First Chapter

First and foremost. Welcome new members, thanks for joining and following me.

I remember when I first started writing how I couldn't believe how serious people were about the first chapter being vital. I always thought they were nuts. it's just the beginning, right?

Wrong!

That first chapter is so much more than just "the beginning" of your story. It's one the two most important chapters in a book. The other being the climax {which will will discuss in a later post}. Next to the climax your first chapter is the most important one of the book.

Why?

Because that little bugger has a lot of important jobs to carry out in order to succeed.

One: It must grab the readers attention immediately. Something, be it an action scene, or a problem your character needs to resolve, or even a bit of dialogue about the problem your character is facing, has to quickly snag your reader's attention before they put the book back on the shelf and reach for another one. {this goes back to my post about how vital the first sentence/paragraph is and why.}

Two: Ground the readers in the setting. The reader needs to know immediately when {what time period, future, past, present?} and where {location, location, location} the story is taking place. Please use specifics here. Specific sensory details should cue the reader to the exact location.

Three: It sets the tone for what kind of book they are reading and gives a glimpse at the over all style of the writer. Readers need to be clear about what genre the book is by the end of the first chapter, or they will get confused and likely walk away feeling cheated. Make sure you know what genre you are writing and the rules that apply to it, so you can follow those rules specific to the genre and not disappoint your reader's by "cheating them" {pretending it's a sci fi action book when it's really a romance fantasy} and leaving them unsatisfied.

Four: It introduces readers to the main character{s}, but not too many at once. Personally, I like to stick with just the hero and/or heroine in the first chapter. That way readers don't feel overwhelmed by too many characters and can get a chance to "bond" with your main character{s} If a reader cannot bond with the characters, why should they continue reading to see what happens to them?

Five: It sets the stakes, letting the readers know exactly what is at risk for your character{s} and what they must do to overcome it. The first chapter should satisfy the reader's need to understand what the story is going to be about, while posing a question that makes them want to stay with your character{s} and see what happens. Arouse the reader's curiosity and they will want to keep reading. Fail to arouse their curiosity and they will put it back on the shelf unread. Sad, but true.

Six: It establishes the narrator's voice and Point Of View, which will help you cut down on the dreaded "head hopping" and enables you to avoid confusing your readers. Make sure your narrator's voice is clear, or you will confuse your readers. Confused readers = lost readers = lost sales and lost future sales and/or lost contracts.

Seven: The first chapter should be a teaser, one that creates a question in the reader's mind and creates suspense to keep them wanting to learn about and thus turning the pages, to follow your character's through out the book. Only give the details necessary to firmly establish your character's situation and what is at stake, while immersing your readers in the setting. It's a good idea to avoid as much back story as possible within the first one hundred pages. But it is absolutely vital to keep it out of the first chapter. If your readers already know everything, why should they continue reading your book? Keep them guessing and you should keep them interested.

In conclusion over the years {and a plethora of revisions} I've learned the hard way everything I mentioned above. Don't make the mistake of starting just to start. During the revision stage pay special attention to your opening chapter and check for the key elements listed above. If you're missing them, add them. After all, that's what revisions are for, to help us clean up our mistakes, tighten prose, and add in what we've missed.

Updates!

I finally settled on the official book blurb for my upcoming novel.

*side note* Cover Art coming soon.

Book Blurb for Dangerous Temptation:

After losing her father in the line of duty, the last thing seventeen year old Kaitlin Sinclair wants to do is fly halfway around the world to live with an uncle she's never met. She certainly doesn't want to get to know the locals… That is until she's enchanted by some of the legends about the natives. Armed with her camera she heads into the jungle and makes a startling discovery that could put both her heart and her life in peril.

Cadmon Quinn is a Borneo shifter, charged with the task of keeping his people safe from the local hostiles who have been uncooperative in the meetings to try and establish peace. To say he's unhappy when he discovers one traipsing about his people's land is an understatement. Too bad no one warned him she would prove to be more of a challenge than he'd expected. One that could jeopardize his people's existence and his heart.

Just Starting Out

I remember when I first started writing and how scary it was.

