Wandering Thoughts of a Writer: #story

Showing posts with label #story. Show all posts

I was interviewed and asked how I came up with my story idea for my Beyond the Eyes trilogy.

I was told it's a unique concept and should be made into a movie or TV series.

Wouldn't that be nice? LOL

I think all authors daydream about that.

The concept is there are humans born without a soul and dark spirits can inhabit them and by doing so, they can experience whatever they desire while being in the flesh.

It’s pretty cool.

How did I come up with the concept?

Well, I'd always wondered if there were people who didn't have a soul because I'd seen more than a few peeps in my life that when I looked into their eyes there was no spark, no life, zero, zilch, nada. What really spooked me was when I was working at a pediatric clinic. A mother brought in her baby. He was sitting in one of those car carriers. She sat it on the floor so she could pay her co-pay. I looked into her child's eyes, and they were empty.

Freaky.

So the idea of my trilogy and the world I created derives from me wondering if there are soulless people among us.

Do you believe there are humans born without a soul?

I wonder.

Let's say there are and take it one step further. What if there are dark spirits and they can possess these empty shells of a human being?

The once vacant eyes now has life in them, and you have no idea you're conversing with a dark entity.

Kinda creepy, eh.

If you want to delve deeper into this concept of mine and the premises I created for my stories that drive them forward. You can pick up Beyond the Eyes for free here––> http://amzn.to/178oQFt

#cool, #free, #freeebook, #paranormal #soulless #spirit #author #fantasy #writing #concept, #story, 0 Comments

As some of you know, I've finished the first rough draft of Legends of Deceit book 2. I still don’t have a title for it, but I will soon.

I was going to write a post on my writing process from start to finish but decided to save that for another time. Instead, I’ll tell you straight up what that one secret to my editing process is.

Are you ready?

It’s finding your repetitive words, descriptions, or sayings.

We all have them.

Say for example you wrote: my heart thudded hard against my chest. You noticed while you were doing your first read through that you had used those words more than once to describe what your character was feeling. So now what you want to do is discover how many times you wrote it in your story.

How do you do that?

Simple.

In Word, you want to go to the top right-hand corner and click on find. On the left-hand side of the screen, there will be a window that pops up. Beneath the word Navigation will be a search bar. Enter the word(s) you want to search for to see how many are in your story. I just typed in draft, and it came up twice.

How cool is that?

This secret trick of mine will help you tremendously in your editing process.

Cheers.

#amwriting, #author, #draft, #editing, #manuscript, #secret, #story, #writer, 0 Comments

I think we all experience a moment in our lives, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to another, where something extraordinary happens to us. Some may say it’s a message from a benevolent being tapping on your spirit to awaken the part of you that’s been in hypersleep. Or maybe it’s a livewire from your past life sparking one of the many parts of you tucked away within your superconscious mind. It’s an unforgettable moment meant for only you. It can be as simple as holding a newborn and knowing without a doubt that someday you want to be a mother. To most that may seem like a silly goal but to you raising a child–another human being–is one of the noblest things to do in this life.

The Defining Moment.

One of my defining moments (I've had more than one) happened in seventh grade. We had to write a story. When it came time to read it out loud the teacher asked for volunteers. I raised my hand (I was the only one), then went to the front of the class and read my horror story about a monster who lived in a sewer. As I was reading it, I became aware of the silence in the room.

I kept reading.

When I arrived at the scary part the whole class did a collective gasp.

I was hooked from there.

After I finished, a male classmate named Clay laughed. I looked up from my paper. My eyes swept the room and settled on him. He had a huge grin on his face. "Wow," he said. "Your story reminded me of the movie Chud. So cool!" Some of the students nodded in agreement and something inside me swelled with a joy I'd never felt before.

Back then I never knew what an impact my writing could have on people. I mean, as long as I could remember I’ve been writing stories. However, I'd never shared them with anybody until then.

That was my defining moment. And still, today, when I revisit that memory, I can’t help but smile. :)

So what was your defining moment?

#horror, #life, #monster., #school, #story, #write, #writer, 0 Comments

Guess who finished her manuscript yesterday?

I did!

Finally!

The second book to my Legends of Deceit 2-book series is done . . . well, the first draft.

So why am I walking away from it?

I’ll tell you why.

This is well-known advice in the literary world that a lot of us follow:

After you’re done writing the first draft, you need to set it aside for a couple of weeks or more to distance yourself from it. The reason why is because you need a break from your story, clear your mind, and go back to it with fresh eyes. By doing so you’ll catch more mistakes that way. Also, it’s fun, at least for me, because I’m reading stuff I wrote that I forgot about that’s entertaining. I’m looking forward to reading it at the end of this month.

