Okay, I have a lot to do. Better put it on paper:
1. Edit Saving Grace. Hard to do - I'm all over the map with this one, not sure what direction I want to go. The character of Grace has taken a turn, and I'm not sure if I'm screwing up character development or not. Damn you, head strong heroine!
2. Do some critting - okay, haven't done that in ages. Better get to it soon.
3. Study. Nuff said.
4. Fix legal issues regarding taxes - who doesn't love that?
5. Prepare surprise interview with surprise author (I think this should have stayed a surprise)
6. Stalk people and force my book on them (find this the hardest to do, actually)
7. Beta read 2 stories. Unless I want my friends to skin me alive.
8. Find interview hosts - yup, as much as I like hosting, I should be doing it the other way around too.
9. Stop obsessively checking book stats.
10. Wait patiently for the paperback copies to arrive in the mail (Damn you postal service! Why won't you work faster? They're books, not chemical bombs!)
11. Work - yeah, I have to do that too, but for some reason I have to keep reminding myself to start.
12. Buy two books I'm dying to read.
13. Think up clever marketing strategy (I can hear the crickets in my head already. Wow, there's a lot of space in there. And an echo--echo--echo--)
14. More legal issues regarding school papers.
15. Leave on honeymoon. (YAY!)
16. Um... write something maybe?
17. Steal underpants.
18. .......
19. Profit.
20. Make a million dollars.
21. Get a cat.
22. Buy groceries at store.
23. Take over the world. (Make every Tuesday Free Ice Cream Day)
24. Practice a larger attention span.
25. Work - yeah, I have to do that too, but for some reason I have to keep reminding myself to start.
26. Have my memory checked.
27. Profit.
That should about wrap it up. Now I'd better get working on stealing underpants at the grocery store while forcing my book in an interview at the post office.
See you next time.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
How to write an instant bestseller in 10 easy steps
I've been holding back, I admit. In reality, I could produce a bestseller and make a ton of money off it. Because I know the golden formula. Ignore everything you've read in how-to books on writing. Their only purpose was to confuse you, make you unsuccessful so that THEY could get all the glory.
But I'm on to them. I have researched and found the simple yet perfect elements of creating the next bestseller. And now, out of the goodness of my heart, I will present them to you. So that you too may bask in the golden rays of fame and fortune.
Step 1. POV
A. First person. Really bad, whiny, bitch first person. Or, better yet, completely hallow first person. Like this: Hi, I'm an empty shell of a hot girl who thinks she's plain. Won't you please fill me up with your own hopes and dreams? So that you can pretend that I'm you. This way, screw character creation and traits that could be unappealing. If you don't like me, you don't like yourself. So take that! I can't fail!
B. Third person. I'm pretty much an observer. You can get into my head from time to time so I can shower you with my stupid/whiny thoughts. I'm not you, but I could be. And you wish you were me. You could hate me, but you want to follow me around and see what happens.
Step 2. Protagonist
Since the vast majority of readers are women (or so some study says), the protag HAS to be female. The preferred ages are between 17-25. She HAS to be a virgin who has never been attracted to any other male in her life.
She usually comes from a broken family - divorce, death, that kind of thing. Her parents have the parenting skills of young goats, therefore our heroine can do what she wants, when she wants to.
She loves books - possibly old books (classics) and listens to music on an ipod. Occasionally, she uses google to research strangeness, but doesn't seem to use a computer for anything else.
She has hobbies, but is never seen doing them. She's pretty klutzy, but doesn't trip more than once or twice. Spends too much time inside her own head and can develop suicidal tendencies.
Step 3. The love interest
He must be an ADONIS with sculpted/sculptured everything. He's soooo handsome that the Protagonist instantly drools.
He MUST be a jerk. Complete asshole. Control-freak. Stalker. Totally unreasonable. He's bitter and sarcastic and snappy. He gets scary when he's angry.
He has something special: he shines in the sunlight, he's filthy rich, he has super powers, he's a supernatural being... and others along those lines.
He pretends not to like the Protag at first. Then he like totally opens up to her and she sees his warm, fuzzy, unicorn-filled interior which makes him SOOO sensitive. Then she totally gets to change his bad ways. And he LETS her and is happy to be molded.
Step 4. The plot
Listen carefully, because this is really important. There must be NO plot. At least not one that makes sense. Or is very important to the story. Or makes sense. The core of the story is: insecurity, angst, bitching and moaning, long stares, sex, lovey-dovey moments and stupid reasons to fight.