It can seem pretty overwhelming at first huh? Worried about whether or not other people will like your writing. How "mean" they will be in the reviews or critiques.

It takes a lot of courage to post any of your writing up for others to read. So, to have them write "mean" reviews telling you things aren't right and you need to get them right... that can really crush a new writer's spirit. Especially if it seems like a "flame" in the case of fanfiction.

The good news is that you can learn some valuable information from those harsh reviews and critiques.

The truth is most of those "mean" reviews aren't meant to hurt your feelings at all. They're actually meant to help you become a better writer.

A word to this wise: Keep in mind that if you can't handle harsh reviews, you won't be able to handle the harsher critiques, which are what help writers grow into better writers. It's that simple. As a writer we need to remember most of what is said is directed solely at the writing not the writer.

If someone flat out calls you a bad writer, then yeah, that's directed at you and it's simply them trying to undermine your confidence in yourself. Don't let them. Take those "flames" and pitch them aside. Ignore them. Most times flamers are just trying to get a rise out of you. Don't react and they will usually go away. If the flamers become too bothersome simply block them and let that be the end of it.

You must learn to have confidence in yourself and your writing. Because without it, you'll never get over the fear of "not being good enough" to get published, and you won't enjoy writing anymore. What's the point in doing something if you don't enjoy it?

Writing should be an adventure for you. Exciting, fun, sometimes frustrating {especially during revisions} but it should always be an adventure to you. Your taking something and pouring your heart and soul into it. Like it or not every author pours some of themselves into their stories. There is no way of getting around that. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Never give up!

How do you handle mean reviews or harsh critiques? What do you learn from them? Have they helped you improve over the years? Feel free to comment and join in on the discussion.

One last note: There is a fabulous celebration going on at The Bookshelf Muse Make sure you stop by and help these two talented women celebrate their hard earned milestone of reaching over 3000+ subscribers. They've earned it! Don't forget to enter their awesome contest too!

Scenes

Have you ever been told that writing things one scene at a time will make the whole novel process easier?

I remember how confusing that statement was when I first started out writing my novels, and how when everyone who tried to explain it only confused me more.

I can't tell you how many times I've been told this by other writers and editors over the past few years.

So, what makes a scene a scene? That is an excellent question and one than can be very confusing, as every person has their own ideas about it and most conflict with others opinions. Today I'm going to attempt to simplify it for those of you still confused about it.

Here are a few quotes from a book I've found infinitely helpful about it.

"For one thing it takes place in real time. Your readers watch events as they unfold rather than it being described after the fact." - end quote.

So, what exactly does that mean? It means you show the action, rather then describing {aka telling} it.

Telling: She kicked her foot and spun around, walking off angry.

Showing: Layana kicked the rock, sending it across the ground with a muffled curse. Her mouth tightened into a thin line and her hands balled into fists as she spun around, and stomped away, kicking a second stone out of her path with a huff.

Scenes usually have settings as well, specific locations readers can picture." - end quote.

Now let's add that nugget of advice to the prose. Shall we?

Layana stood near the river. A branch fell from the tree, smacking her in the face and knocking her on her butt. She kicked the rock, sending it across the ground with a muffled curse. Her mouth tightened into a thin line and her hands balled into fists as she spun around, and stomped away, kicking a second stone out of her path with a huff.

Scenes also contain some action, something that happens. More often than not, what happens is dialogue between one or more characters." - end quote.

Now to add that last nugget to our prose.

Layana stood under a tree, listening to the nearby river flow and relaxed her shoulders. A branch fell from the tree smacking her in the face and knocked her onto her butt.

"Damnit!" She jumped up and kicked a small rock, sending it across the ground with a muffled curse. She watched with little satisfaction as it sunk into the water with a loud splash.

"Why can't I catch a break today?" Her mouth tightened into a thin line and her hands balled into fists as she spun around, and stomped away, kicking a second stone out of her path with a huff.

The final product transformed our first sentence into an entire scene. Hard to believe it, huh? But, it meets all of the criteria.

1.} It has a specific location: by the river.

2.} It has a specific character: Layana.

3.} It shows us what happens as the events unfold: Getting hit by a branch and growing angry enough to kick a rock and then storm off.

