Hello fellow beginner writer who stumbled on this after an internet search of "Should I use a real location or a fake location in my book?" Am I right? Is that too presumptuous of me to assume that's where we're at?
As I've covered in other (fantastic if I say so myself) posts on this blog, I'm sharing my experiences as a new author. After the entire 1st draft of my 1st book was finished, I wanted to send the first couple of chapters off to some readers to get some feedback. I think that will be my next post-beta readers! Not talking too much about that, one of the biggest takeaways that I got from my readers was to give a better description of the setting. I had wondered if that would be the case and it was confirmed. Now stick with me here-I know the title of this isn't "How to create a good setting", but deciding if your location is fake or real has played a big role in this for me.
I had 3 reasons for a weak setting:
1-I was in a hurry to get to exciting stuff past the first scene and didn't want to slow things down (but ultimately I learned I needed to do more for the readers to feel grounded.)
2-I suffered from writer's omniscience. Of course I know what everything looks like, and we can accidentally assume that a general statement evokes the same visual for others. But your research from maps, and envisioning your local downtown area, and your neighborhood, and the layout of your house, and how things might work....they don't have those.
3-I let fear/laziness muck things up. Anytime in my book that I have been non-committal, I just glaze over details. I know there are other settings and details that I have to crack down on too. The setting in this particular sci-fi book is extremely important.
I did countless hours of research before I even decided which state it would happen in (I knew I wanted it to be in the continental U.S.) and then more research to determine which cities would be involved. Since it's sci-fi and not fantasy, I couldn't just make up a state. But a city, you could still make that up. There's a lot of travel and specific timelines that had to be met so I really needed something to anchor my story. I suppose if you have a fantastically clear view in your head, you can just make up whatever you want, and to some extent I did that at first.
I was afraid to use real city names. Maybe because I didn't want to be obligated to being true to the geography. Maybe because I was afraid of any legal factors. But the feedback I got was that I was leading them through a crazy corn maze. I would use phrases like "After a few hours of walking" but the reader told me they didn't feel like it had really been that long. Or my description of what kind of buildings were in the same neighborhoods left them confused as to where they really were.
When it came down to it, my 45+ square mile city needed a more thorough comb-through that I just couldn't do with a fake city. Instead of a random park, there's a golf course. Instead of "banks, libraries, police stations." I plotted a realistic path, calculated the time it would take to travel it, and discovered what the intersections looked like on google aerial view. I looked at legitimate residential areas, and schools, businesses, and public buildings. I even found the train tracks and included them. It reads SO. MUCH. BETTER.
Then the question remains: if you use a city for inspiration, are you obligated, or at an advantage, to disclose what the real city behind the curtain is?
I don't think so. I don't think you need to say either way. You could describe your hometown and call it another city's name (though people in the other city may scrutinize the lack of authenticity). Or you can describe the city as-is and call it something completely different and no one is the wiser unless you're incredibly descript about location.
Of course I'm talking about a specific city. But it may be something completely different. A college campus, a grocery store, the local fair grounds. I would however put a word of caution out about more specific locations. That chain grocery store or mom and pop diner may not be fond of you actually naming their store if the plot involves someone being murdered there. If you're terribly specific with a location, it may be worth reaching out to them to ask, or play it safe and change the name.
It's probably worth noting that sometimes location is so irrelevant that you really shouldn't stress about it. I'm concurrently writing a fantasy novel. I'm only 2 chapters in but I know I'll probably only mention 2 big cities. One of which really doesn't matter in any way, shape, or form, and the other barely matters for cultural consistency. I'm not stressing on that book, I'm naming them what they are and leaving it at that.
I hope my train of thought was helpful in you making your decision, feel free to run any questions by me in the comments!
Monday, July 13, 2020
Friday, July 3, 2020
First-Time Author Tips: Advance Research & Planning
Well, the first draft of my first book is done. Good golly there's a lot to be done.
You know no one really feels comfortable with a semi-colon right? And the most running that happens in my day-to-day life is run-on sentences! (I crack myself up...) But that, dear readers, will be a post for another day once I've confidently climbed that mountain.
For now, let's take things back to the beginning. In my last post I discussed the very beginning of the particular series I'm writing now. They were inspired by a dream and I've learned about some unique hurdles that you have to take on to turn a simple dream into the epic story it deserves.
For this post, I wanted to delve into the beginning stages you'll want to consider no matter where your idea came from.
Advance Research...... I'll talk a little bit more about it in in a minute, but generally speaking, there's not a one-size-fits-all approach to this, and it makes sense that there wouldn't be.
How much research do you really need to do for a romance novel? Probably not a lot. But if you're basing your story on a real city, or culture that you're not a part of, you're going to want to look into details first. What about talking about a culinary foodie love interest and you don't know the difference between parsley and cilantro?
Other genres are more research heavy such as non-fiction (obviously) and science-fiction. My book is science-fiction and it's astounding how many hours I dedicated to research to make everything in my world believable and as accurate as it could be. What about murder mystery? Do you need to know how hard it is to kill someone off a certain way?
