Today's EarWorm:
Today's Date: September 26, 2016
I'm sitting here and thinking about how life can just suck all the inspiration out of a writer. In my case, a change of seasons has brought on a cold and I'm living in mostly a daze of cold meds so I can stop sneezing hard enough to jar my entire body, making my back spasm in hate.
Life isn't all that kind.
For the last few months I have had more days with no words than days with actual words because it's been so busy. Appointments, ER visits, shopping trips, birthdays, days of just trying so hard to get some sleep.
It all sucks the inspiration right out of you.
But that doesn't mean that I don't have some kind of word count going on each and every day. Drabbles, short pieces, and handwritten pieces that I'm not going to count until I've typed them up onto my computer have all been done.
But this is something that, I hate to say this, takes practice to get down. You need the willpower to pick up that pen or pencil and put it down onto paper, or to pull out your GDocs on your phone or open the file on your computer and get those words.
You need to commit yourself to it.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Let's Talk...Sequels
Today's Date: September, 19, 2016
Today's Earworm: "Gansta" by Kehlani
I watched...or rather tried to watch Sinister 2. It's been about a week so far since I tired, and during that time I had to figure out why it didn't appeal to me while Sinister was so damn good.
Then I watched The Conjuring 2 and figured it out.
I didn't like Sinister 2 because when I was going in, I was expecting it to be like Sinister. I'm not talking plot. I know that the mythology in the story was set in stone and most likely they were going to continue on with the demon Bughuul. But I was expecting something more from the film.
Such as the same kind of pacing and seeing things happening at certain times. And a bit more happening with the mother and the kids.
Instead it felt off.
So this got me to thinking about my own sequels that I'm planning on writing. As most of this blog readers know most of my books have at least one sequel planned, and there are a few series that are in the works.
It got me thinking about keeping the pacing and style of the sequel(s) of the first book. Why?
Well, if you think about a series as a building, the first book is a cornerstone. It's what you build the future series off of later.
It sets the characters, the tone of the story, and the main plot points that are to carry into the next book and all following books of that series.
And you kind of have to follow that line through because if you don't it doesn't read right. It doesn't sound right. And it sure as hell looks odd if suddenly you're going off in another direction for the series.
Okay, look, I'm not saying that all series have to be about one character and one build up throughout. I'm talking it has to sound and look as if it's from the same world.
I personally have a couple of series that is more world series then character series.
Wait...what's a world series and what's a character series?
I heard that one coming from a mile away.
A world series is more of a story that is built in the same world but uses various characters as the main focal point of the story. Most often than not, the plot point of that story is different than the last book or the book that follows after it, but it's still tied into the world that was built in the first book.
And, again, most often than not, it is still tied into the recurring plot point that was built upon in the first book.
A character series is a series built upon the characters and uses those same characters throughout the series. The plot for each book can be a single point plot, where it's solved in just one book. Or it can build on a plot point and mix it with a longer point that will be covered in the full series with a single plot point.
It all depends on the writer and the stories.
I myself have a few mixes of both types. I also have world series and character series.
My Honey Drops series is, mostly, a world built series. Yes, I have the characters working towards a single goal for book 7 (I think, I don't have my list in front of me. It might be bk 6), but their own stories are different. They have different plots that they have to get through.
But the style of the story, the pacing and the world will be the same.
For my series Don't Look, again, it's a world built series but again, has an end point that I have no idea where it is. I don't know how many characters are going to end up in this series.
But for my new Comedy-Horror Ex-Retail Worker series, it's a character built series. Meaning that I have my main characters and they're going to be in all of the books to come. There are two plot points. One plot point is for the duration of the story but it ties into the plot point that will end up finishing in the last book.
It's what ties the rest of the books together.
But again, the pacing, the world and the style of the story will stay the same.
Because that's what builds the series. It's what makes the series good and cohesive.
At least that's what I've found in my writing career.
What are your thoughts on series? What makes a good series to you?
Today's Earworm: "Gansta" by Kehlani
I watched...or rather tried to watch Sinister 2. It's been about a week so far since I tired, and during that time I had to figure out why it didn't appeal to me while Sinister was so damn good.
