Tag Archives: Books

Small Bites 1 cover

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Three flash fiction stories. “Beware the Werewolf”, “Chimera” and “Griffins Flight”

Three flash fiction stories. “Beware the Werewolf”, “Chimera” and “Griffins Flight”

I just finished “Chimera”, the third story in Small Bites.

Now it’s off to be edited so that I can put the first of the books up.

There will be four of them, each for .99 cents, each with three really short stories. Then I will do the full “Small Bites” with all twelves stories as one $3.99 offering, and raise the singles to $2.99.

In other news, “Osiren’s Tears” is well on it’s way to completion. I am in the process of finding an editor. It is almost 30,000 words long and definitely needs an edit before I put it out.

This will be my first full length book out. It will be at $3.99 I think. But once I have it up I will also start offering some KDP select free books, so look for that soon as well.

What if someone steals my stuff?

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This is a really common question of new writers. They want feedback from other writers, but they are afraid some other writer will steal their idea.

The truth is there is a chance someone can take your idea, or use that name for their book, or have a similar protagonist. All of these can happen.
But it isn’t as important as some seem to think.

The truth is:

1. Someone already did it.
Think about the plot pieces that make up your story. Lost soul? Broken heart? Artifact? Magic stone?
Now think of all the movies, TV shows, music pieces, paintings, games, books, comics, and other media out there with the same theme, plot, story, or character type in it. A lot of them, right?

Very little comes out that is completely new and original. Many of the best movies are re-imaginings of past ideas, or franchises. Even “Avatar”, a block buster, was criticized for being a rip off of “Dances with Wolves”. “Titanic” drew from the sinking of a real ship, and the old “boy meets girl of a different class, can’t have girl cause someone else is in the way” story line. They just tweaked the stories, gave them beautiful backdrops, and let them go.

2. Writers already have their own ideas.
I have 7 novels, and 12 short stories planned for this year. That doesn’t include the others that are waiting for next year. I don’t need yet another idea to stack on top of all the others. And I bet most, if not all authors that bother with publishing, have a drawer full of ideas just like me. Why, then, do they need your idea?

3. Your stuff isn’t worth stealing… yet.
Okay, there is a chance that your prose are amazing, awesome, inspiring, and will bring readers to tears, encouraging them to shoot you to the top of the charts. But more then likely you need to hone your craft. Find all the glitches. Clean up the prose, spelling and grammar. And then, MAYBE, after all of that is done, then you might be ready for the big time.

If you are one of those rare people who have uber-amazing stories that are worth stealing, then why aren’t you publishing right now?

Lets be honest. It takes time to learn to write well, and not only technically speaking, but also to write stories worth reading. Worth stealing? That is a whole new level of greatness.

4. Art is Stealing
Romeo and Juliet has been remade, rewritten, and re-conceptualized, so many hundreds of times that each of us knows the story without ever actually reading the original work. Most of the adaptations don’t even bother to say “this is a rip off of Romeo and Juliet” anymore. We just know.

Why is this a good thing? Because it means you can do the same thing. Remake red riding hood, or some Greek myths. Re-imagine Aesop’s fables, or a 100 year old opera. Go to museums and make up stories to go with pictures you see. Write to music, art, etc. Etc.

For more on this go read Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

5. Ideas are a dime a dozen.
Here, have some:

  • Girl goes to mars and finds life that tries to eat her.
  • Guy meets girl, pisses her off, and has to win her back.
  • Group of friends are going off to college and make a last ditch effort to have the best summer ever.
  • Ancient god from Norse myth turns out to be an alien, and he’s back.
  • We are actually in a communal dream.
  • Kid finds out his parents are really wizards/aliens/superheros/etc and so is he.
  • Artist makes a beautiful piece of art and falls in love with it.

Seven ideas. All of which have been featured in several movies/books/poems/songs/etc.
Ideas are a dime a dozen, and you can’t copyright ideas. In fact you can go watch a movie, write down the key points, and create your own story out of it.

Basic story: Guy finds out he’s actually meant to save the world. Doesn’t believe it, but when he finally does amazing/horrible things start happening. This is the plot to “The Matrix”, “LOTR”, and “WoT” books, as well as several other franchises.
Now redefine a few things. Who is “the guy”? How will he save, or destroy the world? Why doesn’t he believe? What makes him believe? What can he do once he believes? Now you have a story all your own.

What does this all mean?
Stop worrying about your stuff getting stolen and go on with your life. Get on with making art.

Here is a real world example. Fashion designers can not copyright their designs because clothing is a utilitarian item. Here is a great article on how lack of copyright has actually made fashion design better.

And here is EA… SimCity, a great game. Suffering under 2800 one star reviews because they are so paranoid about copyright that they are killing their own game.

Here is what matters:
Make good art.
Make a lot of it.
Make it available.
Give it a fair priced.
Engage your readers.

If they like you, and your writing, then they will want to give you money so that you will keep making more stuff.

If you are so afraid someone will steal your stuff, then you’re not going to meet the fans who will love your work, either.

Vacation from the Vacation

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I took a very long weekend from my day job. It was very relaxing for the first three days. I got a lot of editing done (as I was using it for a working holiday.)

And then the kids came home for the beginning of there mid winter break. And my boyfriend and I had to deal with the little flare ups that happen when three teenagers living in a small apartment, and stuck inside for much of the winter, start getting on each others nerves.

Vacation from the vacation. Such a common phrase, and I’ve used it a few times.

I find it odd that we complain so much about wanting our time to ourselves, to retire, and not have to listen to bosses, and yet many of us end up craving that time at work. To get away from family? To be productive? To have something to do? Probably a little bit of all of it. I know I love my family, but I can’t spend five days stuck in a house with them anymore.

So what is the point of a vacation if you then need a vacation from it?

I think its a great time for perspective. It’s a breather to step away from your every day life and just take it all in. Kind of like sleep is a break from the day where your brain resets and organizes the thoughts for the day.

And it is a great time to reaffirm to yourself that yes, this thing is the thing I want to do with my life. Not corporate america. Not the 9-5. But this creative endeavor that absolutely makes me feel like I have accomplished something wonderful.

Back to my corporate american job tomorrow. But I think it will be a great escape from my house, and give me something to do while I contemplate the next move with my novel.

About word counts

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I spoke a little about word counts yesterday, and how writing every day is part of the secret to success.

Here is a visual to go with it:

wordcounts

 

They say the “sweet spot” is 1000 words a day. If you can manage that you would actually write over 300k words every year. That is three full length, 100 THOUSAND word length books…. a year!

And most “books” aren’t 100k anymore. They are generally the 50-80 thousand word variety. that is 4-7 full length books. In a year!

If that doesn’t get you to write well…. What will?

I am at 250 a day right now. That’s averaged, not every day. But I’m working those writing muscles till I can get to that 1000 a day sweet spot.

What is your writing goal?

How to be a Success

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I was having a conversation on Twitter last month about making writing your day job, and I sent this to the guys over at SPP:

I thought I’d expand upon this “simple” idea, because out of all the writing books, blogs, articles, websites, podcasts, and videos, everything distills down into these four points.

1. Write Well.

“Well” seems to be such a simple word. But it includes a lot of things. Grammar, spelling, characters, plot, and everything else involved with a story. It also involves knowing the difference between a workable story, and something that you should just let go.

You can always get help with the mechanics of a story. Workshops abound. Editors are for hire. You can even hire a ghost writer to write up the idea/plot/storyline you came up with and stick your name on it (not generally recommended.)

If you have a compelling story, with characters your readers care about, then you are headed in the right direction.

2. Write a lot.

Be PROLIFIC! I can not stress this enough. I don’t care if you are writing in your journal every day, but the fact remains the more you write, the more you will write. However, you shouldn’t JUST write things in your diary. Practice writing short stories, articles, blog posts, and anything else. Write as though you are writing to someone, expecting someone to read it.

Writing also helps you improve your ability to write. Grammar and spelling, as well as just coherence. This goes for reading as well. If you don’t read, or hate reading, then how can you write well?

3. Publish often.

Some of the best selling authors are there simply because they write a lot of books. The more books they write, the better visibility they have. The better chance someone has to see something they wrote that was great. 

