Adventures in Writing

“The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school.” THE TITAN’S CURSE, Rick Riordan.

The first line of THE TITAN’S CURSE stopped me in my reading tracks.

I studied it to figure out why such a simple declarative sentence grabbed me.

A few words told a huge amount about the narrator. “My mom.” “Winter break.” “A new boarding school.” Obviously a modern kid below the age of driving.

Then the juxtaposition of the common-- a boy having his bag packed by his mom to go to a new boarding school, and the uncommon--a few deadly weapons. The mundane juxtaposed with the dangerous.

Since this was a young adult fantasy adventure, I knew I wasn’t reading about a mass murderer family on the way to massacre some kids. Some adventure was beginning.

In just one sentence I was given enough information to get a sense of the book and the main character, and a surprise within that information.

I’m also given several questions I want answered. Why the weapons? Why the new boarding school? Why is his mom not upset with deadly weapons?

All this will keep me reading.

Now, that’s a good first sentence.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Links of Interest

UNDERSTANDING THE CSI MINDSET:

http://forensics4fiction.com/2013/05/08/understanding-the-csi-mindset/

MINIMIZING RISK AS A WRITER:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2013/05/minimizing-risk-as-writera-guide-for.html

CONTRACT TERMS, OUT OF PRINT:

http://chiseledinrock.blogspot.com/2013/05/out-of-sight-out-of-mind-out-of-print.html

AUTHOR ESTATES AND WILLS:

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/who-will-you-trust-wills-in-author-estate-planning/

STRUCTURING YOUR YA NOVEL’S PLOT:

http://howtowriteshop.loridevoti.com/2013/05/driving-your-young-adult-novels-plot

CREATING SUSPENSE:

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/writerstrong-creating-nail-biting-suspense/

APPS FOR WRITERS:

http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com/2013/05/great-apps-for-writers.html

WRITING THROUGH THE FEAR:

http://labelleseditorialservices.com/blog/writing-through-the-fear/

TEN KEYS TO SUCCESS AS A WRITER:

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/ten-keys-to-success-survival-in-the-romance-industry/

HOW TO PITCH A SELF-PUBLISHED BOOK TO A PUBLISHER, PART 1:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-pitch-self-published-novel-to-publisher-1.html

THEME AND HOW TO DEVELOP IT:

http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.com/2013/05/theme-what-is-it-and-how-do-we-develop.html

REVISION:

http://www.writersdigest.com/uncategorized/4-truths-that-will-revolutionize-your-revision-process

15 THINGS A WRITER SHOULD NEVER DO:

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/15-things-a-writer-should-never-do

THE REAL COST OF SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK:

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/05/the-real-costs-of-self-publishing-book

Monday, May 13, 2013

How Many Books a Year?

QUESTION: How many books a year should I write?

It's become standard, particularly in paranormal romance and urban fantasy series novels, for the author to have the first three books printed in very short succession. I've seen several authors with three books out in three months.

The closely spaced books allow a synergy of promotion, word of mouth, the short attention spans of readers, and the addictive nature of readers to build phenomenal sales.

This method is so successful that sf and fantasy lines as well as thrillers now do the same thing.

The good news for authors, both traditionally published and self-published, is novels in short intervals are great for the career.

The bad news is the schedule is a physical, emotional, and creative monster some authors don't survive.

I know of several publishers who have told authors that if they can't produce on a fast schedule, the publisher isn't really interested.

You have to ask yourself how many books a year you can write and maintain your health, sanity, and your real life.

Editors and agents may insist that you follow such a brutal schedule of books, but they care primarily for their bottom line, not the price you will pay, so think carefully before you agree to such a schedule.

Also, remember that the quality and uniqueness of the books will probably suffer if you have no time for rewrites or creative time to think through your new book.

Even very successful name authors get caught in this trap so that their published books are in dire need of a serious rewrite and are so repetitive as to be boring.

NOTE: Some self-published authors who aren't required to produce particular lengths for their novels report the same success as multiple novels by producing a series of shorter, often novella length, works.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Links of Interest

HOW MANY BOOKS SOLD MAKE A SELF-PUB BESTSELLER?

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/how-many-copies-make-a-self-published-bestseller_b69711

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST AUTHOR SOLUTIONS:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2013/05/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against.html

CONTRACT TERMS, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE PUBLISHER DOESN’T PAY?

http://chiseledinrock.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-happens-if-publisher-doesnt-pay.html

LIE VERSUS LAY, THE ETERNAL QUESTION:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2013/05/03/to-lay-or-to-lie-that-is-the-question

SHOULD YOU MAINTAIN THE SAME POV DISTANCE THROUGHOUT THE NOVEL?

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2013/05/should-you-maintain-same-pov-distance.html

CREATING AUTHOR NEWSLETTERS:

http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/author-newsletters-everything-you-need-to-know-and-then-some

WRITING AN HISTORICAL THRILLER:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2013/05/writing-historical-thriller-journey.html

BRUSH UP YOUR GRAMMAR, USING A HYPHEN WITH A WRITTEN NUMBER:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/use-a-dash-for-number-ranges/

PLOT STRUCTURE CHART:

http://www.magicalwords.net/carrie-ryan/plot-structure-chart/

PROMOTION, USING THE RIGHT KEYWORDS ON AMAZON:

http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/amazon-and-keywords-how-to-choose-keywords-that-work

JOHN MCPHEE’S METHOD OF WRITING WHEN THE WORDS WON’T COME:

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2013/05/02/having-trouble-writing-try-this-famous-author’s-technique/

10 THINGS WRITERS SHOULD DO IN THEIR NOVELS:

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/novak

Monday, May 6, 2013

Plagiarism

QUESTION: What is plagiarism? If I borrow an author’s style, is that plagiarism?

Plagiarism is a very complex issue. The most obvious example is a writer who has cobbled together many paragraphs of someone else's work with their own words as cement.

A less obvious example is someone who uses someone else's work as a template to their own. Each scene is a rewrite of a scene in someone else's novel.

Another very common form of plagiarism is cutting and pasting text from a nonfiction source into a novel.

Famous writers certainly aren't exempt from being guilty of plagiarism. Janet Dailey's flagrant plagiarism of Nora Roberts' novels is a perfect example. (JD was proven guilty and had to pay restitution.)

Not so famous writers are also found guilty of the same thing. Some years back, a teenaged novelist had her first novel pulled off shelves when readers found that she'd patched together several other books to create her own.

Copying someone’s style isn’t plagiarism as long as you aren’t copying content. Many new writers try to emulate a favorite author’s style because they haven’t found their own yet. After a few years, gained confidence, and the sheer difficulty of maintaining someone else’s voice, most develop their own style.

As a reader, if you feel that the two books are so similar that it might be plagiarism, you should contact the publisher or the author, express your concerns, and let them decide whether this is plagiarism or not.

Most authors have websites with contact information as do publisher websites.