I'm just saying...I'm probably on a watch list somewhere for the things I've googled. I love learning so I consider myself better for it. I now know how long it takes for a body to decay, what causes nuclear reactors to melt down, how many planes are in the sky at any given time (barring 2020 pandemic....), what the population diversity is of every state in the USA, the states with the highest crime rates in the US, how long it takes various items like plastic or paper to deteriorate in different conditions, how long the average person and horse with rider can travel in a day, and all major natural disaster threats in the USA. And those topics are only a small percentage of what I've researched. I even emailed a question to my accountant....
Aside from the perk of knowledge-a beautiful gift no one can take from you, you can smoothly paint the background for your setting and avoid any embarrassing hiccups. I'd hate to have the premise of a book be about a nuclear reactor that was left without power and took 300 years to cool down and your story is 300 years in the future and it's warm but not dangerous and your protagonist likes to hot tub it in a power plant and then you find out that it takes the radiation 10,000 years to cool down!!! Or how embarrassing is it if your character rides horseback halfway across the USA in a week when really that horse is only going to travel 50 miles a day? Early research avoids massive re-writes down the road.
Let's talk planning. In general, there are 2 types of authors. "Planners" and "Pantsers". Planners like to organize their story line and chapters. Pantsers are more "fly by the seat of your pants" folks who like to just put pen to paper (or digits to keyboard) and see where it takes them. In general I'd say I lean more toward planning. I don't have a 300 bullet point paper outlining every twist and turn, but I have some general directions so I know which way we're going. And then I just start typing and see how I get from point A to point B.
Any time I've realized (whether at the end of writing the first draft or in the middle of the 7th chapter) that I'm missing a big chunk, I'll go back and add a chapter or two. I've found this helpful when I realized a transition was too quick or convenient. While I prefer to do this as I go to avoid backtracking edit overwhelm, it can also be helpful in the final stretch to just get something on the pages. Finishing that first draft, with the understanding that there will be lots of changes, is very rewarding and helps you overcome plot burn out.
Needing to take breaks from editing on my first book, I sat down last night to plan ahead for the 2nd book in the series. In one column, I have bullet points that will eventually be turned into chapters, or groups of chapters.
-Event, introduce Character A
-Character B's discovery, introduction to surroundings
-Event, important news
-important plot points 1 & 2
In the next column I have a list of characters. This may be different based on if it's a stand-alone or first book in a series, or if it's a sequel of some type. I outlined characters that we already know from book #1 and wrote a sentence or two on the most important parts to how their story will arc in this 2nd book.
In a third column, I noted things I need to keep consistent with the first book. Timelines that have to be honored or things will need to be considered that I may have hidden in the first book to lead us somewhere here.
I also have a list of questions that need to be answered. "Why would they agree to that" "Why is that character in such a rush?" I have to be able to answer the questions that my readers will be asking to keep us on the same page and pace.
I hope that these pointers gave a little perspective and help. I'm just learning as I go. My motto is Learn. Create. Share. Repeat. I'm learning and creating, and happy to share my process. Feel free to ask any questions! I've got several more topics to cover including some extensions here like "how to write a book based on questions", "how to create your world", and also my personal style of keeping track of notes and ideas. It's a bit helter-skelter, but it does the job for me :) Thanks for taking the time to read, have a fantastic day!
You know no one really feels comfortable with a semi-colon right? And the most running that happens in my day-to-day life is run-on sentences! (I crack myself up...) But that, dear readers, will be a post for another day once I've confidently climbed that mountain.
For now, let's take things back to the beginning. In my last post I discussed the very beginning of the particular series I'm writing now. They were inspired by a dream and I've learned about some unique hurdles that you have to take on to turn a simple dream into the epic story it deserves.
For this post, I wanted to delve into the beginning stages you'll want to consider no matter where your idea came from.
Advance Research...... I'll talk a little bit more about it in in a minute, but generally speaking, there's not a one-size-fits-all approach to this, and it makes sense that there wouldn't be.
How much research do you really need to do for a romance novel? Probably not a lot. But if you're basing your story on a real city, or culture that you're not a part of, you're going to want to look into details first. What about talking about a culinary foodie love interest and you don't know the difference between parsley and cilantro?
Other genres are more research heavy such as non-fiction (obviously) and science-fiction. My book is science-fiction and it's astounding how many hours I dedicated to research to make everything in my world believable and as accurate as it could be. What about murder mystery? Do you need to know how hard it is to kill someone off a certain way?
I'm just saying...I'm probably on a watch list somewhere for the things I've googled. I love learning so I consider myself better for it. I now know how long it takes for a body to decay, what causes nuclear reactors to melt down, how many planes are in the sky at any given time (barring 2020 pandemic....), what the population diversity is of every state in the USA, the states with the highest crime rates in the US, how long it takes various items like plastic or paper to deteriorate in different conditions, how long the average person and horse with rider can travel in a day, and all major natural disaster threats in the USA. And those topics are only a small percentage of what I've researched. I even emailed a question to my accountant....
