BETWEEN THE VAMPIRES AND THE ZOMBIES PILFERING WRITE TIP #2 FROM DARREN SHAN WAS DOUBLY DANGEROUS

Darren Shan
image from i.Telegraph
Whatever that is on the wall,
can I have one;please?

Today, I spent the times between the two day jobs writing.

No matter how tight time is, I have to write each day. It’s like when someone is talking about bugs, headlice or “cooties” – just the thought of them makes me itchy. 

During my blog and website reading time, I went to visit Darren Shan’s Writing Tips section. 

Despite being the first MG writer who made me react like a stereo-typical-teacher-of-ten-year-olds - all wide-eyed and wow-really? For kids? (There’s bite in them-there books) - I had NEVER (*rained on by a cloud of shame) been over to read Darren Shan's website.

There is so much useful stuff over there!

Write Tip #2

For words of wisdom AKA Write Tip #2 these are the thoughts of Darren Shan:

“One of the key rules of writing is that you don’t have to tell your readers EVERYTHING. You don’t want to leave too many blank holes in the narrative, of course, but you don’t have to cover every last tiny crack either. The flow of the story should always be your utmost concern. If you can fit all the “facts” in around that—fine. If you can’t, don’t worry too much about it. Pick the most pertinent details and explain them comprehensively—leave the more minor inessentials to the eagle-eyed fans to pick over and ask questions about. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of mystery!!!”

Darren Shan

DO YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER AUTHORS' WEBSITES THAT ARE FULL OF USEFUL TIPS ABOUT WRITING?

TEASER TUESDAY - THE WORLD OF NORM - The funny side of self-absorbed

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and the author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Image from
Hatchett Children's Books

The World of Norm: May Contain Nuts, opens with Norm, in his new house, about to pee in his Dad's wardrobe.

(Some people might think that’s too unlikely: to walk, on autopilot, the route to where the toilet was in the old house. Well, I survived a similar experience when I took Cub Scouts on camp. I found a sleepy boy in the space where his home-toilet would have been and you don’t want to know what he peed on!)

Life, according to Norm, is `just so unfair'. He has two annoying younger brothers. And he’s broke. This book is about Norm's quest to “pimp” his ride: which, sadly, is the two-wheeled kind-of ride. He is a boy with a bike, and a mission.

“Are you going to help, Norman, or am I going to have to unload the car all by myself?” said Norman’s Dad, standing in the doorway, holding a carrier bag dripping something sticky all over the floor.

“Well, if you wouldn’t mind,” said Norman immediately starting to text back.

The World of Norm is a blend of selfishness, stupidity and hopeful desperation. The author, Jonathan Meres, makes this world very funny – silly – but believable too.

THESE SENTENCES STRUCK ME AS VERY FAMILIAR. DO YOU FIND THE PING OF THE TEXT MESSAGE INTERRUPTS TOO MUCH OF YOUR DAY?

THURSDAY TIP #1 FIRST WRITE: YOU CAN ALWAYS PICK AT IT LATER

Feeling a little sickly?
Image from Playrific

TIP #1 

FIRST DRAFT: JUST SAY YES TO WRITING

Write you first draft without tuning into your inner editor.

If, like me, you suffer from the effects of Worrywortitus this post should help you recognise the symptoms. It could also offer suggestions on the treatment of the condition.

Worrywortitus, or HYPER-CRITICAL WORRIEDWRITERITUS – is an affliction most commonly unwelcome during the drafting process

SYMPTOMS:

·         Double checking every spelling

·         Severe hyper-sensitivity to sentence construction: including a tendency to construct, reconstruct, reorder and reassemble sentences

·         More serious cases include auditory hallucinations – the voice of your English teacher is a particularly worrying sign

·         In some cases, sufferers report an addiction to researching details already previously researched

To alleviate the symptoms of HYPER-CRITICAL WORRIEDWRITERITUS:

·         Surround yourself with images that feeds into your writing

·         Trust your spell checker to catch most errors – then, set aside time later to remove any unsightly blemishes from your manuscript

·         Allow yourself to be intuitive when it comes to your MC’s actions – as long as the behaviour, actions, and interactions, show consistency and, later, growth trust yourself to reveal the whole of your character’s traits

·         Music reduces stress – it can be used to relieve the minor symptoms of Worrywortitus

·         Whenever possible, write everyday

Thursday’s tip was brought to you by Joyous Writing.

HAVE YOU EVER SUFFERED FROM HYPER-CRITICAL WORRIEDWRITERITUS?

TUESDAY 10 THINGS TO READ, WRITE. AND REPEAT

At least someone is interested
in doing the laundry ;)

Curiosity might have played merry-hell with the cat but it’s the only thing that keeps the reader turning the pages.

Tuesday 10 this week is hosted by my New Year’s resolutions! :D

I read them every day before I start to write:

1.    Read. Remember to make time to enjoy the experience.

2.    What are you doing to build common ground between the reader and the MC?

3.    Visualise the scene – remember to see it from the MC’s pov.

4.    Write.

5.    What did you include today that might surprise the reader?

6.    Read your work out loud - if possible listen when someone else reads it to you

7.    Use every paragraph to add depth to the character, build conflict or move the plot along

8.    Remember the ending – keep it in mind to keep the narrative line taut.

9.    Share your work with trusty writing friends from before you’ve written the first page – it is easier to share an outline.

10. Enjoy writing - celebrate the time you take to spend writing.

IS THERE SOMETHING YOU REMIND YOURSELF TO THINK OF WHEN YOU SIT DOWN TO WRITE?

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY - GENRE MASH-UP SCI-ROM-FI

especially when it is laced with romance :D

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY

Yesterday, I reviewed my writing note book. I totalled the genres and discovered my interest in sci-fi and romance score best, they have the highest number of ideas. I'm reading crime fiction to prepare for the project waiting in the biro. My diet of crime is bringing on an a sci-rom reaction. Who'd have thought? ;)

As Xavia slid to a halt at the portal, the dull echo sounded again. She ran her fingers over the key pad, caught her breath, and smoothed her expression to calm efficiency, before the compressed gas hissed and the door swung open. Theoretical science proved: time did have elastic qualities, and dimensions were not fixed: the portspace was filled by lengths of moulded plas-fabric. Automatically she checked the details to identify as much as possible about the visitor, his grav-boots were quality, the suit was enhanced with sensors, his head was clean shaven but her breathing had shifted to unstable. It was a man's face, the alignment of the features more perfect than the ones she'd seen on the Surgical Solutions' site. When his eyebrows tugged low enough they shadowed his features and moved his expression from magnetic to grimly-fiendish.

I love focussing on the first six sentences of everything I read, so much can be condensed into a tiny space.

WHICH GENRES MASH-UPS DO YOU ENJOY READING?

HEMMED IN BY HISTORICAL FACT

English Normans
by 1203 they were changing
Illustration by Glen McBeth

History is an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools. ~ Ambrose Bierce

I am writing a historical MG novel.

The setting has been easiest to piece together because there are many sources full of the details -as long as what I want to know is what the great men of the day were doing.

Even in 1203, most people were getting on with the basics - survival. I looked for the wonder, and the joy, in living in those times: food, weaponry, warmth and friendships.

During research for one of my secondary characters, I found a person who, if he hadn't been murdered, possibly at the hands of the king, would have changed British history. I want to thread him into my tale. I'm having a problem. I want to use him but - if he'd lived - why wouldn't he have asserted his claim to the throne when he was old enough?

IS THERE A STRONG ENOUGH REASON FOR SOMEONE TO TURN THEIR BACK ON THEIR DESTINY? 

TEASER, TWIST AND TIP-TOEING TOWARDS THE UNEXPECTED

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

I got all anti-frey on this book
Then I remembered it was
 written by Pittacus Lore ;)

• Share the title and the author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

THE POWER OF SIX

I wish the author was Pittacus Lore, Lorien's ruling elder. I have no trouble picturing him struggling to surviving on Earth while preparing for the war that will decide the fate of the last handful of free Loriens, and the fate of the people of Earth.

pg 11

We still share that secret, but somewhere along the way Adelina has stopped acknowledging it. Somewhere along the way the plan to bide our time until we felt strong enough and safe enough to leave has been replaced with Adelina's desire to simply stay - or her fear to leave.

As I'm sure you can all appreciate, I've been busy with work and life and writing.

Write-essential 2 - the twist in the plot - has been syphoning off my time lately.

Plot twists are essential. After vibrantly-real characters, the plot twist is the element of the story everyone remembers.

In my wip there’s a boy whose life changes unexpectedly. As one of a group, he learns new skills and gets embroiled in adventures.

There is tension in the group: animosity.

I wanted to hint that among the usual rivalries something was at play - something more extreme.

But I didn’t want to give the reader the plot twist painted in sky-high lettering at some point after chapter 3.

Rachelle Gardner, on her blog, said: "When you foreshadow, the reader usually doesn’t notice it when they initially read it. But later they might have an “aha” moment, remember it, and put two and two together.” A delicate touch is necessary if the reader isn’t consciously pick up on at first. “Often foreshadowing can’t even be detected until someone reads your novel for a second time. It’s that subtle."

