as much as I love writing. Today I found myself giving my daughter a history lesson about WWII and just how it affected the world today. When people say that history is in the past, I give a little chuckle. I could write a book on how that particular war changed the very face of the world and is the backdrop to the current events that are going on today.
Thanks to the ugly side of the Internet, I've been reading for white supremacists that African history is insignificant until the white man came through. I thoroughly reject that argument and began doing research and found it patently false. I turned to Haiti when I learned of the slave rebellion but there is not many witnesses that recorded the history. It was a gruesome history but history nonetheless.
During my research, I learned of a wonderful book, 'Island Beneath The Sea' by a wonderful author Isabel Allende. I am currently reading this book and I can't put it down. I haven't gotten to the Haitian Revolution and am having a fine time reading about the characters. Even though they are fictional, they seem so real and the story is building to a great climax to when the revolution starts.
I highly recommend the story, especially if you are into that time in history. Of if you happen to subscribe to white supremacist ideology....
Showing posts with label how to write an ebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to write an ebook. Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2015
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Writing With A Chronic Illness
Sometimes the hardest thing in the world is to think. To have a coherent thought. To be able to form a sentence regardless of the pain that you're feeling. To feel motivated to finish a paragraph. To care enough to check for grammar. To feel desperate to create by smiting that nagging, blinking cursor on the screen.
It's easier to hide under a mountain of pillows, chuck some pills, and stare in a daze. It's easier to stuck in a good novel on my Kindle while my manuscripts suffers silently. My characters are left in suspended animation waiting on resolution to a conflict. Waiting for that inciting incident that's going to take their lives from order to chaos; a simple scientific lesson on entropy.
There are many days that I've sat and watched the cursor blink away at my face....taunting me that I'm not getting anything done. Then there are days that I've looked up and twenty pages have passed...and I'm still writing.
Those days I try to take advantage of because who knows when I'll be able to write again. I try not to think about other writers out there, churning out books, blogs, and articles like nothing. I try not to think of those writers who get up at seven am in the morning and write until lunch time. Or those writers that take their show on the road and have several pages completed daily. What are they doing that I'm not? Do I make excuses for myself because of my illness or do I realize that I have more time on my hands than I've ever had before?
I guess both are true. On days that I don't feel well, then I don't push it. Besides, whatever I do write comes out like crap anyway. I try to keep a pen nearby with my trusty legal pad and jot ideas down. Sometimes I like to "free write". That's when I just type whatever comes to my head. On days that I do feel okay, I try to write something...anything. This is why an outline is the best way to go when writing a book. I've been stuck on my current book so long I don't know what to do anymore. I get as lost as a toddler in a mall. Stuck and not loving it.
So excuses don't help anyone. I'm sure the writers who aren't slackers will tell you that. How else can you get anything done?
It's easier to hide under a mountain of pillows, chuck some pills, and stare in a daze. It's easier to stuck in a good novel on my Kindle while my manuscripts suffers silently. My characters are left in suspended animation waiting on resolution to a conflict. Waiting for that inciting incident that's going to take their lives from order to chaos; a simple scientific lesson on entropy.
There are many days that I've sat and watched the cursor blink away at my face....taunting me that I'm not getting anything done. Then there are days that I've looked up and twenty pages have passed...and I'm still writing.
Those days I try to take advantage of because who knows when I'll be able to write again. I try not to think about other writers out there, churning out books, blogs, and articles like nothing. I try not to think of those writers who get up at seven am in the morning and write until lunch time. Or those writers that take their show on the road and have several pages completed daily. What are they doing that I'm not? Do I make excuses for myself because of my illness or do I realize that I have more time on my hands than I've ever had before?
I guess both are true. On days that I don't feel well, then I don't push it. Besides, whatever I do write comes out like crap anyway. I try to keep a pen nearby with my trusty legal pad and jot ideas down. Sometimes I like to "free write". That's when I just type whatever comes to my head. On days that I do feel okay, I try to write something...anything. This is why an outline is the best way to go when writing a book. I've been stuck on my current book so long I don't know what to do anymore. I get as lost as a toddler in a mall. Stuck and not loving it.
So excuses don't help anyone. I'm sure the writers who aren't slackers will tell you that. How else can you get anything done?
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Do You Want To Write? Then Read!
Sigh....
Everyday, thousands of books are being published, thanks to the eBook format. You can become an author in a matter of minutes; a feat that would have been wonderful twenty years ago when I was making my start in the world of writing.
I do feel blessed to be living in such a time.
However, a lot of people tell me that they've always wanted to write a book and think that they may have a "high concept" idea that people will just love. While I've heard some good and bad ideas over the years, the one thing I would tell a "would be" author is to READ!
You need to read the BEST literature and then you need to read the worst. There are a lot of people out there **cough my fiance cough** that constantly complain that they don't have time to read when they spend an inordinate amount of time catching up on what other people are doing on Facebook and other social media sites. Reading is an investment in yourself and I can't understand why people would rather care about what Rihanna is eating right now over investing in something that will help them in the long run.
If you want to write, read. It increases your vocabulary as well. Readers like stories that flow. They like words that they have to look up in a dictionary. Words are your tools and should be seen that way. Words are like the different prescription medications that doctors prescribe patients. You should try to perfect your craft all the time. I probably spend more time reading than I do writing.
You should too as a beginner.