Aside from the perk of knowledge-a beautiful gift no one can take from you, you can smoothly paint the background for your setting and avoid any embarrassing hiccups. I'd hate to have the premise of a book be about a nuclear reactor that was left without power and took 300 years to cool down and your story is 300 years in the future and it's warm but not dangerous and your protagonist likes to hot tub it in a power plant and then you find out that it takes the radiation 10,000 years to cool down!!! Or how embarrassing is it if your character rides horseback halfway across the USA in a week when really that horse is only going to travel 50 miles a day? Early research avoids massive re-writes down the road.
Let's talk planning. In general, there are 2 types of authors. "Planners" and "Pantsers". Planners like to organize their story line and chapters. Pantsers are more "fly by the seat of your pants" folks who like to just put pen to paper (or digits to keyboard) and see where it takes them. In general I'd say I lean more toward planning. I don't have a 300 bullet point paper outlining every twist and turn, but I have some general directions so I know which way we're going. And then I just start typing and see how I get from point A to point B.
Any time I've realized (whether at the end of writing the first draft or in the middle of the 7th chapter) that I'm missing a big chunk, I'll go back and add a chapter or two. I've found this helpful when I realized a transition was too quick or convenient. While I prefer to do this as I go to avoid backtracking edit overwhelm, it can also be helpful in the final stretch to just get something on the pages. Finishing that first draft, with the understanding that there will be lots of changes, is very rewarding and helps you overcome plot burn out.
Needing to take breaks from editing on my first book, I sat down last night to plan ahead for the 2nd book in the series. In one column, I have bullet points that will eventually be turned into chapters, or groups of chapters.
-Event, introduce Character A
-Character B's discovery, introduction to surroundings
-Event, important news
-important plot points 1 & 2
In the next column I have a list of characters. This may be different based on if it's a stand-alone or first book in a series, or if it's a sequel of some type. I outlined characters that we already know from book #1 and wrote a sentence or two on the most important parts to how their story will arc in this 2nd book.
In a third column, I noted things I need to keep consistent with the first book. Timelines that have to be honored or things will need to be considered that I may have hidden in the first book to lead us somewhere here.
I also have a list of questions that need to be answered. "Why would they agree to that" "Why is that character in such a rush?" I have to be able to answer the questions that my readers will be asking to keep us on the same page and pace.
I hope that these pointers gave a little perspective and help. I'm just learning as I go. My motto is Learn. Create. Share. Repeat. I'm learning and creating, and happy to share my process. Feel free to ask any questions! I've got several more topics to cover including some extensions here like "how to write a book based on questions", "how to create your world", and also my personal style of keeping track of notes and ideas. It's a bit helter-skelter, but it does the job for me :) Thanks for taking the time to read, have a fantastic day!
Friday, June 26, 2020
Writing a Book from a Dream-Overcoming the Hurdles to a Good Book
So I'm writing a book. 1st book and 1st draft down. Phew! The story is from a dream I had. I didn't find a ton of resources on this topic myself, so I hope others out there find this helpful.
In my favor-I wrote down important plot details the same day I had the dream, these things can fade fast!
Not in my favor-I wrote those notes down years ago so some things just aren't as fresh.
I do think it's interesting how dreams vary in relation to reality. Sometimes I can absolutely peg a dream, or a part of it "Oh yeah, that was from the movie we watched last weekend, and also from what Susan said when we played Uno yesterday" but some are very "what...in...the...world are killer clown monkeys doing to haunt me when I don't watch horror films?" As I look back on this dream, it was very heavily influenced by something that was going on in my life. Since then, my situation is drastically different. It's actually pulled some real emotions out of me. Is it weird to cry when writing your own book? I'm a crier.....
That being said, here are some hurdles I have been learning to overcome that you will want to be prepared for:
A LOT of "Fill in the Blank":
And I mean a lot. When you're sleeping and dreaming, the concept of time is completely skewed. I had a unique situation in my life where I had a very tight daily schedule and I had a half hour every day to be home and have lunch. I was anemic and exhausted. I would take a 15 minute nap a lot of the time. They say you can't dream in that short of a nap, but there were times where I would have very vivid dreams, even a couple of them in a 15 minute session. They felt sufficiently long that I was afraid each time that I had slept in.
What I'm trying to say is, even if you somehow actually spent all 8 hours of your sleep period on a given dream (REM cycles and all....thinking that's not even close to being possible...) 70,000 written words it does not make. Our mind floats from one scene to another. For us it's epic, and fluid. But really, it's choppy and full of insider knowledge. Plot development, character building, you're doing to need to expound on what you were given.