Here is a list of some prolific authors, many of which are well known.
4. Engage readers.

Email lists. Blogs. Fan mail. Twitter. Facebook. Websites… really it doesn’t matter how you engage your readers, but the internet makes it incredible easy to do just that. If you don’t do so, or come off as a grumpy old guy/gal who doesn’t give a half a penny for their fans then it is less likely you will grow your reading ranks.

Look, we live in a connected world. I actively talk to some of my favorite writers now. I send them tweets, or comment on their Facebook status, and they answer me. It’s awesome. I love the fact that they know their fans are their bread and butter, and they love interacting with me, and all the other people who love their work.

Kim Harrison got feedback for, and changed the cover for one of her new books. Sean Platt and David Write added three chapters to the end of their series to clarify their writing. Piers Anthony has answered every single fan letter he could, and even included characters, puns, and small plot lines to really engage his readers.

Will all of this get you tons of fans? Ultimately only time can tell, but these four things will get you closer then any one of them by itself.

Around the Web

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Tor Authors give tips on writing.

Yes, Virginia, You can be a Paid Author Too (which is a bit tongue in cheek, and NSFW language.)

11 ways you can help get your favorite author noticed, some of which are new-ish.

Google+ communities create networks for authors and publishers. (I’ve been saying for a while, Google+ people! Drop Facebook! Find me here.)

7 Worst Mistakes by Indie Authors (according to Joanna Penn, taken from her own experiences.)

Writers and Depression: An Interview with Psychotherapist and Author, Philip Kenney

And because I absolutely love this site, and think more people should use these: MOO stickers and business cards.

End of NaNoWriMo

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In a few short hours NaNoWriMo will be complete. Many people have already sent in their verification and “won”, including me. Some are going to be drinking coffee and scrambling for those last few words at midnight. Others had life get in the way, or lost interest along the way.

If you completed your challenge, congratulations! You deserve it!

At the conclusion of NaNo I now have two completed stories. One is 20k words, and the other is 30k. I also have the beginnings for a new sci-fi romance that just popped into my head today, and I got another 1500 words on that, and a complete outline.

But more importantly, I have a good habit of writing. Something I lost a while ago, and have been working on getting back for the last year. I hope that this has started something great.

I’ve decided I need to write or edit three pages a day, at least, if I really want this to be my “day job”. It doesn’t sound that difficult at the moment. Then I have those days where I have to cook dinner, or take children to doctors appointments, or days where I’m just sick, or tired, or fed up with life.

I’m rather happy with this NaNo. I’ve seen people who didn’t understand it, didn’t support their spouse, or thought it was ridiculousness. I am so grateful that my boyfriend pushed me to keep going. I can’t wait to start editing this, and hopefully have it up on amazon within a few months.

YA to the Rescue

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Young Adult (YA) books have been inspiring a lot of movies lately. Wimpy Kid, Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Twilight to name a few. These stories, though classified as young adult, actually have some hefty themes to them. Love, life, death, war, power, and laced with a little magic.

I happen to love the Harry Potter movies. They were imaginative, and beautiful, with a captivating story. Perhaps they were “young adult” when first written, but I, along with thousands of fans, watched as Harry, Hermione, and Ron grew into wizards capable of defeating even the largest army.

I suppose YA gives you a very simple way to add growth to a character. They simply grow up. However, the way in which they grow up, and the reaction of the characters to growing up can make a huge difference on the story.

We have Hermione, Katniss, and Bell. In these three stories you have two very different types of character. The first two are strong, independent women who fight for their lives, and the lives of those they love. They go to the ends of the earth to do what they think is right. Then you have an angsty teen who lays down and cries herself to sleep.

It is my opinion that Twilight did well for two reasons. First, young teen girls almost always go through the “Omg, he broke up with me, the world is ending” phase. I admit it. I did it. I am glad I grew out of it. Second… Vampires.

Almost all stories will see the growth of the characters. They will have obstacles to overcome, and their attitudes and beliefs will be tested. How they react to those situations… Well, as the writer it is ultimately up to you to decide that.