4.} It contains plenty of action: Jumping to her feet, kicking a stone, complaining, stomping off, ect.

5.} It also shows rather than describes her emotions. Instead of simply saying, "she walked off angry." I've shown her anger, through the tightening of her mouth, balling her fists, her huff, her curse, and her storming away.

I even added some brief dialogue, and went a step further by hinting through the dialogue at the fact that she's had a lousy day.

Three paragraphs created an entire scene. Amazing huh?

Please note that some scenes can take several pages and even a full chapter to come out right, others can be brief, yet vital to the plot, such as the one I did above.

Reference Material: Self Editing For Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.

Opening hooks.

Now that I have your full attention, thanks to that little picture... Have you ever wondered what an "opening hook" is? It's something that grabs your readers' attention so that they feel compelled to read on. Kind of like I did with the opening picture.

When I first learned the term several years ago I was confused as hell! But after researching it and asking my crit partners about it, I found out it's not nearly as daunting as I first thought. Hopefully this post will help clearly explain it to my fellow writers who don't understand it.

A strong opening hook could possibly be the key that makes or breaks your manuscript. Most often it comes by the end of the first chapter. However according to several agents, you really only get the first paragraph to "wow" them, before getting placed into the rejection pile. Sometimes only the first sentence.

Why? It has been explained to me by several agents, that agents receive thousands of manuscripts per week and go through hundreds per day. They don't have time to read through everything ever sent to them. If it's not up to their standards, why should they bother?

To quote Stein On writing:

"The ideal goals of an opening paragraph are: 1. To excite the reader's curiosity, preferably about a character or a relationship. 2. To introduce a setting. 3. To lend resonance to the story." - end quote.

Your first sentence is absolutely vital. So make sure by the time it's finished you have a strong hook. Here is an example of one I have used during the process of writing my Nano novel.

Example One:

A large dark wolf loomed over the sea of mangled body parts, strewn across the blood soaked ground, head thrown back, howling at the moonlight, with blood dripping from its wide, thick, fangs.

Right away it's got readers wanting to know more. Like why is it attacking? Who did it attack? Is anyone still alive? ect. I even took it a step further and built a bit of tension in that single sentence. It starts out very dark doesn't it? It's still not perfected, but it is a solid opening hook.

Here is another one, from various stages of my Double Trouble manuscript.

Example Two:

The sound of a machine starting up, quickly followed by a scream on the other side of the door, caused the tray in her hands to tremble. Red hot, needle-like pains shot through her arm. She closed her eyes, focusing on keeping her breathing even.

Again it leaves readers wanting to know more, and that my friends is the key to creating a strong opening hook. It needs to leave your readers so eager to learn more that they have no choice but to keep turning the page to find out.

For a hook to be effective, it should do at least two of the following: 1. Appeal to the readers’ emotions. 2. Raise questions about what will happen. 3. Reveal something that isn’t anticipated. 4. Indicate that something is about to change.

If it doesn't do at least two of the the things listed above, it's not a solid opening hook. Do your best to stand out from the slush pile {rejection pile} by having a solid opening hook in the first paragraph of your manuscript and you'll be ahead of the game.

So, what are some the opening hooks you've used for your manuscripts? Feel free to share your stories below. I love hearing about other writers' stories as much as everyone else.

Reference Material: Stein On Writing, by Sol Stein.

Show vs Tell

What are some of the topics you would like to see discussed here during the upcoming weeks? Feel free to leave your responses as comments below.

This week let's look at something that has been a huge factor in my own writing experiences and I'm sure it's something the rest of you have at least heard of.

Show versus tell.

Some of you are thinking "What's that?" right? Let me give you an example of each and then I will explain them.

Example A: He boiled water.

Example B: Shawn filled the pot from his faucet and placed it on the stove top, lighting the fire beneath. He watched the bubbles dance, before adding in the noodles.

So which is show and which is tell? Anybody?

The first one tells us what is happening. It's a secondhand report, with no specific character or setting. It's general and very boring. Leaves a lot to be desired, huh?

The second one shows what is happening. It adds action to the scene, and gives a specific character and setting, making it an immediate scene. Instead of simply "boiling water" he's filling the pot, placing it on the stove, lighting the stove, and watching the water boil. How I described the bubbles also makes the visual come alive with more action.

Here is another example:

Example A: She blushed. tell

Example B: Sally's cheeks bled crimson as the heat filled her face. Matt winked at her. She scuffed her foot and the color deepened. show

Again the second one adds action to the scene. That my fellow writers is the key behind showing.

Both have the same emotion behind them - embarrassment. But the second one shows her blushing and scuffing her feet. It adds action to the scene. The first one only tells us what is taking place. See the difference?

Okay now if you are still confused, here is one directly from Stein On Writing:

Example A: He took a walk. tells.

Example B: He walked as if against an unforeseen wind, hoping that someone stop him. shows, because it gives the reader a sense of what the character wants.

Again the example above was a direct one quoted from Stein On writing. No one can argue with that.

I'm telling you straight up, there is no "secret formula" to mastering show vs tell. As the author, you need to use a combination of each in order to keep the prose {writing} fresh and keep it engaging. Too much telling makes for a very boring read. Same for too much showing. You have to find the combination that works best for you and your style of writing.

Bored readers most likely won't buy anymore of your books, which equals lost sales, and lost contracts. Ah you get the point.

When writing the bottom line always has to be:

"What do my readers want or expect to see?"

As authors it is our job to entertain the readers. That means giving them a story that feels original. As authors we need to be able to predict how our readers will react and then surprise them, instead of giving them what they expect will happen. But, that's for another post later down the road.

Back to the topic at hand. Practice with this and see what you can come up with. Maybe take a week off your current writing project. Then take one scene, be it one you quickly make up, or one that is really be a pain in the neck. Take your scene and practice showing the actions and then tell to describe the scenery. You'll be surprised how well the writing will improve.

As for me, I'm waiting for another book that was suggested to me by a crit partner. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow. I can't wait to get my hands on it! I'll be spending the weekend reading it and maybe read a book or two just for fun.

All work and no playtime makes for a bored writer. and bored writers simply can't produce their best work. Seriously, if you try to force it, your writing will come out terrible. Trust me. The age old adage "been there, done that" applies here. It will show in the quality of your writing. So when you find things aren't taking shape like they need to, you need to take a break.

What are some of the way you like to show rather than tell? What are some of the moments where you feel telling is better than showing? Feel free to respond in your comments below. Come on. Don't be shy. You know you want to. XD

Reference Material: Stein On Writng By Sol Stein.

Dialogue

For those interested, you can also follow me on twitter now.

Have you ever wondered what they keys to writing good dialogue are? Here are some things I have learned about it during my years of writing and am still learning to perfect.

It's not what is said that counts. It's the meaning behind it.

Take a minute and let that sink in. The meaning behind it. I know, some of you are probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about, right? Let me break it down for you.

When you're talking to your friends, you talk right? But what do you feel? Therein lies the first secret to good dialogue - emotion.

For example:

"Hey Eva, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

What does Eva's reply tell us? Anybody?

"Oh," usually means someone is distracted. But, why is she distracted? What is bothering her? Is someone ill? Is she upset?

It can also mean she is ignoring the person. But why? Is she angry with them? Does she not like them?

"Oh" can also denote sarcasm. "Oh, it's you again." That doesn't sound very friendly now does is?

One simple word can have a variety of meanings, and bring to mind a dozen different questions and possibilities. The context in how it used, will show us the emotion behind it.

The emotions behind what is said, can tell a reader everything they need to know. Pretty awesome huh?

Now for my second tip. Speech markers. I've discovered that this is an all important key to giving each character a unique voice. So what are speech markers? Things like:

Vocabulary- which can be polysyllabic words {such as intricate, oxymoron, ect.} or professional jargon. {such as interpersonal relationships, instead of relationships, ect.}

Throwaway words and phrases- things like actually, basically, perhaps, you see, I dare say, I don't think you see, it occurs to me, ect. Thing like this usually are only used in dialogue to show a character's specific speech markers. Otherwise they are just wordage and of no real value.

Tight wording- such as beat it, scram, ect.

Loose wording- such as I wish you would go away and leave me alone, ect.

Sarcasm can be a speech marker as well. So can poor grammar and even omitted words. Believe it or not, run-on sentences can also be a speech marker. But only for one character. Too many characters with run-ons can get confusing, fast. So try to limit that to say the chatty character.

Such simple things can drastically improve the dialogue of any story, and will help to give each character a unique voice, without even having to resort to giving them accents. Amazing isn't it? Now to continue practicing it myself. I'm not an expert. I never claimed to be one. Like all of you, I'm still learning as I go, through trial and error mostly.

Another secret to good dialogue is to cut out the echoes of the question. What do I mean by that? Look at the example below and I will bold the echoes found in regular speech.

Example one:

"Hot out today, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's very hot out today."

"Want to grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure, I'd love to grab a bite to eat."

See how the second person repeats what was asked each time?" Now let's see that written as dialogue, shall we?

Example Two:

"Hot out today, isn't it?"

"Yeah, very."

"Want to grab a bite to eat?"

"I'd love to."

Talking is full of echos. Dialogue shouldn't have any echos. It allows for tighter writing and sounds better to me. What about you?

What are some of the neat things you have learned about writing dialogue? Feel free to share them in comments below. Come on now, don't be shy. You know you want to.

Reference material is Stein On Writing by Sol Stein. A great book for any writer who longs to hone or improve their craft. It was recommended to me by one of the people from my crit groups and I highly recommend it to all of my fellow writers. There is a variable treasure trove of information out there, if you're willing to look hard enough.

Have Confidence.

If you don't show confidence in your own work, then chances are no matter how good the writing, or plot is, no one else will think it's worth the spit you polish your boots with.

Last night I received two compliments on the first page of my Double Trouble manuscript.

"Your writing is clean and crisp. {thank you!}"

That made me smile. I've worked hard to make my writing look professional and it's nice to see that hard work is paying off.

"Great job setting up such high stakes and grabbing reader interest from the get-go."

Hearing this let me know that my opening hook does indeed do it's job. Which is something else I've worked hard to achieve.

I was also given several tips on how to tighten the prose as a whole, and how to better draw the readers into the story and keep them immersed, rather than unintentionally pulling them out of it. Which is not an easy task to accomplish, especially in the beginning. Yet is vital in order to write a compelling story.

My point is that D.T. is finally shaping up into an exciting read and is starting to "feel" like a real book.

In my opinion, that is the best compliment any writer, striving to get a manuscript turned into a published novel can ever receive.

However, none of this would have been possible if I hadn't been confident enough to keep at it, or if I hadn't been confident enough to let a professional read it.

Over the past couple years I've learned to trust in my writing voice and in my writing in general. To trust in the story I need to tell. Throughout the countless revisions {and trust me there have been at least five on the opening scene alone} I've striven to stay positive about the story I'm writing and the way I'm writing it.

Now I'm not saying it's been easy. In fact, many times I've been tempted to pitch it in the trash-bin and start a fresh one. But, I'm too stubborn to just give up after putting so much blood, sweat, and tears into it over the past few years.

Ask anyone who actually knows me and they will tell you: "She's nothing if not stubborn." My husband is sitting beside me shaking his head yes. *grin* It's the truth and I'm not ashamed of it either. Being stubborn has seen me through some harsh times, in and out of writing.

Bottom line? Simple If you don't believe in what you're writing, why should anyone else? Patience and confidence are two key components that all the great writers have in common.

Silver Linings

Have you ever felt like the whole world is crashing in around you all at once? That's what this week has been like for me. One thing after another has gone wrong. The weather was wretched, the animals were loud, even in the dead of the night, things kept breaking, ect.

Remember that no matter how bad things get, there is always a silver lining.

Mine for the past week is that I reached my goal of completing the first three chapters of the newest story treatment for my Double Trouble MS. I worked each scene one at a time, until they were smooth and then went to the next one. The over all result is an easy to read and follow along set of chapters. Everything makes sense, readers can picture everything in their heads and "feel" as if they are in the MC's shoes.

It may be a small achievement, but to me it's my silver lining in an otherwise rough week.

If we, as writers, and people in general, look for only the bad things happening, that is all we will ever find.

Instead, try looking for just one good thing that happened, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to you at the time. Chances are you will be a much happier person if you remember to look for your silver linings. I know I am.

For next week I intend to get to know my MC's and villain much better, so I don't have to write a scene and say: "I didn't know that..." It gets so annoying, and to me at least, is very distracting, because it pulls me out of the story and I loose my muse more often than not.

For insistence, until two nights ago, I didn't know that my MC has an ex-boyfriend. It came up during one of her thoughts about the current situation. I've recently discovered that my villain also has an ex-wife, who the MC kind of reminds him about, and they went through a nasty divorce.

I don't like learning basic life things about my characters mid writing. They're my characters, from my imagination. I should know everything about them and for some reason, I don't. Not yet, which means I cannot properly represent them or do them justice in the story. I don't like that at all. So they and I are going to sit down and have a long heart-to-heart this week.

Snow, chills, and wrting.

Have you ever had a night that was so bitter cold that heating with wood, and burning two or three pieces at a time, every two hours, barely managed to keep the chill out of the air? That's what I went through last night. Why on earth it was that cold, I have yet to figure out. It's not like I live in Alaska or anything.

As for my writing progress, I have ironed out most of the villain's back-story and even started fleshing out the first few scenes in my Double Trouble MS. However, I find myself growing attached to the characters and even the currently written scenes. The attachment is necessary for writing, but for editing it's a big red flag.

So before I do anymore editing on it, I think it's time to focus purely on writing it out. I plan to write out the first few chapters and from scratch by next Friday evening.

You have to be emotionally attached to the characters in order to put yourself in their shoes while writing the story. If you're not emotionally attached, it will show in the quality of each scene.

However, having a clear perspective is vital when editing your MS.

Which is why writers and editors alike will stress that you must place the MS aside until you are no longer emotionally attached to the characters or writing, in order to properly edit any MS.

Otherwise, you can't give your MS the TLC it desperately needs, from a clear perspective.

Being too emotionally attached makes a writer unwillingly to part with pieces, or scenes that took days, weeks, months, or even a year to get right. Even when you find it really adds nothing to the plot. You have to be able to suck up your courage and cut the dead weight. Otherwise the MS won't shine like the true gem that it should be.

Wish me luck.

One hurdle crossed. Many more to go.

I'm taking baby steps with my MS. I have to finish ironing out the villain's back story. By Sunday evening I should have it finished. That wasn't my targeted finish time, but at least I am getting somewhere with it.

Small bits of progress are still progress. No matter how insignificant they may seem at the time. No matter how frustrating it gets when you don't reach your intended goal. Every step leads to an overall stronger and richer MS.

Think of each step of progress as a single brick. You have to layer the bricks in order to build a sturdy foundation, and then you can build the house.

If you don't reach your intended goal each week, then chances are you're setting your goals too high. Take it one step at a time, just like when you were learning how to walk. Remember that you have to crawl before you can learn how to walk. After you learn how to walk, you can learn how to run.

I didn't reach my intended goal this week, but I still made progress.

I ironed out the character's profiles and personalities. While doing that I came up with some interesting new twists for the plot to take, added a few sub plots and a major change to the ending.

I ironed out most of the character's back stories. I even started revising the first couple of chapters from the original idea {where the protagonist is actually a teen.}

So, all in all I consider this a productive week.

My goal for next week is to completely map out the character arcs. I'm also working on improving my writing technique by fiddling with one of my deleted scenes. It should be fun. Wish me luck.

Talk about an eye opener!

I've recently combed through my files for the Double Trouble characters

"What was I thinking?"

I spent over three years writing it half way out, and then set it aside for over six months, because I made the colossal mistake of starting to edit it before I finished writing it out.

Big mistake!

I ended up getting myself into a huge writer's block because of that. Take my advice and finish writing your MS out, then worry about the editing process.

After setting it aside for so long I've definitely grown detached from the MS and characters. I can see everything crystal clear now. People aren't kidding when they say 'Set it aside until you have a clear perspective.' That absolutely is vital in order to properly revise it.

