Argh.

Hi hotshots.

I'm finding more and more that the idea of being a writer is kind of terrifying.
Right now, my plan is to be published by next summer (which seems do-able, until I sit in front of a blank screen and ask myself a million under-mining questions.)
There's a whole world out there, and I, as a writer, am going to try to make some of it my audience. Nowadays, a lot of that seems to be incorporated in websites like WattPad, where you upload stories and have people read/vote for them. But what if no one reads what you write? Granted, a lot of stories can wind up getting lost in the whirlwind, but does it mean you're a bad writer?
I'm pretty sure I'm not. Then again, what do I know? I'm not that in tune with my own generation, how can I be in tune with what my "audience" wants? And that's a bad way to think, anyway. My audience should like what I write, and I should write what I want to, in order to create works worth the time spent on them.
I'm not frightened of sending a manuscript off to publishers, because that kind of rejection is outright, and doesn't mean the next lot will have the same reaction. But what about actually writing the darned thing? What if it turns out to be awful, or worse: mediocre? The sort of book that people have no opinion about? I want them to be emotionally invested in my characters, but there are so many stories that I begin, setting the scene, and then think "well, this was nice, but that's that."
The basic storyline, I know, is "stable situation - something disrupts it - characters attempt to find a new stable situation."
I have no idea what I'm doing. Words are cheap, ideas cheaper, and somehow, I'm meant to turn those things into a book that people spend money on.
By next summer.
And this summer is meant to be the time where I get the writing done.
I don't want to be an aspiring writer, or a rejected novelist. Rock and a hard place. The only way to definitely get away from one is to write a novel. A thing with anything from 20,000-60,000 words, and beyond.
Oh, boy.
Okay.
Argh.
I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't want to be an aspiring writer anymore, but I don't want to be a rejected author either. Rock and a hard place. Only way to get away from one concretely is to write a book.

Every Day, by David Levithan

Hey, hotshot.

I don't really write posts dedicated to one book, but decided to make an exception for this one.

Basic summary: A is a soul/spirit/mind that wakes up every day in a different person's body. This is compromised when A finds someone that s/he wants to be attached to.

Why I love this book:

1) The writing style sucked me in. Eloquent and addictive. I read this in one evening. I finished it at exactly midnight. For those who've read the book, you'll get why I mention that. For those who haven't: A switches bodies at exactly midnight. I felt surreal. Like A was leaving right as I finished.

2) A, the protagonist, is fascinating. Unlike many, s/he doesn't do much that is stupid. You don't feel like yelling at A.

3) The love interest isn't annoying, but quite...reasonable. I didn't care much about her, but she didn't get in the way of the story too much, and it was pretty funny to read A trying to figure out where he is in comparison to her every morning. 

4) It's pretty obvious that the writer is open-minded. (You can really learn to hate some authors through how they write.)

5) I didn't see the ending coming. I want the author to write a sequel just to see what happens to A next. 

6) After finishing I felt like my head was exploding from all the different feelings in my stomach and thoughts in my brain. I didn't want it to be over, I didn't want it to have started. It felt like being on a tightrope when I put the book down. 

7) I felt like writing. It's the kind of book that inspires me. I love that.

Rating : 10/10. I don't read these kind of books often enough. I'll definitely be reading more of Levithan, especially if this is his usual standard. 

I have a song association for this book. It was playing while I began reading. Olly Murs, Heart on my Sleeve. Go figure.

I need to go...reread a few chapters...

E-books?

Hi hotshots!

I don't have a kindle, or a nook, or a kindle fire, or anything like that. What I have are three bookcases overflowing in my room. Which is better?
Well, I moved pretty recently, and that taught me hands-on that having 9-12 boxes full of books is both heavy and impractical. Imagine all those books on a Kindle. It would be cheaper to transport, less troublesome to pack and unpack. Well, unless I lost the Kindle. Then I'm obviously screwed.
Weight and cost versus losing all books and the electronic device at once.

On another note, what does having PDFs of a book ready on the internet mean? Music files are often pirated, because its so easy. What's to stop the book from becoming just as easily stolen?