Weak Characters & Insider Knowledge:
They're so bad. Like really really bad. What I'm calling "insider knowledge" is the unique intimacy you have with the story, and more specifically the characters. In your brain, things fall into place and make sense. My main protagonist....their motivations, their responses, the fact that I love them-it all made sense. In my dreams that is. As I was getting to the nitty gritty of creating scenes to get from A-Z, I had to stop and ask myself a lot of questions.
-Wait, why would they accept *insert event from story* so easily? There's a lot of mutual acceptance between characters and circumstances that was originally written whereas in real life it would be quite jarring, a cause for skepticism, and a task to win them over. Stories are about conflict and progression, not holding hands and singing (unless maybe it's a kid's book, because if it is, by all means, rock that). I had to add some tension.
-Why does their love interest like them? Cause in my dream it was just natural. On paper (or um...pixels) they're as boring as a cardboard cake. I may love them because we have a unique chemical bond from neurons during a REM cycle, but no one else is going to; unless I come up with some real answers and mold this person, even build them from the ground up. Why do we want this person to win? Or lose?
-Motivation and conflict...I'm currently in a tug-of-war between making the antagonist much harsher (can't be a major threat and then be a pansy without proper motivation, which can be hard to peg an antagonist's values when they're supposed to be mysterious.) -which would make my protagonists much more bold or brutal than I want them to be.....or make them softer, in which case there is a serious lack of struggle that is needed to feel a satisfactory victory. Basically: You can't gear up and train for a year to go slay the dragon and then he just hands over all of his gold because you said please, even if your favorite part of the protagonist is their ability to negotiate.
Beware Plot Whiplash:
Kind of related to my last bullet point, is the believability of resolution in my current story. While my book has no dragons, it's a fairly good illustration of the struggle.
On another part- going from "they found out this info, so naturally *mic drop* and then they moved on to XYZ" is kinda how the most important part of my book was laid out in my notes from my dream. But I had to ask myself (and I'm still working through the nuances of emotion on editorial notes for myself) why in the heck that would be believable? Never in life does something in the very core of your personality, motivations, and reason for existence change in the snap of a finger. Maybe in dreams, but it wouldn't make for compelling or believable writing.
Loyalty Can Hurt You:
Being loyal to your dream is a fault. We only got to scene 2 and we were switching things around drastically. In the end, no one else is going to know it happened differently in my dreams, because when it comes down to it, that part when written down, it was dull. Diverging from my original opening makes for a much more compelling introduction to every other character as well as enriching the story of the main protagonist. It in no way changes who the people are (it actually gave the opportunity to create a new beloved character) or the central plot/story arc.
I'm still resisting the feeling of betrayal on dropping some key details from my notes, or changing how they play out. When coming from a dream, it feels wrong to deviate. You feel like you're not being true to your vision. But you have to remember, you're not being judged on your level of accuracy compared to a dream no one else shared, you're being judged on a compelling story. In retrospect, my dream gave me a weak antagonist (and you know what, that's ok, my own mind probably let me cheat at candy land cause it just wants me to be happy) but I can't have a decent threat and a friendly pansy, unless they have a multiple personality built in...which I don't. I have consistent and cold.....so...well...we'll figure out how it works out yet. 1sts drafts are supposed to be rubbish, we'll iron it out.
Cliff Endings:
Maybe it's just me, but endings are not the strong part of my dreams. I wake up too early and wish I could finish it, or see what happened in the end. They fade out, or they ride off into the sunset without a proper resolution. Kinda goes back to that hold hands and sing thing I mentioned earlier. You certainly can write like that. "And then the bad guy was finally caught, and the world was ok and everyone was happy, the end". Kinda juvenile and unfulfilling. Tease at the things you never disclosed (at least that's where mine is going). And some of these things, you actually never will know. It won't be in any book, I just happen to know it. I'll expound on that more another time. But there are also key lead ins to another book if it will be in a series. The last two chapters (and even the very last paragraph) in my first book have key elements that will have readers in book two have lightbulbs flash on. Or it will have them yearning for a second book to know what we meant by that.
No matter how you're ending it, wrap that sucker up. You may answer every single thing they'll want to know with a beautiful bow on top, or leave a hint of mystery. But make it more fulfilling than the happy hormones in your head were kinda lazy about.
I'm sure there's more that could be said, feel free to add in the comments! Stay tuned for more writing ideas and tips for new authors :D
In my favor-I wrote down important plot details the same day I had the dream, these things can fade fast!
Not in my favor-I wrote those notes down years ago so some things just aren't as fresh.
I do think it's interesting how dreams vary in relation to reality. Sometimes I can absolutely peg a dream, or a part of it "Oh yeah, that was from the movie we watched last weekend, and also from what Susan said when we played Uno yesterday" but some are very "what...in...the...world are killer clown monkeys doing to haunt me when I don't watch horror films?" As I look back on this dream, it was very heavily influenced by something that was going on in my life. Since then, my situation is drastically different. It's actually pulled some real emotions out of me. Is it weird to cry when writing your own book? I'm a crier.....