Then I watched The Conjuring 2 and figured it out.
I didn't like Sinister 2 because when I was going in, I was expecting it to be like Sinister. I'm not talking plot. I know that the mythology in the story was set in stone and most likely they were going to continue on with the demon Bughuul. But I was expecting something more from the film.
Such as the same kind of pacing and seeing things happening at certain times. And a bit more happening with the mother and the kids.
Instead it felt off.
So this got me to thinking about my own sequels that I'm planning on writing. As most of this blog readers know most of my books have at least one sequel planned, and there are a few series that are in the works.
It got me thinking about keeping the pacing and style of the sequel(s) of the first book. Why?
Well, if you think about a series as a building, the first book is a cornerstone. It's what you build the future series off of later.
It sets the characters, the tone of the story, and the main plot points that are to carry into the next book and all following books of that series.
And you kind of have to follow that line through because if you don't it doesn't read right. It doesn't sound right. And it sure as hell looks odd if suddenly you're going off in another direction for the series.
Okay, look, I'm not saying that all series have to be about one character and one build up throughout. I'm talking it has to sound and look as if it's from the same world.
I personally have a couple of series that is more world series then character series.
Wait...what's a world series and what's a character series?
I heard that one coming from a mile away.
A world series is more of a story that is built in the same world but uses various characters as the main focal point of the story. Most often than not, the plot point of that story is different than the last book or the book that follows after it, but it's still tied into the world that was built in the first book.
And, again, most often than not, it is still tied into the recurring plot point that was built upon in the first book.
A character series is a series built upon the characters and uses those same characters throughout the series. The plot for each book can be a single point plot, where it's solved in just one book. Or it can build on a plot point and mix it with a longer point that will be covered in the full series with a single plot point.
It all depends on the writer and the stories.
I myself have a few mixes of both types. I also have world series and character series.
My Honey Drops series is, mostly, a world built series. Yes, I have the characters working towards a single goal for book 7 (I think, I don't have my list in front of me. It might be bk 6), but their own stories are different. They have different plots that they have to get through.
But the style of the story, the pacing and the world will be the same.
For my series Don't Look, again, it's a world built series but again, has an end point that I have no idea where it is. I don't know how many characters are going to end up in this series.
But for my new Comedy-Horror Ex-Retail Worker series, it's a character built series. Meaning that I have my main characters and they're going to be in all of the books to come. There are two plot points. One plot point is for the duration of the story but it ties into the plot point that will end up finishing in the last book.
It's what ties the rest of the books together.
But again, the pacing, the world and the style of the story will stay the same.
Because that's what builds the series. It's what makes the series good and cohesive.
At least that's what I've found in my writing career.
What are your thoughts on series? What makes a good series to you?
Monday, September 12, 2016
Brainstorming...With NO Idea of Plot But Maybe a Character
Today's Earworm: "Sur ma route" by Black M
Today's Date: September 12, 2016
Oh no! The horror! The Terror!
You need a story for an anthology submission, or a new book! Or you want to just write...
But you don't have any kind plots in the back burner. What do you do?
Well, you brainstorm. Okay, hold up, hear me out before you freak out about that suggestion.
This is how a plot comes to be. You brainstorm. You think about what you want to do and create a basic plotline and some characters. From there, you think of how things get from point A to point B in your story.
That's brainstorming.
But what if you don't have a plot point or anything but a character?
Well, that's where brainstorming comes from. Just randomly sitting down and typing a word. Any word and then building it up from there. Most times the character is going to give you jack all that can be used for a story, but you can still find a plot for them from there.
Let's see.
I can take a character and write out something for that character and turn it into a future plot. That's what I'm doing with my drabble series.
Yes, I'm working on them. I've just been scary busy lately so sorry you guys.
Anyways, you take a character.
Do you have an idea of them in some way? Looks? Personality? A line that they say? Their jobs or careers? Something?
Well, there's a good start. You have a character and something about them.
Let me give you an example. For Black Veiled Saviour, my murder-mystery, I didn't have a plot.