Today I spent two hours comparing the character sketches for all of my male characters and I realized there are too many similarities in them. They're not completely alike, but not near as diverse as they should be.

Has this ever happened to any of you before? How did you feel about it? I feel like a total amateur for making such a mistake.

I spent the rest of my writing time today going through each of the characters profiles and giving them completely different descriptions. Too many had long hair, and most were the same archetype. Talk about boring. I've decided what each character's dominant strength and corresponding flaw will be. Those vary depending on their personalities.

As for my female MC, I've completely redone her character sketch from scratch. I've vetoed the conflicting character traits, decided what her goals and driving factors are, and have cut back on her strong suits. I've defined the conflicts she will have to face. I still have to iron out a few kinks for her character arch, like fleshing out parts about what her mother was like, but otherwise she's good to go.

I've decided that every character, no matter how small a part they play in the story, will be a different archetype. I've finally figured out which archetype suits each character best, even the minor characters, and have tweaked the details to iron them out.

I can't believe how little has actually been accomplished in the four years I've worked on this MS. I've put just under three years of actual writing into this MS, but I started planning it and drawing up the outline a year before that. Today I realized that I still have a long way to go before it'll be publishable. Talk about depressing.

I just have to remind myself that I am making progress on it. Not as much as I'd hoped for by this point, but progress none the less.

Today I made a major improvement in the characterizations, but I still need to fine tune each character's back story. Having the character-arcs ironed out will allow me to finish writing out the story and fine tune what's already written out.

I hope to have to have all their back stories completely charted out and start on ironing out the kinks in my plot line by the end of the week. I'm slowly learning how to self-edit my MS. I still intend to have a professional editor look it over before it is queried or published, but I like the idea of being able to catch what they look for myself. We will see how it goes.

I pretty much live like the pioneers did, minus the hunting, and with the added technology of electricity. We heat with wood, we lug water, tend animals, burn our trash. It's a bit rustic and sometimes harsh, but so invigorating and rewarding too. I love it and so do my husband and kids. It keeps us active and in shape. It allows us to bond as a family, gives us strong values, which we live by and permits us to be surrounded by nature's beauty.

With winter here my day starts with lugging in wood and tending the fire, then my children, then house cleaning, laundry, ect. So my writing time is limited. I'm not able to write as often as I'd like to anymore, but I wouldn't change my life for anything in the world.

I'm hoping to update this blog once a week, preferably on Friday evenings. So keep an eye out.

Have you ever

Had a headache so bad that just getting up to go to the restroom nearly sent you into a nauseous fit, with your head spinning so bad you could barely take a step?

Talk about a memorable way to begin the new year.

That's how 2012 began for me. I had to stop and let the dizziness pass after ever single step, and I don't drink. My fever jumped up and down all day and most of the night. Needless to say I wasn't on the pc for the day, or night yesterday. I haven't had a headache that debilitating since around the year 2000.

I'm well rested and ready to continue revising my Double Trouble novel.

My New Year Resolutions

1: Exercise more with my family

2: Return all of the crits I still owe at my crit groups.

3: Finish writing out the MS for Double Trouble

4: Finish planning out my handful of unfinished fanfics

5: Get my first book published

Happy New Year fellow bloggers. Here is to hoping this year is a progressive one, for all of my fellow writers.

Let the Revisions Begin!

Ever feel like you've been smacked with a wet noodle the size of Cleavland? Reality has a way of doing that to you when you least expect it.

Don't get me wrong, I never claimed to be an expert writer or anything. but, after six years of writing fan-fiction and receiving positive feedback, I never expected to need to do quite so much work during the revision process for any of my manuscripts.

That will teach me to think that just because my fan base for fan-fictions think I'm "Such an awesome writer" that I am anywhere close to knowing just how much hard work really is required to succeed. Determination, a deep passion for writing, time and patience, are only the beginning.

It takes blood, sweat, and tears to succeed as a writer.

Truer words have never been spoken. Most beginning writers think that writing the book all the way to the end is the hard part.

Wrong!

That's just the icing of the cake.

Revision is truly the longest and hardest part of getting any book ready to publish. I'm often told "It can take up to ten years to get one manuscript ready to publish." And now I know why.