Everyday, thousands of books are being published, thanks to the eBook format. You can become an author in a matter of minutes; a feat that would have been wonderful twenty years ago when I was making my start in the world of writing.
I do feel blessed to be living in such a time.
However, a lot of people tell me that they've always wanted to write a book and think that they may have a "high concept" idea that people will just love. While I've heard some good and bad ideas over the years, the one thing I would tell a "would be" author is to READ!
You need to read the BEST literature and then you need to read the worst. There are a lot of people out there **cough my fiance cough** that constantly complain that they don't have time to read when they spend an inordinate amount of time catching up on what other people are doing on Facebook and other social media sites. Reading is an investment in yourself and I can't understand why people would rather care about what Rihanna is eating right now over investing in something that will help them in the long run.
If you want to write, read. It increases your vocabulary as well. Readers like stories that flow. They like words that they have to look up in a dictionary. Words are your tools and should be seen that way. Words are like the different prescription medications that doctors prescribe patients. You should try to perfect your craft all the time. I probably spend more time reading than I do writing.
You should too as a beginner.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
What's Wrong With Urban Fiction? The Top Five Trends in Urban Fiction That Needs to Stop
Plenty.
I can enjoy a great UF book every once in a while but it has gotten to the point where if you've read one, you've read them all.There seem to be recurring themes in quite a few of them. The UF book that doesn't deal with these sterotypical characters will bring a new day in UF and if crafted right, could make a killing with Hollywood beating down their doors. Not to mention agents fighting to sign them to multiple book deals.
Here are a few of the stereotypes that I would like to die a quiet but certain death:
1. The Bad Bitch
There is a bad bitch in every novel. Her skin color runs the gamut from pecan to honey. Her hair is long, past her shoulders due to her Indian heritage. She is no taller than 5'4" and the baddest bitch on the block. Every girl wants to be her while every dude wants to have sex with her. There simply isn't another girl badder than she is in the game.
2. A Drug Dealer Named Nino
Does this need any explanation?
3. Label Dropping Fools
Everyone wears Prada, Gucci, Fendi, etc. It sounds like a really bad rap lyric. Everyone is fresh to death wearing the latest in fashions from these designers. The label dropping in Urban Fiction is just atrocious and over used. Boring and no imagination.
4.The N Word
A few of these dropped in an UF book is to be expected but only in dialogue. I was reading a book the other day where the author was using the N word in her exposition!!! Not to sound like a broken record, but if we want people to stop using the word, then we need to stop using this so much in our literature, especially when it's not in the dialogue. The omniscient voice of the narrator should never refer to the characters as N*****s. It's demeaning.
5. No Editing Whatsoever.
Too many Urban Fiction books are written so poorly, they are unreadable. I was recently accused of attacking UF writers and making them look stupid. I had to think about that for a moment. Was that my ultimate goal? Making UF writers look stupid? Of course not and the thought makes me sad. What really makes me sad is that some of these self published books with poor grammar are a reflection on the educational system in this country.
There is nothing wrong with a gaffe here and there (I know my books have a few) but some books are so unreadable it makes you wonder how the author got through life without the ability to construct a sentence. It's embarrassing. Some authors choose to argue over these reviews instead of taking the constructive criticism and working on their novels to make them better.
I can enjoy a great UF book every once in a while but it has gotten to the point where if you've read one, you've read them all.There seem to be recurring themes in quite a few of them. The UF book that doesn't deal with these sterotypical characters will bring a new day in UF and if crafted right, could make a killing with Hollywood beating down their doors. Not to mention agents fighting to sign them to multiple book deals.
Here are a few of the stereotypes that I would like to die a quiet but certain death:
1. The Bad Bitch
There is a bad bitch in every novel. Her skin color runs the gamut from pecan to honey. Her hair is long, past her shoulders due to her Indian heritage. She is no taller than 5'4" and the baddest bitch on the block. Every girl wants to be her while every dude wants to have sex with her. There simply isn't another girl badder than she is in the game.
2. A Drug Dealer Named Nino
Does this need any explanation?
3. Label Dropping Fools
Everyone wears Prada, Gucci, Fendi, etc. It sounds like a really bad rap lyric. Everyone is fresh to death wearing the latest in fashions from these designers. The label dropping in Urban Fiction is just atrocious and over used. Boring and no imagination.
4.The N Word
A few of these dropped in an UF book is to be expected but only in dialogue. I was reading a book the other day where the author was using the N word in her exposition!!! Not to sound like a broken record, but if we want people to stop using the word, then we need to stop using this so much in our literature, especially when it's not in the dialogue. The omniscient voice of the narrator should never refer to the characters as N*****s. It's demeaning.
5. No Editing Whatsoever.
Too many Urban Fiction books are written so poorly, they are unreadable. I was recently accused of attacking UF writers and making them look stupid. I had to think about that for a moment. Was that my ultimate goal? Making UF writers look stupid? Of course not and the thought makes me sad. What really makes me sad is that some of these self published books with poor grammar are a reflection on the educational system in this country.
There is nothing wrong with a gaffe here and there (I know my books have a few) but some books are so unreadable it makes you wonder how the author got through life without the ability to construct a sentence. It's embarrassing. Some authors choose to argue over these reviews instead of taking the constructive criticism and working on their novels to make them better.
Monday, December 10, 2012
AND THE AUTHOR RESPONDS.....URBAN FICTION CONT.
Browsing through Urban Fiction, I decided to download three books. Of the three, two were unreadable because they were so bad. The grammar and English were that of an eight year old and even I've seen plenty of them do better.
I enjoy many genres and with some of the great covers and interesting storylines, (not to mention many of them are priced at .99, I decided to give this genre a chance since I don't read many authors that write there.
It made me so angry, mostly at the educational system. I don't know these writers at all. But we come from such great writers like Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, is THIS acceptable?
My father was illiterate but he didn't have the oopportunity that we did, growing up as a sharecropper in the early 1930's. Why is illiteracy acceptable today in 2012? Why do we turn a blind eye to authors that write books devoid of English and peddle it on Amazon for profit? Why is this acceptable?
I left my review here....
ME:
I tried to enjoy this book but had to delete it after reading it. I could not understand much of what was going on because of bad English, run on sentences, and no concept of elementary grammar. It was that bad. The author can paint a picture and tell a story well if they just understood the rules of grammar. Too bad, because the story had great potential.
I tried to enjoy this book but had to delete it after reading it. I could not understand much of what was going on because of bad English, run on sentences, and no concept of elementary grammar. It was that bad. The author can paint a picture and tell a story well if they just understood the rules of grammar. Too bad, because the story had great potential.
This is where she responded and it got ugly.
First she responded to a review I made on someone else who agreed with me.
no you need to get some glasses or maybe stay out of urban fiction all
together its sad how people are so judgmental when they haven't got a
clue . I do think editing is a must with anyone's novels but to be so
sadistic and leave a nasty review for anyone it just shows where your
mind is . I have seen all your reviews and you seem to be a bitter
person maybe you should stop reading all together. ---AUTHOR NAME DELETED
Then she responded to my review below in the comments section.....
Initial post:
Dec 9, 2012 10:35:33 PM PST
AUTHOR NAME DELETED
says:
of course you have an opinion like money so you are able to use the
both but as for your comment I find them to be down right stupid and
very untrue. you need to maybe try getting a class in reading 101 sad
and down right horrible
SONYA says:
Instead of taking the constructive criticism ( I take you to be the
author, no?) and making the book better, you decide to resort to name
calling. I can hardly understand your reply because it's NOT in English.
If you're going to be serious about your craft, you need to perfect
your English. It's like someone who wants to be a Doctor but they have
the slightest clue of Anatomy. It just can't be done.
Even your author's bio is riddled with errors! That should have NO errors PERIOD! It tells the audience to expect the same in your books. Readers are persnickety when it comes to grammar and English. You, as a writer, should know that.
Learn to be humble and listen to the criticism of potential fans if you would like to go far in this business. Otherwise, you're wasting your time. Read other great African-American writers in different genres and learn from them. Study English and pick up "The Elements of Style" by William Stunk and see how to really craft a story.
This is not an insult, but your material is unreadable. I'm sorry. Reading and studying is the only way to get better as a writer.
And I find it downright insulting for you to tell me to get a reading class when you can benefit from a writing class. No matter how mad a reviewer makes you, never attack your audience. I learned the hard way that this looks very bad on the author. It's upsetting to get a bad review, but even Stephen King will tell you (as he's said in a few interviews) you get mad, you scream, don't respond, and keep writing.
Keep writing dear. It will get better.
Peace
PS. I can help you edit your Author's Bio to get rid of the errors so that will be cleaned up. I'm from the "Chi" as well.
Even your author's bio is riddled with errors! That should have NO errors PERIOD! It tells the audience to expect the same in your books. Readers are persnickety when it comes to grammar and English. You, as a writer, should know that.
Learn to be humble and listen to the criticism of potential fans if you would like to go far in this business. Otherwise, you're wasting your time. Read other great African-American writers in different genres and learn from them. Study English and pick up "The Elements of Style" by William Stunk and see how to really craft a story.
This is not an insult, but your material is unreadable. I'm sorry. Reading and studying is the only way to get better as a writer.
And I find it downright insulting for you to tell me to get a reading class when you can benefit from a writing class. No matter how mad a reviewer makes you, never attack your audience. I learned the hard way that this looks very bad on the author. It's upsetting to get a bad review, but even Stephen King will tell you (as he's said in a few interviews) you get mad, you scream, don't respond, and keep writing.
Keep writing dear. It will get better.
Peace
PS. I can help you edit your Author's Bio to get rid of the errors so that will be cleaned up. I'm from the "Chi" as well.
Hopefully our discourse will end here. Hopefully she will do some reading of her own and get better as a writer. I'm not on a mission to help everyone learn English, but it's disappointing.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
"Chapter Books" on Amazon
Okay.....
What exactly is a "chapter book"? A chapter book, my friends, is a book that costs 0.99-$1.99 USD and has a length from 25-55 pages long. It's marketed as a "series". But what you're paying for in essence is just a chapter or two.
What's wrong with this?
Nothing, I suppose. But in the reviews, I've noticed that this angers a lot of readers. Especially when unknown writers tend to do this. Why should a customer pay 0.99 for a chapter and have to continue paying in order to finish the entire series? There are plenty of books out there that are equitably priced and you get the entire story in one read.
I've read some amazing "Chapter books" out there but I'm letting you know authors, you take the risk of alienating future buyers.