Step 5. The villain
Must be stereotypical, with lame/easy to understand/unimportant motives/motives so complicated that you decide you don't actually care that much. He will pose no real threat to the heroes. He will only succeed because the protag, her hero or both of them are reeeeeaaaaaally stupid. If he exists, he usually dies/is easily defeated.
Step 6. Side characters
They must be really annoying and silly to make the MCs look good. One of the MCs doesn't have friends. The other has one or two. Insert big families, and there you go.
Side characters are made to enable, cheer on or create trouble for the MCs. If they're interesting or have backstories, they must be immediately assassinated and be made to look bad.
Step 7. The triangle.
There must be a love triangle in the story. The love triangle should give the reader no doubt as to whom the heroine will end up with. It will always be pretty obvious that it's Mr. Douchebag. The triangle will be used to cause fights and jealousy between the MCs, even if it's obvious to everyone that they don't stand a chance.
Step 8. The craft of writing
The writing must be simple most times with horribly long/twisted words that no one actually uses being tossed in from time to time to show how intelligent the characters are. The phrasing must be basic, monotonous. The dialogue clipped and preferably untagged. Every point should be made a number of times both through dialogue and narration, to make sure the reader gets the message/ doesn't forget that vital piece of information.
Butterflies must flutter in stomachs and the stomach and throat must constrict and twist and turn. Eye rolling and lip biting are a favorite. So is frowning. The eyes must blaze a multitude of emotions and colors as often as possible.
Don't forget to mention how god-like the hero looks every other page, just in case your readers forget that very important detail.
Step 9. The execution.
Make sure the book is part of a series. Write the following books in the same manner. Don't put in any character evolution that makes sense. There must be no recurring plot points. Try ending with a cliffhanger. If you don't have one from lack of plot, insert one in an epilogue. Try to make the books longer with each volume.
Step 10. Cover art
Make it very artistic - put an object on a black/grey background. Write the title in either lower case or maybe shouty capitals. Another good idea is using goth girls on the cover. Whatever you decide to use, all the covers MUST be dark and creepy. The writing should stand out. Make them hardcovers.
After you complete this masterpiece, a big publisher will buy it from you. If you're lucky, it will be transformed into a major motion picture with talentless actors and huge budgets. You will be rich in no time.
People will either love it or hate it, there will be fervent discussions regarding your work and people will be begging you to write more. Hence, you'll spit up a novella and gain even more cash.
Now that you know, good luck. I will be waving down at you from the height of my helicopter.
All of the above is a pamphlet and must be treated as such. It has surfaced from reading 'golden' literature in the last year.
Can anyone recognize the source material for this post? (Clue: I'm taking about 5 book series, out of which one isn't actually crap)
Step 1. POV
A. First person. Really bad, whiny, bitch first person. Or, better yet, completely hallow first person. Like this: Hi, I'm an empty shell of a hot girl who thinks she's plain. Won't you please fill me up with your own hopes and dreams? So that you can pretend that I'm you. This way, screw character creation and traits that could be unappealing. If you don't like me, you don't like yourself. So take that! I can't fail!
B. Third person. I'm pretty much an observer. You can get into my head from time to time so I can shower you with my stupid/whiny thoughts. I'm not you, but I could be. And you wish you were me. You could hate me, but you want to follow me around and see what happens.
Step 2. Protagonist
She usually comes from a broken family - divorce, death, that kind of thing. Her parents have the parenting skills of young goats, therefore our heroine can do what she wants, when she wants to.
She loves books - possibly old books (classics) and listens to music on an ipod. Occasionally, she uses google to research strangeness, but doesn't seem to use a computer for anything else.
She has hobbies, but is never seen doing them. She's pretty klutzy, but doesn't trip more than once or twice. Spends too much time inside her own head and can develop suicidal tendencies.
Step 3. The love interest
He must be an ADONIS with sculpted/sculptured everything. He's soooo handsome that the Protagonist instantly drools.
He has something special: he shines in the sunlight, he's filthy rich, he has super powers, he's a supernatural being... and others along those lines.
He pretends not to like the Protag at first. Then he like totally opens up to her and she sees his warm, fuzzy, unicorn-filled interior which makes him SOOO sensitive. Then she totally gets to change his bad ways. And he LETS her and is happy to be molded.