So there you go. Now some of you learned something new today.

Oh, btw, I don’t have a title to this second book yet, but I will after I read it. Also, I have a cover in mind and will be talking to my designer about it soon, after I have the title. I’ll do a cover reveal here once it’s completed.

If you want to read Legends of Deceit before book two comes out, you can get it on

Amazon for only .99 cents. Here are the links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2u0qAwt

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07374MKJ3/

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Legends-Deceit-Fantasy-Paranormal-Book-ebook/dp/B07374MKJ3/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Legends-Deceit-Fantasy-Paranormal-Book-ebook/dp/B07374MKJ3/

Cheers!

#advice, #amwriting, #literary, #manuscript, #story, #tip, #writing, 0 Comments

Can you guess what the answer to this title is?

Predictability.

Don’t you hate it when you’re reading a book or watching a movie and you know what’s going to happen before it does?

I do.

Like the movie World War Z.

Toward the end of the movie, I knew what was going to happen. In fact, I told Kevin before it did, and I was right. Actually, the entire script was predictable.

As a writer, you want to avoid having your story be too transparent where the reader will be able to predict the outcome before it even happens. However, you want to capture their interest and keep them guessing. Therefore, you need to leave clues and red herrings to mislead or distract them. Then in the end when everything in your tale comes to light, your reader will be thrilled to discover she was wrong all along or was close to figuring it out.

Another movie I want to mention:

Wild Things with Neve Campbell and Denise Richards.

Have you seen it?

This is a great example of what I'm talking about.

The writer did a fine job on this one.

I remember when Kevin and I first watched it we were like, "No way! That’s fucked up." As we kept watching the movie we gaped at each other a couple of times because we weren’t expecting the things that had happened.

It was great, especially the ending.

The story and the plot totally surprised us.

This is what you want to accomplish.

I do, however, think in some genres you have to be somewhat predictable, like in romance. Most readers of that genre want a happy ending. So, yeah, in the end, the couple overcomes their adversity and falls into each other’s arms, proclaiming their undying love for one another or something along those lines. You
can, though, still make the rest of the story less predictable.

Example: You can have two different paths the main character is forced to choose from. Write both of them to be equally compelling and plausible with a dusting of suspense on the life-changing events. You can create it to where it's a nail-biting decision where either way the character has a lot to lose.

Besides leaving clues and red herrings, you can also do foreshadowing, which is when you as the author hint at certain plot developments that may come to fruition later in the story. It’s another way to capture the reader’s interest and prepare them for what might unfold.

I do those things in my Beyond the Eyes trilogy, and I’ve actually had fans come up to me and ask about a character or situation they want to know the outcome of. I’m keeping them guessing and they’re so involved in the trilogy that they’re fishing for answers from me. I just tell them they have to read the next book to find out.

Evil?

Nah. It makes me happy I’m doing my job and have people actually emotionally invested in my characters and story.

That’s what you want.

And yeah truth be told, you can’t please everyone.

People are going to hate your story.

I have a few who hate mine and have said nasty things about it. But that's part of the business.

In short, there are some genres you can’t avoid the expected predictability.

But regardless, if you write a tale where the audience is looking for a happy ending that you must deliver, you can still keep them guessing throughout the story by spinning it with suspense and uncertainty.

It’ll keep them turning the page long after bedtime.

So throw in some hints, scatter a few red herrings and do a little foreshadowing.

Hints + red herring + foreshadowing= suspense and unpredictability.

Those three things carefully executed into your story will delight your readers in the end.

#amwriting, #author, #foreshadowing, #red herring, #story, #suspense, #tale, #writing, 0 Comments

I was asked this question the other day . . .

How is book two in your Legends of Deceit series coming along?

Well . . .

I would have been done with this first draft ages ago but . . .

Life happened.

I planned on completing the first draft this month—it could still happen—however, a pleasant surprise just sprang up on me . . . like Monday morning before my computer decided to not work.

It’s bitchin’.

At least, I think so.

I love, love when shit like this happens to me while I’m writing my stories.

My mouth literally dropped.

Seriously.

I was like . . .

Fuck yeah!

So this might mean the first draft won’t be done until April.

Once it is, I’m going to put it away for a week or two, then start the first read through and edits.

I’ll do it two or three times before I send the manuscript to my beta readers.

After they’re done, and I edit some more, I’ll send it to my editor.

As you can see, before a book is published, it goes through a lot of processes to make it sparkle.