If you're interested in writing a series, then do so. But give your readers more than just a few chapters at a time.
What exactly is a "chapter book"? A chapter book, my friends, is a book that costs 0.99-$1.99 USD and has a length from 25-55 pages long. It's marketed as a "series". But what you're paying for in essence is just a chapter or two.
What's wrong with this?
Nothing, I suppose. But in the reviews, I've noticed that this angers a lot of readers. Especially when unknown writers tend to do this. Why should a customer pay 0.99 for a chapter and have to continue paying in order to finish the entire series? There are plenty of books out there that are equitably priced and you get the entire story in one read.
I've read some amazing "Chapter books" out there but I'm letting you know authors, you take the risk of alienating future buyers.
If you're interested in writing a series, then do so. But give your readers more than just a few chapters at a time.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Reviewing Reviews #1
(I may do a series of reviews that I come across in the future for discussion purposes only.)
I write reviews on Amazon and read many before I decide to purchase a book. I do look at the low rated ones as well as the five star.
Contrary to popular belief, many of the reviews, good or bad, are written by people who have nothing to gain out of writing them. But there are a lot of undeserved low ratings as well as some overinflated great ones.
First off, who is to tell what one person believes is a five star review?
"A five-star novel is a work of exceptional literary genius. I am not an English major (or minor), and I am only medially well-read. But I know a five star work leaves one breathless, both emotionally and intellectually. After finishing such a book, it is impossible to initiate intercourse with another literary work for some time. An example of such a book would be Blood Meridian, Moby Dick, The Brothers Karamazov, or the like. I am not part of the kindle revolution, but I'm not a total stick in the mud, either. C'mon people, this is not a five star work. Of course, being the internet, all things exposed to popular mediation are subject to the extremes of wild fanboy(girl)-ism, or Swift Boating, but can't we have some objectivity here?"
Wow. Everyone has their own system where they grade things differently. Obviously the reviewer here felt that the book in question was nowhere near the literary genius that it needed to be to garner so many five stars. This person gave the author three stars which is fair but I cannot rate a book based to YOUR liking just as you can't for me. Why don't people understand this. The rating is justified but rate a book according to its merit and don't bellyache over other people's ratings.
If you start your review off with, "I don't understand how this book got so many five stars...." YOU'VE LOST ALL CREDIBILITY. Go sit in a corner until you agree to play nice with the rest of the children....
Here is a bit more of this "review".....
"I feel like an 11th grade English teacher who has given an assignment to the class, and am now reading the work of the brightest pupil in the class. Yes, it was handed in early, every objective was completed, and the margins are properly aligned (although there were at least three grammar/spelling/syntax errors, one the result of a functional spell-checker and non-functional human editor)."
This is based on conjecture and assumption. What makes this reviewer so justified in feeling the way that he does? The review sounds almost PERSONAL, which a review should never be. It should be related to the work at question and not based on some imaginary hallucination in which all he does is insult the writer. He wants us to be objective? Try being unbiased. Did he actually sit there and count the errors, then analyze them? Volunteer work would be an amazing start for people like this.
In this strange, wonderful, but sometimes dreary world of writing, it takes a lot to please your audience. Everyone wants you to write characters that they and only they can relate to in every way. Take this review for example.....
"My first issue with (*******************) by J********** is the language barrier. The book is a sore reminder that British English can be quite different than American English. The sample that I read is littered with British terms and slang that take a while to figure out the meaning from the context. For example, a father refers to something as "f_g." [Amazon did not post original review due to inclusion of this word.] Obviously, in American English this is a derogatory gay slur. But for British English, it (I think) refers to cigarettes. There are many such instances where the American reader will have to pause and figure out what the author means by a certain word and its usage. Your average American reader may not have that kind of patience. I deduct one star in my rating for this reason."
This reviewer is actually complaining about the author using British words instead of American. Now the writer is actually BRITISH! The author lives there! How should she write? Should the author had written an American version where the characters speak with a Bostonian accent that smokes cigarettes instead of fags? I mean you have to at least know that if someone asks for a fag on the street, they're not asking you if you are carrying a homosexual person in your pocket!
For goodness sakes, when the 2012 Olympics were in London, many newspapers, blogs, and television shows had segments where they explained the differences in British and American words. Not all Americans need a British/English translator to read Brit Lit and it's insulting to assume that the writer needed to include it. Isn't it a prerequisite to at least study English Literature in schools?
Take a look at this gem, albeit from the same review....
My second issue are the characters themselves. The author appears intent on making EVERY single character (at least that I encountered in my sample) possess an unlikeable character flaw. While flawed characters may smooth the path towards interesting scenarios and story lines, this also turns off the reader, who CANNOT associate himself with ANY character. The bottom line is that if the reader does not like the characters, why would he care to read what happens to them? I deduct a second star for this reason.
Really? I don't read many books where the characters don't have character flaws. I can't point to a person on Earth that didn't have a character flaw...especially an unlikeable one at that. I guess the author that received this unlucky review needs to go to the store and and purchase a crystal ball.
Then she should create characters based on what this reviewer feels as acceptable. Here is the thing about writing. You won't relate to ALL the characters and sometimes that is a beautiful thing. Without it, you wouldn't have the insight or knowledge from other people's points of views, concerns, dreams, destinies, etc.
Literature would be pretty boring if it were that way. Writers write characters the way that they see them, plain and simple. You're going to relate to some and others, not so much. It shows diversity and will create a pretty interesting storyline if you ask me. When you read, you are walking in someone else's shoes for awhile. You are not going to agree with all their choices or decision making in the book. Guess what? There are people in your life that don't agree with YOUR choices and decision making. Does that mean that they are right and you are wrong?
I can't relate to someone who has lived a criminal past for all of his life and decides to go rob a bank. Sure he has a mother that is dying of cancer and she needs money for treatment, but I couldn't relate to committing a crime just for that reason. I can relate to the sympathy that character would have for his mother's health, as so would a lot of people. But what about the reader that absolutely HATES his mother?
They couldn't relate to robbing a bank to save a person's life that they totally detest. Hell, they may even be happy that she won't be on this Earth for long and decide to jump for joy. They may even relate to robbing a bank! People who think like this should probably resort to writing their own stories instead of only looking for characters that you can relate to. It would be nice, but nice doesn't make interesting reading.
".....I was very excited to buy this book for my Kindle Reader but...$17.99...are you kidding ? In this economy ?"
Okay that book is very expensive for Kindle but then again, this isn't a review.
"I have only read the sample, but that all it took for me to be disgusted."
READ THE BOOK. THEN JUDGE! I can understand not wanting to read the entire book because it doesn't catch your fancy. That's perfectly fine. God knows I have hundreds of books that I stopped reading that didn't interest me in the slightest. But then, that makes me NO longer ABLE to write a fair review on the book. In this case, I don't write a review at all. It's just like those people that say, I don't read Romance books but downloaded it anyway and hated it!
Really? You don't like Romance, downloaded it anyway, and were horrified that you didn't enjoy the subject matter. I have been surprised by reading genres that I have no interest in and was pleased. But then again, I go into reading...say a Western, and fully expect myself not to be able to follow because I don't read books of that subject matter.
If one is really good and blows my mind? That's awesome. All that states to me is that the writer writes with universal appeal. I study Astrophysics. If I wrote a book that only PhD professionals can understand, then I'm obviously not writing to the layperson. But if I write that same book so that a ten year old can understand? Congratulations. That is a book that has universal appeal and can attract people of all backgrounds.
It doesn't mean, however, that the first book for the PhD's isn't any good. It just means that people with PhD's or someone that is into science and technology would be able to understand it. A writer with universal appeal has the ability to make a lot of money and become extremely successful as well.
It is hard to sit down, write something, and finish it. It's even harder to listen to criticism, but that can only make someone's work better. It's unfair to write a review that has nothing to do with the actual product. If your professor graded your paper that you worked so hard on, just to give you an F because you didn't use the right pencil or paper that they would have preferred. It's one thing if your professor ASKED you to use a certain pencil or paper but another if you learned that in hindsight.
Just something to think about folks.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Moving On Up With Hannah
#1 in Criminology
#10 in Historical Fiction
As of right now (Monday August 6, 2012 3:09PM, Hannah: A Fictional Life Account of the Youngest Child Executed in U.S. History is ranked as you see above. I think that it's reached the highest that any of my books have made it in the free store. Hopefully that number continues to decrease. Making it into the top 100 would be a dream come true for me!
I am extremely proud of my work and am currently working on three other projects. I hope to have them all complete and finished by the end of the year.
I just want to thank all the people who have supported me from day one.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Bad Writing When You're Not A Writer
You want to know the wonderful thing about self publishing?
Non-writers can now be writers! First, let me clarify.
I was browsing on the Kindle store for books that I might have been interested in when I came across a book written by an undertaker. One review that was posted gave the book one star for bad writing.
She pretty much answered her own question with this one. Not everyone can be a writer, but does that mean that we silence the voices of those who aren't? I've read books from people of all walks of life. Sometimes, it's not about brilliant writing, flowing prose, and a gigantic vocabulary.
It's about the life experience that they are sharing. Reading about other people's life experiences can make your own very rich. Could some people benefit from an editor or even another writer to help the? Sure they could. But many people aren't really concerned about a few typos or a comma splice here and there.
I feel as if my life has truly been enriched by reading the stories of cancer patients, the Amish, Loyalists in the American Revolution, slaves in the Civil War, paramedics, doctors, lawyers, police officers, fireman, people with Lupus, serial killers, dentists, stockbrokers, people sold into sexual slavery, drug addicts, white supremacists, black supremacists, prisoners on Death Row, celebrities, etc.
Some of these stories were full of errors, but I didn't let that stop me from receiving the message. What we don't understand, we fear. What we fear, we destroy. Learning about other lives will make yours much richer.
Non-writers can now be writers! First, let me clarify.
I was browsing on the Kindle store for books that I might have been interested in when I came across a book written by an undertaker. One review that was posted gave the book one star for bad writing.
The authors tried to make an entertaining compilation of stories covering the entire mortuary process (removal through funeral), but the stories are rather dull and filled with impertinent information (e.g., long background histories of some of the writers, and extraneous details regarding the setting or unimportant background characters). I can only assume it is because the people who wrote them are not writers, they are undertakers....
She pretty much answered her own question with this one. Not everyone can be a writer, but does that mean that we silence the voices of those who aren't? I've read books from people of all walks of life. Sometimes, it's not about brilliant writing, flowing prose, and a gigantic vocabulary.
It's about the life experience that they are sharing. Reading about other people's life experiences can make your own very rich. Could some people benefit from an editor or even another writer to help the? Sure they could. But many people aren't really concerned about a few typos or a comma splice here and there.
I feel as if my life has truly been enriched by reading the stories of cancer patients, the Amish, Loyalists in the American Revolution, slaves in the Civil War, paramedics, doctors, lawyers, police officers, fireman, people with Lupus, serial killers, dentists, stockbrokers, people sold into sexual slavery, drug addicts, white supremacists, black supremacists, prisoners on Death Row, celebrities, etc.
Some of these stories were full of errors, but I didn't let that stop me from receiving the message. What we don't understand, we fear. What we fear, we destroy. Learning about other lives will make yours much richer.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Writing Historical Fiction: An Inside Look To Writing Hannah
Authenticity!!!!!! That's the number one thing that authors obsess about when writing historical fiction. If someone asked you to write a historical fiction piece about the year 2012, well, I'd doubt that you would have a problem with that....provided that you're reading this relatively recently.
Now try writing about Medieval France. Unless you have an obsession with that period of time and know everything about it (which would really work in your favor) you'd have to do research....and lots of it.
Research? What language did they use when they spoke? Murder will out is a phrase used in Shakespeare's time but your character stating Blessings in disguise will cause your readers to scratch their heads. Unless your book is centered around the American Revolution.
All of that must be taken in consideration. I did a great deal of research for this time period and I only pray that Hannah feels authentic to the reader. What I would highly recommend is to read plenty of books from that time period to get a feel for the time period that you're writing for. There are also great websites out there that help you with clothing, speaking phrases, and daily activities in the time periods that you're writing about.
It also helps to use a great note taking application to keep track of all the websites and notes that you're going to take. My favorite application is EVERNOTE ! I use it to clip websites, links, pictures, etc. that I will need to work.
Hannah is coming soon to amazon.com!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Almost Finished With Second Drafts
I am almost done with my third book, "Nowhere"and hopefully it will be available in September in this year.
One thing I would stress to new authors is this is the time to go over your book with a fine toothed comb. This is the time that you need to catch errors and grammatical issues. Don't be so in love with your words and the story that your mind will overlook the imperfections.
Your readers will take you to task over such issues. While you may not think that its a big thing, it is to your readers. There are lots of voracious readers out there and they feel cheated if you don't give it every thing you've got. They are out there spending their hard earned money on your books.
I ran across an Amazon forum one day where the authors were complaining about Amazon and how it was taking too long to update and publish their titles. It was taking 48 hours or more when normally it is 75 percent less of that time.
Many authors, including myself, would upload a manuscript, notice a mistake in it later, then try to upload a new one. Because of this glitch, people were buying the wrong book instead of the one with the errors fixed.
This led to horrible reviews of readers complaining that the book had many spelling errors and typos. My thing? GET IT FREAKING RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.
Read your book over and over again like a person looking at the book with fresh eyes. Put it down for a week and then read every single word again before you hit that PUBLISH button.
Get it right the first time and correct those errors before your readers string you up by the neck.
Tea of the day: Acai Berry and Blueberry Tea
One thing I would stress to new authors is this is the time to go over your book with a fine toothed comb. This is the time that you need to catch errors and grammatical issues. Don't be so in love with your words and the story that your mind will overlook the imperfections.
Your readers will take you to task over such issues. While you may not think that its a big thing, it is to your readers. There are lots of voracious readers out there and they feel cheated if you don't give it every thing you've got. They are out there spending their hard earned money on your books.
I ran across an Amazon forum one day where the authors were complaining about Amazon and how it was taking too long to update and publish their titles. It was taking 48 hours or more when normally it is 75 percent less of that time.
Many authors, including myself, would upload a manuscript, notice a mistake in it later, then try to upload a new one. Because of this glitch, people were buying the wrong book instead of the one with the errors fixed.
This led to horrible reviews of readers complaining that the book had many spelling errors and typos. My thing? GET IT FREAKING RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.
Read your book over and over again like a person looking at the book with fresh eyes. Put it down for a week and then read every single word again before you hit that PUBLISH button.
Get it right the first time and correct those errors before your readers string you up by the neck.
Tea of the day: Acai Berry and Blueberry Tea
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Went Into Respiratory Failure A Few Days Ago
Haven't been doing much writing here because I went into respiratory failure on Tuesday of this week. I stopped breathing in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. It is now Thursday and I'm still here. I'm trying to write while I'm in here but the flare ups and fatigue makes it harder.
Looking for prayers and positive energy. Thanks for reading and keep writing.
Looking for prayers and positive energy. Thanks for reading and keep writing.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Pulling Your Hair Out Is Part of The Writing Process
The numbers to the left deal with your Free Promotions. Or other words, not going to get paid for. Amazon gives you the opportunity to give your book for free to garner reviews and get your name out there. Cool huh?
The numbers towards the middle (Borrows) tells you that you're going to get paid for books that others lend or read for free with the Prime program. That money is coming from Amazon itself. That's ONLY if you enroll in the KDP program. That just means you promise to exclusively publish with them. If you don't, well tough cookies...LOL!