In charity shops, books cost anything from £0.01 to £2.00. On the internet, there are self-publishing sites that sell books for just £0.99. In bookstores, books are usually about £8, and much higher for hardbacks. Libraries lend books for free.

The feel and weight of a book is...right. Words have weight. Why should they automatically need to be plugged in, like a computer? There is something special about holding a very old book, but an old computer file is just something in need of updating.
You can carry a book without fear of it being stolen, but a Kindle is a different story.
Does a book lose authenticity, its impressiveness, if it's just another file on the internet?

I don't know. I like having books around me, and I love going to bookstores/libraries. The attraction of having lots of book on a slim device I can fit into my pocket is still there.

Three bookcases could be converted into Kindle files. But.

But?

Websites I find useful.

Hi, hotshots!

I did a post about the advice I absorbed from books I had read for writers from authors (e.g. Stephen King's On Writing.)

However, books aren't the only media nowadays.
Websites I find useful are:

The Writer's Alley : an easy-to-use website with actual helpful tips.

Myers-Briggs personality testing : This is the test I use on my characters (sometimes). If I know my character's type, I have e better understanding of how they react in different situations. I like using psychology funstuffs to broaden out/flesh out/3d-ise characters.

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo : This is something I learnt about halfway through November, and therefore will only be able to take part in Nov 2012. It's a month-long writing splurge that forces you to try and achieve 50,000 words of a story in 30 days. A crash course I can't wait to try out.

Writing Forward : a list of 42 pointers. This may sound like a lot, but it's a nice summary of a lot of advice which often gets sidelined.

Got any websites to recommend?

"dis buk hlps u"

Hi hotshot,

The title of this post -in case it's too colloquially spelt- is "this book helps you."

I have read two books by authors on being authors and the author world. I usually read what other writers say via the internet.

The things which I keep coming across, in all media, are:

1) Read LOTS.

2) Write LOTS. At least an hour a day, or Stephen King's idea of four to six. In my current schedule, 4-6 would mean failing school, but I guess he writes for adults more than under-eighteens.

3) Characters are not perfect because people are not perfect.
4) There is no "secret to great writing."

5) Write at regular times. Self control- stick to your schedule, writing is a priority.
6) Don't snub other's opinions if they think less of your writing than you do. At the same time, remember you can improve and learn as a writer. The famous writer ego must be taken out and severely maimed, but never shot.

What's after zombies?

Hi hotshots-

is it kind of feeling...dead in here? Or I that just the stench of zombie? 

These creatures have been taking over lately (and not just in the bitey sense). TV, books, even running apps have latched onto the latest entertainment craze. The warning signs were all there... the books,

the famous-Youtuber-playing-themed-game,

PewDiePie

the adapted classics,

handbooks....

movies,

teen romance-y zombie flicks, (what?!)

-and last but not least, a zombie running app.

What's next for the bookshelves? In order, -from where I live- we have had

-werewolves (Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, for example)

-vampires (Twilight -S. Meyer-, the Morganville series, by Rachel Caine)

-angels/fallen angels/demons (The Fallen series, by Lauren Kate, and Hush Hush by B. Fitzpatrick)

-apocalypse/new society (Hunger Games by S Collins, Divergent by V. Roth)

-and now the zombies, some examples of which are above.

The brackets contain examples, but I'm sure there are plenty I haven't mentioned.

Some of these genres are still around, but it is zombies that are at their peak. How long do you think this will last?

Are there any books from each genre that you particularly like? Is there a theme you want to see come back, or one you wish would just go away forever?

Where does fiction have left to go? 

Witches are possible, with the recent popularity of Beautiful Creatures (a series and now a movie, too).

Hmmmmmmmm.

The First Draft

Hi hotshots-

I've been writing a story of undetermined length. And it's been like pulling teeth, until I realized something that I had been somewhat arrogantly overlooking:

No one cares about the first draft except me.

And that is one of the most liberating things ever.

There is no need, in writing a story for the first time, to stress about things too much. It's the foundation and skeleton of your story, but it can be revised. No one expects you to do it perfectly the first time around; the story is not your baby.

So chill.

You can go back, and way up what you like and don't like about what you have laid out. