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Monday, March 31, 2014

Third Draft Revelations


I'm on the third draft of my novel, and I've recently come to a realization. In a sense, the story will never be finished. Yes, I'm going to have it done enough someday to query agents, but there is always more. There is always a stone left unturned, a conflict unexplored, a setting left undiscovered, an interesting characteristic that hasn't made it to the page. There is always more. I can always take the story further. A writer can spend decades exploring and expanding a story, adding this quirk in a relationship, that surprise to the plot, those rich descriptions to every setting.

Sometimes the changes I think of making to my story aren't better or worse than what I already have. It's just preference. And I have to wonder, do I really prefer one over the other?

I think on a subconscious level, I wanted to explore every possibility, every unturned stone, and then pick what was best out of all of them. But with so many characters, complexities, mysteries, relationships, themes, and opportunities for worldbuilding, it's unrealistic to do that. And once the story reaches a certain point, it's not a better or worse option anymore, it's just a different option. Often it becomes an exchange. If I switch this, I can gain this and that, but lose this and that. Sometimes it's not.

There's a saying for movie-makers: "A movie is never finished, only abandoned," meaning, one can always do more work on it. He just finds a good spot to stop.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Tips on Starting a Story

Anonymous asked: Do you have any tips on starting a story? Haha, sorry, I'm new at this thing .-.




Don’t be sorry. Many writers feel the starting of the story is the hardest part to get right—and with good reason!

Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve read literally thousands of story beginnings, reading through slush piles.

First off, there are basically two methods of writing: “Pantsing” and “Plotting.” Some writers like to just start writing a story without an outline or anything, and they just discover their plot and characters as they go. People who do this are called “discovery writers,” or informally, “pantsers.” Other writers like to have a solid outline before they start a novel. They may even plan out the dialogue and action for a scene before they write it. These are “plotters,” or “planners.” A lot of writers use a hybrid method of both.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Friday, March 14, 2014

Get 6 Novels from Best-selling Fantasy Authors for $5



Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson, Tracy Hickman, Kevin J. Anderson, James A. Owen, Peter David, David Farland, Kristine Kathryn Rusch. What do these people have in common? Well, they're all professional, established writers, most of them are best-selling authors, and they all have books up on StoryBundle.com right now. And I figured my followers would want to know about it.

StoryBundle lets you buy novels in groups, and let's you decide how much you want to pay for them. So, you can get their Truly Epic Fantasy Bundle for $5, $20, $30--you decide. If you pay the average price that others have, or more, you get three bonus books.

This is the craziest bundle they've done so far. Neil Gaiman is known for Newbery Award-winning novel The Graveyard Book, and for Caroline, and Stardust (which was turned into a film adaptation), and he's even written episodes of Dr. Who. Brandon Sanderson is an author I've mentioned several times on my blog. He wrote Mistborn and finished the Wheel of Time series. He's very popular in the fantasy world.

International and NYT Best-selling fantasy author Tracy Hickman is best known for the Dragonlance series, and he has over fifty books in print. Kevin J. Anderson has had 51 of his books appear on national or international bestseller lists; he has won or been nominated for the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader's Choice Award, and New York Times Notable Book, and has worked on the Dune series and in the Star Wars franchise.



And then my buddy and boss, David Farland has won plenty of awards and hit best-seller lists. He's also worked in the Star Wars franchise, and on movies and video games, and taught #1 New York Times Best-selling writers such as Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Brandon Sanderson (Wheel of Time), James Dashner (The Maze Runner) and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight).

Okay, bragging done. You can check out everyone's bios at StoryBundle. And of course, read what each novel in the bundle is about. It's a great deal, so if you're interested, fork out $5 to get six of them. Some of the money goes to charity (you decide how much).

And if you want to know about more novel bundles, you can follow StoryBundle.

Friday, March 7, 2014

How to Start Writing When You Have No Idea Where to Start

(Listen to this post on Youtube)

Anonymous asked: I wanna start writing but I have no clue where to start or what to write about and I'm freaked that no one will read it so I don't see the point... I need help!



To begin writing, there are a few basic things every story needs: characters, a setting, and, problems. So those are all good places to start. Who is your character? What problems will he/she face? Where does this take place?

Some ideas for stories seem to pop into writers' heads all on their own, but most often, writers have to seek out the ideas themselves. When you start looking for ideas, you'll find them.

Often writers get "stuck" or get "writer's block" because they haven't brainstormed enough. Take some time to brainstorm. Sometimes all you need to do is sit down with a paper and start listing ideas. If you feel like they aren't coming, try looking at your favorite books, t.v. shows, movies, or, if you're into them, video games. What do you like about them? Was there something in one that inspired you to write? You might want to start there to get inspiration.