Since this is my first fiction short story out there, I'm incredibly nervous. I have been trying to perfect the novel the best way I know how. Yeah...I guess you could say that I'm terrified of the horrible reviews. But it's the only way I'm going to know I'm good. Yes, it is true that not everyone is going to like you. You could give this book out with million dollar checks, and I would bet all the money in my bank account (you're welcome to $39.17 right now) that you will still get negative reviews. Probably because you wrote paper checks and you didn't overnight the cash you little, silly, naive author, you!!!!
Or it's just your book really sucks but they wanted to thank you for the million bucks anyway.
I just placed my book for a free promotion last night and the reviews will be coming in shortly. I'm very ill right now and can barely move without chest pain. In fact, I should be writing this in a hospital bed instead of my own bed but what are you going to do, huh? I would just ask reviewers to be fair, not name call such as garbage, or filth, rubbish for my British readers. If you didn't like the novel, just state the reasons why and move on, especially if you're just looking for the free million dollar check that comes along with the book.
Look out for that in the eight edition. ; )
Friday, May 4, 2012
Sex Therapy Is For Sale
Grab it here!
It's for sale people!!! I can't wait to hear what you guys think! This is my first debut at fiction. I've done the screenwriting thing but my novella, Sex Therapy is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
I will be offering the book for free very soon so watch for the promotion to come! Thanks everyone!
It's for sale people!!! I can't wait to hear what you guys think! This is my first debut at fiction. I've done the screenwriting thing but my novella, Sex Therapy is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
I will be offering the book for free very soon so watch for the promotion to come! Thanks everyone!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Seriously Flawed
Ho hum Ho hum.
Reviewers that don't read your book?
Here they come.
Leaving mass destruction behind,
With a star or two.
You're a babbling idiot behind a keyboard, she said.
If they only knew.
You've worked hard on your book,
You've believed in it from the start.
Secured by their anonymity,
Like a dagger through your heart.
Other reviews come in,
Lavishing praises here and there.
But you'll never forget those harsh words,
There will be more, so beware.
Recently I read another forum post where all of these people, most who have never written or published anything, were taking many writers to task over simple mistakes. We all make them. Even books published by major publishing houses have major grammatical and spelling errors.
If there are one or two errors, MOST people move on, possibly even forgetting that they existed.
But TOO MANY errors become distracting. If your reader is so busy correcting your grammar, then they aren't getting lost into your story. You want your readers lost in your story. You want your reader to look up at the clock, amazed at the amount of time that has gone by while reading your words.
It is the ultimate compliment.
I read a book once about a young woman that was dealing with Lupus. Since I have lupus, I was very interested in hearing her story.
The problem? The first sentence lasted for an entire page without one punctuation mark. I desperately tried to get into the book, but I liken it to listening to someone's thoughts. Here is an example: (NOTE: These are not the actual words of the book)
Lupus is an autoimmune disease okay like your cells going haywire and instead of attacking diseases and bacteria that's not supposed to be there it attacks your organs like your kidneys, liver, brain, and other things and it does not discriminate because my friend has lupus and it attacked her heart when it attacked my lungs.....
I hope you get the picture. That was probably the worst I've seen so far. I try to give each writer the benefit of the doubt and ignore spelling and bad punctuation. Hell, I even cringe at a misplaced comma in my own work. Thankfully, you can edit the changes, and upload a corrected copy to Amazon. I took full advantage of that. So no one is perfect.
But if the reader can barely make out what you're trying to say, it's time to take it back to the drawing board and rewrite my friends.
But after reading the forum posts, I have concluded that SOME people LOOK for errors your book. I just made an error. Did you catch it? I didn't...not while I was typing it. I caught it on the third read and I'm going to leave it there as a great example. They are not interested at all in your story but will sit there and count the mistakes you make. Bored people? Maybe. Unemployed editors shaking their fists at society by taking it out on a few amatuer writers? That would be kind of funny but not really. Or are they consumers who feel like they are spending their money and time, wanting nothing more than a quality product? I could see that too.
But God help you if you misuse a comma or a homonym.
Okay...I have to agree with the homonym thing. Your and You're or there and their. Mixed up homonyms are my pet peeve. They seriously are. Many writers aren't the best grammaticians. Hell if we were, then we'd be editors...not writers. But using the wrong homonym? Not acceptable.
My advice? Read your book over and over again until you damn near have the words memorized. Join a writer's group and have them read it. It is very helpful to get feedback from different people. It will help you in the long run. Then read your damn copy again and again. There are things that I missed when I read my current book, Sex Therapy, when I began editing it the first time.
We will talk about formatting in another post.
Tea Of The Day: Ginger Peach, Tangy Tangerine
Reviewers that don't read your book?
Here they come.
Leaving mass destruction behind,
With a star or two.
You're a babbling idiot behind a keyboard, she said.
If they only knew.
You've worked hard on your book,
You've believed in it from the start.
Secured by their anonymity,
Like a dagger through your heart.
Other reviews come in,
Lavishing praises here and there.
But you'll never forget those harsh words,
There will be more, so beware.
Recently I read another forum post where all of these people, most who have never written or published anything, were taking many writers to task over simple mistakes. We all make them. Even books published by major publishing houses have major grammatical and spelling errors.
If there are one or two errors, MOST people move on, possibly even forgetting that they existed.
But TOO MANY errors become distracting. If your reader is so busy correcting your grammar, then they aren't getting lost into your story. You want your readers lost in your story. You want your reader to look up at the clock, amazed at the amount of time that has gone by while reading your words.