That being said, here are some hurdles I have been learning to overcome that you will want to be prepared for:
A LOT of "Fill in the Blank":
And I mean a lot. When you're sleeping and dreaming, the concept of time is completely skewed. I had a unique situation in my life where I had a very tight daily schedule and I had a half hour every day to be home and have lunch. I was anemic and exhausted. I would take a 15 minute nap a lot of the time. They say you can't dream in that short of a nap, but there were times where I would have very vivid dreams, even a couple of them in a 15 minute session. They felt sufficiently long that I was afraid each time that I had slept in.
What I'm trying to say is, even if you somehow actually spent all 8 hours of your sleep period on a given dream (REM cycles and all....thinking that's not even close to being possible...) 70,000 written words it does not make. Our mind floats from one scene to another. For us it's epic, and fluid. But really, it's choppy and full of insider knowledge. Plot development, character building, you're doing to need to expound on what you were given.
Weak Characters & Insider Knowledge:
They're so bad. Like really really bad. What I'm calling "insider knowledge" is the unique intimacy you have with the story, and more specifically the characters. In your brain, things fall into place and make sense. My main protagonist....their motivations, their responses, the fact that I love them-it all made sense. In my dreams that is. As I was getting to the nitty gritty of creating scenes to get from A-Z, I had to stop and ask myself a lot of questions.
-Wait, why would they accept *insert event from story* so easily? There's a lot of mutual acceptance between characters and circumstances that was originally written whereas in real life it would be quite jarring, a cause for skepticism, and a task to win them over. Stories are about conflict and progression, not holding hands and singing (unless maybe it's a kid's book, because if it is, by all means, rock that). I had to add some tension.
-Why does their love interest like them? Cause in my dream it was just natural. On paper (or um...pixels) they're as boring as a cardboard cake. I may love them because we have a unique chemical bond from neurons during a REM cycle, but no one else is going to; unless I come up with some real answers and mold this person, even build them from the ground up. Why do we want this person to win? Or lose?
-Motivation and conflict...I'm currently in a tug-of-war between making the antagonist much harsher (can't be a major threat and then be a pansy without proper motivation, which can be hard to peg an antagonist's values when they're supposed to be mysterious.) -which would make my protagonists much more bold or brutal than I want them to be.....or make them softer, in which case there is a serious lack of struggle that is needed to feel a satisfactory victory. Basically: You can't gear up and train for a year to go slay the dragon and then he just hands over all of his gold because you said please, even if your favorite part of the protagonist is their ability to negotiate.
Beware Plot Whiplash:
Kind of related to my last bullet point, is the believability of resolution in my current story. While my book has no dragons, it's a fairly good illustration of the struggle.
On another part- going from "they found out this info, so naturally *mic drop* and then they moved on to XYZ" is kinda how the most important part of my book was laid out in my notes from my dream. But I had to ask myself (and I'm still working through the nuances of emotion on editorial notes for myself) why in the heck that would be believable? Never in life does something in the very core of your personality, motivations, and reason for existence change in the snap of a finger. Maybe in dreams, but it wouldn't make for compelling or believable writing.
Loyalty Can Hurt You:
Being loyal to your dream is a fault. We only got to scene 2 and we were switching things around drastically. In the end, no one else is going to know it happened differently in my dreams, because when it comes down to it, that part when written down, it was dull. Diverging from my original opening makes for a much more compelling introduction to every other character as well as enriching the story of the main protagonist. It in no way changes who the people are (it actually gave the opportunity to create a new beloved character) or the central plot/story arc.
I'm still resisting the feeling of betrayal on dropping some key details from my notes, or changing how they play out. When coming from a dream, it feels wrong to deviate. You feel like you're not being true to your vision. But you have to remember, you're not being judged on your level of accuracy compared to a dream no one else shared, you're being judged on a compelling story. In retrospect, my dream gave me a weak antagonist (and you know what, that's ok, my own mind probably let me cheat at candy land cause it just wants me to be happy) but I can't have a decent threat and a friendly pansy, unless they have a multiple personality built in...which I don't. I have consistent and cold.....so...well...we'll figure out how it works out yet. 1sts drafts are supposed to be rubbish, we'll iron it out.
Cliff Endings:
Maybe it's just me, but endings are not the strong part of my dreams. I wake up too early and wish I could finish it, or see what happened in the end. They fade out, or they ride off into the sunset without a proper resolution. Kinda goes back to that hold hands and sing thing I mentioned earlier. You certainly can write like that. "And then the bad guy was finally caught, and the world was ok and everyone was happy, the end". Kinda juvenile and unfulfilling. Tease at the things you never disclosed (at least that's where mine is going). And some of these things, you actually never will know. It won't be in any book, I just happen to know it. I'll expound on that more another time. But there are also key lead ins to another book if it will be in a series. The last two chapters (and even the very last paragraph) in my first book have key elements that will have readers in book two have lightbulbs flash on. Or it will have them yearning for a second book to know what we meant by that.
No matter how you're ending it, wrap that sucker up. You may answer every single thing they'll want to know with a beautiful bow on top, or leave a hint of mystery. But make it more fulfilling than the happy hormones in your head were kinda lazy about.
I'm sure there's more that could be said, feel free to add in the comments! Stay tuned for more writing ideas and tips for new authors :D
So....I'm Writing a Book! Join me for the journey as a beginning author!
It's almost 2am (which is actually not that late for me #nightowl) but I can't sleep, because getting my brain to shut off lately is hard. Really hard.
My dr thinks I may have ADHD...I don't like that they call it that now. I feel like it's more like ADD cause this tired gal doesn't feel the H lol. But alas, I jump from hobby to hobby and I have a lot of junk in my house to prove it and never enough time to do the smallest fraction of what I want. I'm an INFP personality-I love to create. Learn-Create-Share-Repeat. That's why I've done Youtube videos so much for the last few years. I love the challenge of doing new things, and sharing knowledge. I don't plan to give it up, but I'm in a major lull. I have ideas and supplies, I just don't wanna! It's not the obsession de jour. I have lots of footage just sitting on my SD card and laptop....oh boy...some day. It's also why I got obsessed with escape rooms this year. Creating my own. It was tons of fun, lots of investment-time and money. And then Covid happened :-/ and the locks and puzzles sit there unused and while I could use this time to productively create, my brain has moved onto the next thing. I hope I loop back to my other passions, time will tell.
What was I saying? Oh yeah, easily distracted much? so...squirrel...writing a book! I'm excited and just finished the first rough draft of my first ever book. I thought this may be a helpful thing to share (cause learn-create-share right?) for anyone else wanting to dip their toes in the water and ride the wave of authorship. I'll do my best to explain my process (It's pretty darn thorough!) and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. I may end up making YT videos on the topics down the road too. But I can only wear so many hats at a time....
Firstly, background on my history and qualifications to write a novel.
Um....it's maybe a bit slim. I have a Bachelors of Science degree...nothing to do with English and composition, though I obviously remember some of them. I'll be honest, I didn't always love those classes. Lord of the flies in high school? Hated it. While I can't handle the sin of wrong "their, there, they're" placement, I'm BFFs with run-on sentences and know the proper use of a semi-colon as well as I do my 1st cousin twice removed. So....the technical stuff will be a struggle, especially when it comes to proper placement of dialogue vs narration. All foreign, but I'm up to the challenge. Learn-Create-Share-Repeat. Should I change the name of my blog? Probably. Sorry, I'm not usually this crazy. We're going to blame it on chronic exhaustion ok?
Back to background...I am not a great book reader. I have an impressive bookshelf full of books I never read. I've read most of them but it has been years. I had a window where I devoured books. But like all of my interests, that one went away. I can't imagine sitting and reading all day. I feel like I'll get bored easily. I guess I haven't given it a try recently enough, but I feel like I'd fall asleep. I create or I blob, those are my two levels of energy. So consuming as opposed to creating when I feel up to doing anything, it's a sacrifice I'm not usually willing to make. That sounds like a horrible backstory for an author doesn't it? Either way...it is what it is. I'm honest and upfront to a fault if you can't tell. As for my writing experience...I enjoyed writing for the school paper in high school and I've written poetry throughout the years. I think that pretty much sums up my qualifications. Does that sound pathetic to you? Good news is that means you're probably not going to struggle as much as I will lol.
Second...what to share?
I obviously don't want to give any spoilers or subject myself to having original ideas taken, so there will be some things I am vague on. But there's a lot I can share. (Trust me, friends are tired of hearing about it, so I'm glad I now have you to launch my process on that I'm so excited about lol)
I would categorize my first book generally as science fiction. More specifically post-apocalyptic. But not dystopian. I thought those were synonymous and boy was I wrong. Not that I haven't enjoyed them, but Divergent, Hunger Games, The Giver, The Mazerunner....I just feel like that poor horse needs a break from being beaten. In this first draft it dances closely to a classification in romance as well, but since the focus isn't to have two people get together, I'm not pegging it that way. The relationships that form and how much they are in focus are most definitely a tool to tell the story. If there wasn't love, there would be a way to get stuff done, I just wouldn't like the characters as much and I think it would make them limp, weak, and socially repugnant pawns.
I already know, this is not a stand-alone book. I am expecting to write a series of 3. While fun, it might not be as marketable in the story formats I have in mind. I'm not planning a sequential format like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings where it is chronologically laid out. I guess in a way it's more Narnia....ish. Not the movies, but beyond that where you jump around and have different characters, different times. There will be a minimum overlap of characters and the same scientific premise continuity to link them as a series. But it's not book-sequal-prequal or anything like that. The third is likely to not be written in traditional 3rd person at all.
That being said, where did the idea come from?! Not quitting my day job to become a full-time author and pump out books for a living, I'm not scratching at ideas to try and break the mold, be the next trend setter. This book series is purely out of my dreams. I have a sheet of paper that I wrote out some notes on a few years ago. I have a lot of dreams. A lot of times, to my detriment because I feel like I was running a marathon all night and feel completely unrested, or for more serious and terrifying ones, I can have a real bad funk hanging over my head all day. I tried for a little while to do a dream journal. I really should be more diligent about it because there are some vivid gems out there. I have others that I know I want to write. Either way, this particular one was all written on one page. I took notes on the 2nd in the series on the back, but I don't remember if that was actually part of the dream. The 3rd is just a concept that I have thought of while writing the first. There are some very unique struggles that come with turning dreams into full books. I think that will be the topic of my next post.
I know this has been a crazy wacky post, but it gives some premise and I hope to see some writers joining me along the way :D
My dr thinks I may have ADHD...I don't like that they call it that now. I feel like it's more like ADD cause this tired gal doesn't feel the H lol. But alas, I jump from hobby to hobby and I have a lot of junk in my house to prove it and never enough time to do the smallest fraction of what I want. I'm an INFP personality-I love to create. Learn-Create-Share-Repeat. That's why I've done Youtube videos so much for the last few years. I love the challenge of doing new things, and sharing knowledge. I don't plan to give it up, but I'm in a major lull. I have ideas and supplies, I just don't wanna! It's not the obsession de jour. I have lots of footage just sitting on my SD card and laptop....oh boy...some day. It's also why I got obsessed with escape rooms this year. Creating my own. It was tons of fun, lots of investment-time and money. And then Covid happened :-/ and the locks and puzzles sit there unused and while I could use this time to productively create, my brain has moved onto the next thing. I hope I loop back to my other passions, time will tell.
What was I saying? Oh yeah, easily distracted much? so...squirrel...writing a book! I'm excited and just finished the first rough draft of my first ever book. I thought this may be a helpful thing to share (cause learn-create-share right?) for anyone else wanting to dip their toes in the water and ride the wave of authorship. I'll do my best to explain my process (It's pretty darn thorough!) and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. I may end up making YT videos on the topics down the road too. But I can only wear so many hats at a time....
Firstly, background on my history and qualifications to write a novel.
Um....it's maybe a bit slim. I have a Bachelors of Science degree...nothing to do with English and composition, though I obviously remember some of them. I'll be honest, I didn't always love those classes. Lord of the flies in high school? Hated it. While I can't handle the sin of wrong "their, there, they're" placement, I'm BFFs with run-on sentences and know the proper use of a semi-colon as well as I do my 1st cousin twice removed. So....the technical stuff will be a struggle, especially when it comes to proper placement of dialogue vs narration. All foreign, but I'm up to the challenge. Learn-Create-Share-Repeat. Should I change the name of my blog? Probably. Sorry, I'm not usually this crazy. We're going to blame it on chronic exhaustion ok?
Back to background...I am not a great book reader. I have an impressive bookshelf full of books I never read. I've read most of them but it has been years. I had a window where I devoured books. But like all of my interests, that one went away. I can't imagine sitting and reading all day. I feel like I'll get bored easily. I guess I haven't given it a try recently enough, but I feel like I'd fall asleep. I create or I blob, those are my two levels of energy. So consuming as opposed to creating when I feel up to doing anything, it's a sacrifice I'm not usually willing to make. That sounds like a horrible backstory for an author doesn't it? Either way...it is what it is. I'm honest and upfront to a fault if you can't tell. As for my writing experience...I enjoyed writing for the school paper in high school and I've written poetry throughout the years. I think that pretty much sums up my qualifications. Does that sound pathetic to you? Good news is that means you're probably not going to struggle as much as I will lol.
Second...what to share?
I obviously don't want to give any spoilers or subject myself to having original ideas taken, so there will be some things I am vague on. But there's a lot I can share. (Trust me, friends are tired of hearing about it, so I'm glad I now have you to launch my process on that I'm so excited about lol)
I would categorize my first book generally as science fiction. More specifically post-apocalyptic. But not dystopian. I thought those were synonymous and boy was I wrong. Not that I haven't enjoyed them, but Divergent, Hunger Games, The Giver, The Mazerunner....I just feel like that poor horse needs a break from being beaten. In this first draft it dances closely to a classification in romance as well, but since the focus isn't to have two people get together, I'm not pegging it that way. The relationships that form and how much they are in focus are most definitely a tool to tell the story. If there wasn't love, there would be a way to get stuff done, I just wouldn't like the characters as much and I think it would make them limp, weak, and socially repugnant pawns.
I already know, this is not a stand-alone book. I am expecting to write a series of 3. While fun, it might not be as marketable in the story formats I have in mind. I'm not planning a sequential format like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings where it is chronologically laid out. I guess in a way it's more Narnia....ish. Not the movies, but beyond that where you jump around and have different characters, different times. There will be a minimum overlap of characters and the same scientific premise continuity to link them as a series. But it's not book-sequal-prequal or anything like that. The third is likely to not be written in traditional 3rd person at all.