My favourite plot twist came in a film. The plot twist at the end of The Sixth Sense - I didn't see it coming.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE TWIST IN FICTION OR IN FILMS?

ASK YOURSELF, MC, DO YOU DESERVE TO SIT ON THE SHELVES?

SO, ASK YOURSELF, MC, DO YOU
DESERVE TO SIT ON THE SHELVES?

I think I did pretty well, considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper. ~ Steve Martin

If you think about it, the MC in your novel, if he wants to be noticed, will need to develop in an unpredictable way.  This is because the shelves are stuffed with MCs. 

It occurred to me, as a wanna-be author, that the question I need to ask my MC is What is it about you that means you deserves a place up there? What makes you so special?

From an idea and authorly discipline, every MC started as nothing but a keystroke but it should keep on changing as the word grows.

Enthusiasm and large dose of inquisitiveness has prepared the wanna-be writer with two basic tools for the job. 

Research backs-up that fiction up with facts.

I think characters mess with your head.

Dot to dot development is the predictable way to go but, when I was younger, I just wanted to slash about with free-form strokes and add a little variation to those early-learning puzzles. Some things never change.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER THAT MEANS THEY DESERVE TO SIT ON THE SHELVES?

THE LEAFLET OF FRESH THINKING

Giuseppe Arcimboldo [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Do you like my last post?

I got into soooo much trouble for writing I intended to be "present in the here-and-now" while simultaneously making us late for an appointment that had been on the calendar for months. I left the post abandoned as a reminder that family comes first. Ouch!

Things are less hectic now.

So... on the subject of writing, I've had an idea.

I received a leaflet through the door. Funnily enough, it wasn’t about writing. Strangely enough, by the time I finished reading it…it was.

I’ve noticed that getting published is a bit of a difficult trick to pull off. I must look for a recipe ;) 

The basic storylines and plots have always been around, lately, I’ve spent many happy hours considering how my approach could be new, original or fresh. 

I blame The Leaflet.

WHAT WAS THE LEAFLET?

It was from a company offering to deliver seasonal organic vegetable boxes to my home. It was very pretty: maroon at the header with stripes of various shades of green almost to the final third. The image at the bottom was golden nugget of inspiration. Not a golden nugget of the cereal or chicken variety, this picture was a plain brown cardboard box. You’re a writer. I know you’re with me.

In the image of the cardboard box were the usual suspects of healthy eating: potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, leeks, onions and a juicy red pepper. The basic, the short and chewy, the tough at the core, the lean and red, the fluffy one, the many layered, the tear jerker and the zing? ;) Isn’t that just the essence of character and plotting? :D

Even though everyone is importing the exotic vegetables and spooning in the spice, there are only a certain number of basic elements in fiction. It’s your treatment of them, the combinations you try, that brings something fresh to your story.

I'm writing.

Like all writers, I set my story somewhere I’ve -- helpfully -- described. 

As the setting I’m creating is bounded by historical accuracy, I’ve been trying to expand my brain – and I'd love to find a way to expand my desk – so I can glance through the resources that keep me on the right track. 

Until recently, I’ve never explained what it is about the everyday experience my MC finds wonderful.  Right now, I can’t see him admiring the blood-bright drops of berries in the hedgerows, or the midnight velvet of the sloe, but he can delight in the crispy frosted verge slightly before he runs to mark footprints all through it.

How could I make my story unique?

My WIP is MG so MG, me on the right track.unded by ns to mark footprints through it.te.  I picked the familiar theme of friendship but I contrasted it with a bitter rivalry. I looked at a situation familiar to many children: siblings who share a parent. Brother from another mother! In my wip, one has no idea this is biologically true while for his sibling the fact that there is another son has been acidic.  

I have mirrored, but reflected, this situation in the friendship that develops between two other characters.

I wasn’t heading for healthy, seasonal, ethical and delicious but, now I come to think of it, it isn’t a bad place to start.

I’D NEVER WRITE WITHOUT ONION ;) WHICH VEGETABLE DO YOU THINK IS ESSENTIAL IN YOUR WRITING?

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Calvin Coolidge

Every New Year’s Day, I love to think about the year that’s raced to its end, as well as the promise of the year ahead. It’s so me: if I’m not reflecting I’m analysing and if I’m not doing that I’m planning.

My goals for this year are:

• To read more
• To set time related goals
• To live life to the full
• Be thankful for everything I have
• To find new music to be passionate about
• Learn something new –my course prospective is earmarked with my determination to achieve this one
• Travel somewhere I’ve never been to before – we have a wedding to attend in Corfu but this won’t meet my “never-been” criterion. My big somewhere might end up being a holiday camp with a football team!
• Eat healthy
• To live in the now