Revising means picking every tiny aspect apart and combing through it, one piece at a time. Pieces you've spent days and even weeks working on trying to perfect them, end up being completely useless. Yet you struggle over whether to cut them or not. Talk about painful!

Blood, sweat, and tears, truly are the foundation of what makes a good writer stand out. You have to build on that layer by layer, or there will never be a solid product.

With my current manuscript round one of revisions is a little over half done. I've been working on it daily since the beginning of December. I have discovered the plot has some major holes in it, which I've been trying to address during this revision.

Thanks to the feedback I've received through my crit groups and a few friends, I know my opening hook certainly works as intended. So that's one huge hurdle passed. I know that the story is garnering quite an interest among my peers and fellow writers, as well as my Live Journal friends. Way more then I ever expected it to.

I've also learned that at the moment it's catching the interest of male and female readers equally at my crit groups. That was quite unexpected and gives me a bit of insight for my marketing procedure, when I'm ready for that step.

And yes, I said crit groups, as in plural. One can be enough, but I thrive on the feedback I receive from as many people as I can. Especially the blunt, in your face, feedback. If you can't take honest constructive criticism, to the point of bordering on a "flame" then don't bother trying to get published. Crit groups are there to help you grow as a writer and they are mild compared to what a professional editor will say.

Anyways, let's get back on track here. The characterizations aren't quite as good as they can be yet. I've made a list of things to do to improve those during the second round of revisions.

The plot has managed to hold the interest of the people who have read it all the way through. It just needs the plot holes filled and some spit and polish. So, at least the 82,176 words of my manuscript aren't a complete waste. There is a gem hidden beneath the massive weight of work ahead of me. I just need to dig up the gem and polish it. That's a huge relief!

I have, for the first time since I started writing, deleted an entire chapter that did nothing to move the plot forward. Wow was that rough! So many hours perfecting that chapter, only to find it was useless. ouch! But I sucked up my courage and cut it. I've also added two other chapters that really move the plot along since then.

Round two will take even longer, because it goes much deeper, directly into the meat of the writing itself. I plan to address the entire "story-telling" concept as well as refining the characterizations and filling in the remaining plot holes. Now that's going to take some serious commitment to accomplish all three steps during one round of revisions.

Over all I keep telling myself every bit of pain and sorrow will be worth all of the effort and hard work because in the end I will succeed. I just have to be patient and rigorous.

In conclusions I'd like to take a moment to say that I greatly appreciate all of the continued feedback I receive and eagerly look forward to the next step of this enlightening journey.

Down to Business

Many of my faithful readers are looking to switch from writing fanffics to writing novels. So let's get straight down to business.

The differences between fanfiction and novels are too numerous to list, because this post would be overly long. Instead I'm taking a different approach. I'm only going to stress the most important differences.

When writing fan fiction, you already have established characters and somewhat of a fan base. Particularly fellow fans of the anime, cartoon, book, or super hero you are writing about.

When writing a novel, you create everything from scratch. You must ceate characters that the readers can connect with. If the readers cannot connect with your characters, then they won't care what happens to your characters. If they don't care what happens, why keep reading?

The ultimate goal of all writers is to keep their readers interested. To do this, we have to create characters that will hold their attention. We want the plot to keep them on the edge of their seats.

Personally, I like to start by creating the main character first and the villain next. From there, I create the world they will exist in.

World building is extremely important and can be tough. You have to create every aspect. Inhabitants, surroundings, society laws, time line. It must be done in a way that seems natural, with nothing forced, or you won't be able to draw the readers into you world.

Often by this point the plot line is already shaping up nicely, at least for me. I like to think of ways to challenge my hero. Several different challenges tend to keep the tension high. Several unexpected twists tend to make things fun for me as a writer. I like surprising my readers, but it has to feel natural, not forced. If it feels forced, it will only confuse the readers.

Too much confusion and they will put the book down and walk away. That is exactly what we want to avoid. Readers who put a book down, often tend to never finish the book. Odds are most likely they won't buy another book from that author either. Lost sales leads to less chance of getting another book contract.