That being said, where did the idea come from?! Not quitting my day job to become a full-time author and pump out books for a living, I'm not scratching at ideas to try and break the mold, be the next trend setter. This book series is purely out of my dreams. I have a sheet of paper that I wrote out some notes on a few years ago. I have a lot of dreams. A lot of times, to my detriment because I feel like I was running a marathon all night and feel completely unrested, or for more serious and terrifying ones, I can have a real bad funk hanging over my head all day. I tried for a little while to do a dream journal. I really should be more diligent about it because there are some vivid gems out there. I have others that I know I want to write. Either way, this particular one was all written on one page. I took notes on the 2nd in the series on the back, but I don't remember if that was actually part of the dream. The 3rd is just a concept that I have thought of while writing the first. There are some very unique struggles that come with turning dreams into full books. I think that will be the topic of my next post.
I know this has been a crazy wacky post, but it gives some premise and I hope to see some writers joining me along the way :D
Thursday, April 2, 2020
FREE Virtual Escape Room! 21 Day Lockdown!
It has been a hot minute since I've posted here....but I figured it's a good place to help get the word out during these crazy times when we're all stuck indoors.
I've designed a 21 day Lockdown themed escape room in my own home and am sharing it free virtually. We're a few days in but you can get caught up fairly easily. Each day's videos are between 3 minutes & 10 minutes. Multiple rooms, different kinds of puzzles, riddles, and locks to figure out!
Join in on the fun HERE.
And please share :D
I've designed a 21 day Lockdown themed escape room in my own home and am sharing it free virtually. We're a few days in but you can get caught up fairly easily. Each day's videos are between 3 minutes & 10 minutes. Multiple rooms, different kinds of puzzles, riddles, and locks to figure out!
Join in on the fun HERE.And please share :D
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Amazon Beauty Haul!!! What to Buy? What to Avoid?
I was so excited recently to hit 100 subscribers on my vlog/beauty youtube channel! I've been enjoying filming and sharing my life there. Popular are travel, Lipsense videos, and Wish Hauls (I know 100 is not a ton, but it's a big mark for smaller channels, and having to restart last year was tough!)
I've enjoyed doing Wish hauls on my YouTube channel lately, but instead of hit or miss items, I thought I'd share some nice favorites in the beauty category from Amazon. Additionally, I've been getting a lot of positive feedback on decluttering videos which seems counterproductive to just get a ton of cheap wish stuff that I'll need to get rid of lol. With all that in mind, here are some nice quality items to give you that extra something-something :D
In total there are 5 items, for the full review, check out my video HERE.
One item is a makeup brush set-I had been needing another set since I embarked on my 58 makeovers towards being a Makeup Artist! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DCQFYHF
Another is a hair remover for a smooth face, I'm a big fan! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CZZ698Z
There are 3 other items included that I love as well, make sure to check it out!
*Some items provided free or discounted to review and share honest opinion.
I've enjoyed doing Wish hauls on my YouTube channel lately, but instead of hit or miss items, I thought I'd share some nice favorites in the beauty category from Amazon. Additionally, I've been getting a lot of positive feedback on decluttering videos which seems counterproductive to just get a ton of cheap wish stuff that I'll need to get rid of lol. With all that in mind, here are some nice quality items to give you that extra something-something :D
In total there are 5 items, for the full review, check out my video HERE.
One item is a makeup brush set-I had been needing another set since I embarked on my 58 makeovers towards being a Makeup Artist! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DCQFYHF
Another is a hair remover for a smooth face, I'm a big fan! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CZZ698Z
There are 3 other items included that I love as well, make sure to check it out!
*Some items provided free or discounted to review and share honest opinion.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
ASMR for Anxiety, Depression?
This is a topic I've been fairly open about in my life on YouTube, but I don't think I've ever shared it here. I've struggled with anxiety and depression for years, when I look back, for a good portion of my life.
About a year and a half ago, I started having trouble sleeping because of some increased stress in my life. I turned to a white noise app and ASMR videos on YouTube to help me sleep. Most nights I still use them. After some encouragement from a friend, I started my own ASMR channel 5 months ago. Some videos are whisper themed, or soft-spoken. Some are no talking at all, but nature sounds like rain, crinkles, tapping, etc.
I'll be having a video up tomorrow featuring these cute little squishies
that I got free or discounted from a company to share. I've set on a schedule to post every Monday (I mean, that's the most stressful day for many of us right?) so feel free to check it out and let me know what you think, is it helpful for you?!
Check out my ASMR channel HERE.
About a year and a half ago, I started having trouble sleeping because of some increased stress in my life. I turned to a white noise app and ASMR videos on YouTube to help me sleep. Most nights I still use them. After some encouragement from a friend, I started my own ASMR channel 5 months ago. Some videos are whisper themed, or soft-spoken. Some are no talking at all, but nature sounds like rain, crinkles, tapping, etc.
I'll be having a video up tomorrow featuring these cute little squishies
Check out my ASMR channel HERE.
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