It is the ultimate compliment.
I read a book once about a young woman that was dealing with Lupus. Since I have lupus, I was very interested in hearing her story.
The problem? The first sentence lasted for an entire page without one punctuation mark. I desperately tried to get into the book, but I liken it to listening to someone's thoughts. Here is an example: (NOTE: These are not the actual words of the book)
Lupus is an autoimmune disease okay like your cells going haywire and instead of attacking diseases and bacteria that's not supposed to be there it attacks your organs like your kidneys, liver, brain, and other things and it does not discriminate because my friend has lupus and it attacked her heart when it attacked my lungs.....
I hope you get the picture. That was probably the worst I've seen so far. I try to give each writer the benefit of the doubt and ignore spelling and bad punctuation. Hell, I even cringe at a misplaced comma in my own work. Thankfully, you can edit the changes, and upload a corrected copy to Amazon. I took full advantage of that. So no one is perfect.
But if the reader can barely make out what you're trying to say, it's time to take it back to the drawing board and rewrite my friends.
But after reading the forum posts, I have concluded that SOME people LOOK for errors your book. I just made an error. Did you catch it? I didn't...not while I was typing it. I caught it on the third read and I'm going to leave it there as a great example. They are not interested at all in your story but will sit there and count the mistakes you make. Bored people? Maybe. Unemployed editors shaking their fists at society by taking it out on a few amatuer writers? That would be kind of funny but not really. Or are they consumers who feel like they are spending their money and time, wanting nothing more than a quality product? I could see that too.
But God help you if you misuse a comma or a homonym.
Okay...I have to agree with the homonym thing. Your and You're or there and their. Mixed up homonyms are my pet peeve. They seriously are. Many writers aren't the best grammaticians. Hell if we were, then we'd be editors...not writers. But using the wrong homonym? Not acceptable.
My advice? Read your book over and over again until you damn near have the words memorized. Join a writer's group and have them read it. It is very helpful to get feedback from different people. It will help you in the long run. Then read your damn copy again and again. There are things that I missed when I read my current book, Sex Therapy, when I began editing it the first time.
We will talk about formatting in another post.
Tea Of The Day: Ginger Peach, Tangy Tangerine
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Evernote
WRITE WHENEVER YOU CAN
It is 5am and I'm watching I Love Lucy, one of my favorite shows in the world. I'm sure I've seen each episode over twenty times each. What else do I find myself doing at this hour? Writing. I have been diagnosed with Lupus and it is a disease that keeps you in pain and battling fatigue constantly.
Since I'm not working at the time, I try to imagine a world where I can make all the money that I need to support myself and my daughter. Notice that I stated that I want to support myself. If my writing ever took me to a place where I can throw in a few Louis Vuitton bags, I could very well be the most happiest person in the world.
It has always been my dream that I write for a living. To use my creativity to entertain the world. Not every single one of you are going to like me. (I wish you would because I'm some kind of awesome, a loyal friend, and I make the best mac and cheese.) I'm putting the editors touch on one manuscript now but I'm so scared. I can best describe it as this: you write a book all the way to the end, loving your characters, the plot, you set the stage pretty much.
The first thing that comes to mind after the proverbial, The End, is how in the world did I manage to string along a bunch of crap for the past hundred or so pages? The story sounded great in my head as I wrote it down, so how didn't I translate that into words? In my opinion that is what makes a writer a great writer compared to a mediocre writer. Can you take a concept or a unique idea, and then breathe life into that idea or concept and carry it all the way to the end? Can you create convincing scenes that motivate your characters to spring into action without sounding contrived?
Ah...the joys of being a writer. Once you put your heart and soul into something, it's hard to see it get ripped to shreds by the anonymity of people hiding behind a computer screen. But in the end, it's the readers that get to decide whether or not you should quit your day job to make this a full time gig. That's what makes writing a wonderful profession.
Tea of The Day: Orange Spice
Since I'm not working at the time, I try to imagine a world where I can make all the money that I need to support myself and my daughter. Notice that I stated that I want to support myself. If my writing ever took me to a place where I can throw in a few Louis Vuitton bags, I could very well be the most happiest person in the world.
It has always been my dream that I write for a living. To use my creativity to entertain the world. Not every single one of you are going to like me. (I wish you would because I'm some kind of awesome, a loyal friend, and I make the best mac and cheese.) I'm putting the editors touch on one manuscript now but I'm so scared. I can best describe it as this: you write a book all the way to the end, loving your characters, the plot, you set the stage pretty much.
The first thing that comes to mind after the proverbial, The End, is how in the world did I manage to string along a bunch of crap for the past hundred or so pages? The story sounded great in my head as I wrote it down, so how didn't I translate that into words? In my opinion that is what makes a writer a great writer compared to a mediocre writer. Can you take a concept or a unique idea, and then breathe life into that idea or concept and carry it all the way to the end? Can you create convincing scenes that motivate your characters to spring into action without sounding contrived?
Ah...the joys of being a writer. Once you put your heart and soul into something, it's hard to see it get ripped to shreds by the anonymity of people hiding behind a computer screen. But in the end, it's the readers that get to decide whether or not you should quit your day job to make this a full time gig. That's what makes writing a wonderful profession.
Tea of The Day: Orange Spice
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