I had a character named Alexx, another character named Bo, and a pretty not quite pastel goth named Lollipop in my head. Her name has been since changed to something else mind you.
That's all I had.
So I sat there and went, "What does Alexx do? What does Bo do? And how does Lollipop bring these two boys together?"
Well, Alexx was easy. He was and always has been a bartender in my head. So I went "Alright, what is Bo?" Well, I didn't know so I started to read one of my many crime mysteries and one of them had a private investigator.
It clicked. That's what Bo was! He was a private investigator and poor Lollipop was a dead girl who the cops had no urge to discover why she had been killed.
So how to make them meet then?
Well, Lollipop was like any gothy girl who was of legal age. She went to a club. And since Alexx is a bartender, why not have him working at one of her favorite clubs? And Bo goes there on a lead and bam! We have our two main characters meet.
Now...don't think that this took me less then a few hours to come up with.
No. Oh no no no. It took me nearly two weeks of messing with this one idea while working on things that I actually had a plan for.
And then writing that first chapter took me four days to write because I kept stopping to make notes about what was going on. I actually ended up scrapping that first chapter after writing it because it didn't read right but I kept some parts of it for chapters 2 and 3.
See what I did though? I had characters so I built from there.
Sometimes you don't have characters either. Don't worry. If anything, find a random prompt generator and write drabbles, flash stories, or short pieces around that prompt.
That's actually how a few of my older stories came to be.
Or go on Twitter and ask for prompts. See what strikes and what duds on you.
Brainstorming is all about finding that spark that you can build into a roaring plot. Remember, fires aren't just magically created. You have to build with bits of this and that before you can get a proper fire going.
Writing is just the same as that.
Today's Date: September 12, 2016
Oh no! The horror! The Terror!
You need a story for an anthology submission, or a new book! Or you want to just write...
But you don't have any kind plots in the back burner. What do you do?
Well, you brainstorm. Okay, hold up, hear me out before you freak out about that suggestion.
This is how a plot comes to be. You brainstorm. You think about what you want to do and create a basic plotline and some characters. From there, you think of how things get from point A to point B in your story.
That's brainstorming.
But what if you don't have a plot point or anything but a character?
Well, that's where brainstorming comes from. Just randomly sitting down and typing a word. Any word and then building it up from there. Most times the character is going to give you jack all that can be used for a story, but you can still find a plot for them from there.
Let's see.
I can take a character and write out something for that character and turn it into a future plot. That's what I'm doing with my drabble series.
Yes, I'm working on them. I've just been scary busy lately so sorry you guys.
Anyways, you take a character.
Do you have an idea of them in some way? Looks? Personality? A line that they say? Their jobs or careers? Something?
Well, there's a good start. You have a character and something about them.
Let me give you an example. For Black Veiled Saviour, my murder-mystery, I didn't have a plot.
I had a character named Alexx, another character named Bo, and a pretty not quite pastel goth named Lollipop in my head. Her name has been since changed to something else mind you.
That's all I had.
So I sat there and went, "What does Alexx do? What does Bo do? And how does Lollipop bring these two boys together?"
Well, Alexx was easy. He was and always has been a bartender in my head. So I went "Alright, what is Bo?" Well, I didn't know so I started to read one of my many crime mysteries and one of them had a private investigator.
It clicked. That's what Bo was! He was a private investigator and poor Lollipop was a dead girl who the cops had no urge to discover why she had been killed.
So how to make them meet then?
Well, Lollipop was like any gothy girl who was of legal age. She went to a club. And since Alexx is a bartender, why not have him working at one of her favorite clubs? And Bo goes there on a lead and bam! We have our two main characters meet.
Now...don't think that this took me less then a few hours to come up with.
No. Oh no no no. It took me nearly two weeks of messing with this one idea while working on things that I actually had a plan for.
And then writing that first chapter took me four days to write because I kept stopping to make notes about what was going on. I actually ended up scrapping that first chapter after writing it because it didn't read right but I kept some parts of it for chapters 2 and 3.
See what I did though? I had characters so I built from there.