Step 4. The plot
Listen carefully, because this is really important. There must be NO plot. At least not one that makes sense. Or is very important to the story. Or makes sense. The core of the story is: insecurity, angst, bitching and moaning, long stares, sex, lovey-dovey moments and stupid reasons to fight.
Step 5. The villain
Must be stereotypical, with lame/easy to understand/unimportant motives/motives so complicated that you decide you don't actually care that much. He will pose no real threat to the heroes. He will only succeed because the protag, her hero or both of them are reeeeeaaaaaally stupid. If he exists, he usually dies/is easily defeated.
Step 6. Side characters
They must be really annoying and silly to make the MCs look good. One of the MCs doesn't have friends. The other has one or two. Insert big families, and there you go.
Side characters are made to enable, cheer on or create trouble for the MCs. If they're interesting or have backstories, they must be immediately assassinated and be made to look bad.
Step 7. The triangle.
There must be a love triangle in the story. The love triangle should give the reader no doubt as to whom the heroine will end up with. It will always be pretty obvious that it's Mr. Douchebag. The triangle will be used to cause fights and jealousy between the MCs, even if it's obvious to everyone that they don't stand a chance.
Step 8. The craft of writing
The writing must be simple most times with horribly long/twisted words that no one actually uses being tossed in from time to time to show how intelligent the characters are. The phrasing must be basic, monotonous. The dialogue clipped and preferably untagged. Every point should be made a number of times both through dialogue and narration, to make sure the reader gets the message/ doesn't forget that vital piece of information.
Butterflies must flutter in stomachs and the stomach and throat must constrict and twist and turn. Eye rolling and lip biting are a favorite. So is frowning. The eyes must blaze a multitude of emotions and colors as often as possible.Don't forget to mention how god-like the hero looks every other page, just in case your readers forget that very important detail.
Step 9. The execution.
Make sure the book is part of a series. Write the following books in the same manner. Don't put in any character evolution that makes sense. There must be no recurring plot points. Try ending with a cliffhanger. If you don't have one from lack of plot, insert one in an epilogue. Try to make the books longer with each volume.
Step 10. Cover art
Make it very artistic - put an object on a black/grey background. Write the title in either lower case or maybe shouty capitals. Another good idea is using goth girls on the cover. Whatever you decide to use, all the covers MUST be dark and creepy. The writing should stand out. Make them hardcovers.
After you complete this masterpiece, a big publisher will buy it from you. If you're lucky, it will be transformed into a major motion picture with talentless actors and huge budgets. You will be rich in no time.
People will either love it or hate it, there will be fervent discussions regarding your work and people will be begging you to write more. Hence, you'll spit up a novella and gain even more cash.
Now that you know, good luck. I will be waving down at you from the height of my helicopter.
All of the above is a pamphlet and must be treated as such. It has surfaced from reading 'golden' literature in the last year.
Can anyone recognize the source material for this post? (Clue: I'm taking about 5 book series, out of which one isn't actually crap)
Sunday, August 5, 2012
News and such
Just so I don't keep you waiting, I'll let you know who the winner of the copy of Hunters is. Since Lisa already robbed me of a copy on Mysti's blog, Lindsey gets the prize here! So congrats, Lindsey, you'll be able to test all 13 reasons for yourself. (My people will contact your people)
In other news, my book has finally HIT amazon! So, yes, there is a kindle version available somewhere in the universe, ready for you to pick it up and devour it. I'm very excited about that, and I encourage everyone to look at it (sooo shiny), like it, tag it, and maybe take a sample home and see if it's something you'd enjoy reading.
Also, fellow blogger and author Christina McKnight has most graciously featured Hunters on her blog. I can't thank her enough.
If you're up for it, one more PDF copy of Hunters is available on Mysti's blog, so hurry up before it's gone ;)
I'll keep everyone posted :D
In other news, my book has finally HIT amazon! So, yes, there is a kindle version available somewhere in the universe, ready for you to pick it up and devour it. I'm very excited about that, and I encourage everyone to look at it (sooo shiny), like it, tag it, and maybe take a sample home and see if it's something you'd enjoy reading.
Also, fellow blogger and author Christina McKnight has most graciously featured Hunters on her blog. I can't thank her enough.
If you're up for it, one more PDF copy of Hunters is available on Mysti's blog, so hurry up before it's gone ;)
I'll keep everyone posted :D
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