Today was one of those days when everything felt depressing.
At this point, I’ve completed half of the book. To understand why this depressed me, here’s a bit of background for you. Continue reading ““Is the juice worth the squeeze?””
Meat on the bone
I’m re-writing Book #1 right now. A few of my beta readers told me the meat on the bone is missing. So, I’m adding the muscle right now, doing some “body pump”, some “jogging”, “swimming”… Hopefully the body will be in good shape once the second draft is finished. In any case, in one of these new muscle-building chapters, my main character encounters a person who she already met at the beginning of the book (that part I wrote new as well). As they approached each other, Continue reading “Meat on the bone”
Escapism
A few days ago I met two good friends of mine. We exchanged our news over a minimalistic, but dirt-expensive dinner, and sooner or later we came to my new writing career. While talking about books and my writing efforts, one of my friends tells me that she knows she won’t like my books. Continue reading “Escapism”
Commercial thinking vs inspirational drive
Think of yourself coming into a painter’s studio. The wooden floor is splashed with colors. Lots of light streams in from the windows on the south side. Some windows are open and you can hear the murmur from the market below. And the room is full of paintings. Large paintings, small paintings, bright paintings, dark paintings, but – most of them are not yet finished. The painter creates his paining in a flash of inspiration. One morning he is inspired to work on landscapes. The morning after, he wants to paint still life, but his landscapes are not finished yet. They are waiting for the next flash of inspiration.
I write like that. Continue reading “Commercial thinking vs inspirational drive”
The reader-pack: Alphas, Betas and Omegas?
I have just finished draft of the book ♯1!
But that doesn’t mean it will shine tomorrow on Amazon’s bestseller list. 🙂
There’s a long road still ahead.
At this stage my book is written and self-edited, but what I now need is a second pair of eyes (or several of them). So before I give the book to an editor, I need to get input from beta-readers.
Who are beta-readers? Continue reading “The reader-pack: Alphas, Betas and Omegas?”
Cliffhangers, or not?
I know I keep repeating myself, but I’ve almost finished the book #1. Almost.
What I’d like to cover in this (quick) post is the ending: should it be a complete ending of Book #1 with final conclusion or a cliffhanger. As a reader, I HATE cliffhangers! But also, as a reader, if they’re done well, I’m hooked and I’m going to read the sequel.
As it looks right now, I’m going to write a cliffhanger in book #1.
Before you start writing your book, write a story line first
I need to again praise the J.A. Konrath “Guide to publishing”. He gives really valuable advice and I wished I had read it before I started writing my first book. (Mind you, I started writing before he actually published his “Guide”).
One of the things he advises is to write a story line for your sequel-book: just a few sentences that describe what happens in each chapter.
This is something publishers/literary agents want to have when a writer promises a sequel. Before any contract is made, they need to make sure you (as a writer) know what will happen in your book No. 2, or 3, or 7 (if that’s how far you’re going). Continue reading “Before you start writing your book, write a story line first”
Who will do the research for me?
Ken Follett, I found out recently, has 30 people to do the research for him: historical facts, architectural facts etc. I am also aware that when he wrote his first book, he didn’t have that. He had to do the whole research himself.
Like me, and every other indie author.
Book no.2: A surprise visit
It’s Friday night. I’m in my bed, tired. Must be close to midnight. Eyes closed. I want to sleep.
In my mind there is a scene running. It goes on and on. I think: “Fine, I’ll remember it. Now let me sleep! “
It still goes on, and on, and on.
Ahgrrr!
Is there a villain in you?
My characters need to be believable. That means I need to know what they are about, what are they going through, what have they experienced, what are their wishes, needs and expectations. To bigger or lesser extent I need to know them.
So – the question then is – how do I write about a villain?