Sometimes you don't have characters either. Don't worry. If anything, find a random prompt generator and write drabbles, flash stories, or short pieces around that prompt.
That's actually how a few of my older stories came to be.
Or go on Twitter and ask for prompts. See what strikes and what duds on you.
Brainstorming is all about finding that spark that you can build into a roaring plot. Remember, fires aren't just magically created. You have to build with bits of this and that before you can get a proper fire going.
Writing is just the same as that.
Monday, September 5, 2016
Writing on the Move
Today's EarWorm
Today's Date: September 5, 2016
So I have to join(ed) my friend (who I love to bits and pieces, she is my sister without blood between us okay?) on trips. The first one was on the first. The second one is upcoming on the 12th. Fun times right?
Yeah, especially since I do have, you guessed it, writing to do while I do these.
I actually have a few solutions that work well for me so I thought I would talk about it here.
If you find that something works for you, tell me. I would love to hear that they worked. Or if you do something not on this list, tell me still! I would love to hear everything you have to say.
I don't bite, I promise.
Anyways, let's go over what I do when I'm out and about with no wifi.
Today's Date: September 5, 2016
So I have to join(ed) my friend (who I love to bits and pieces, she is my sister without blood between us okay?) on trips. The first one was on the first. The second one is upcoming on the 12th. Fun times right?
Yeah, especially since I do have, you guessed it, writing to do while I do these.
I actually have a few solutions that work well for me so I thought I would talk about it here.
If you find that something works for you, tell me. I would love to hear that they worked. Or if you do something not on this list, tell me still! I would love to hear everything you have to say.
I don't bite, I promise.
Anyways, let's go over what I do when I'm out and about with no wifi.
Tablet/Phone
I actually have both but the smartphone I have is more of a glorified mini-tablet since I don't have a data plan attached to it. Which is fine. It works for me.
Really it does.
Before my friend gave me the phone, I used a tablet with a keyboard. The keyboard, unfortunately, died a horrific death with half the keys not wanting to work. But now with the phone, I can just as easily type on that.
I have GDocs downloaded on it and I do have wifi capabilities, so that's not a problem. As long as I have power and the ability to get some wifi sometime, I can type on any of my files that I have set up for offline work. And I put that to good use.
I open the file I want and I start to write on it. I've done it in car's, on buses before, at the doctor's office, anywhere that the urge to write has taken over me. I pull it out and start tapping it out. Took me a while to get the hang of writing on the damn phone but I can even do it when I'm stuck in bed. Which sucks majorly but it can be done.
Paper and Pen
Ohhh yes, I write the old fashioned way to. Yes, I kind of have to. I have a small hoard of pens and I'm forever finding more to add to that collection. I go through a pen in a month if I'm not doing a lot of hand writing.
I've learned how best to write in a moving vehicle okay? I've learned how best to hold my pen and how to decipher my already messy writing when it came time to type up the words.
I never go out of the house without a backpack with a notebook or a binder full of paper, at least three pens, some chapstick, lactose pills (yay for lactose intolerance! Makes eating icecream a fun time), my phone, car charger and charging line, carpal tunnel glove, a clipboard (for a solid surface), a couple of my travel sized notebooks (for ideas), hair clip, hair ties, and a body spray.
Or two.
As me and my friend say "We don't carry purses for very good reasons. We have a lot of stuff that helps keep us sane". And this is true.
My writing keeps me sane while we wait for our ride to get to us when we have them leave us to shop while they do their thing.
Oh and lately I carry around a travel sized bottle of suntan lotion and a small thing of baby powder.
Look, it's not that hard to find a way to carry things around for your use. I use a sling shoulder backpack so I have options on how I want to carry the darn thing around. It has two pockets (one main one on the front and one small side one that usually carries my IPod mini, phone and headphones) and the big area that carries all that I need.
Cause I do also have to carry a wallet and a set of keys around with me. It's cute and it's durable, and mostly waterproof as proven by being caught in a sudden rain storm.
It's not that hard to carry around supplies. You carry one such supply on you. And if you can text, you can write on a phone with a GDoc app.
But how do you write when you're on the move?
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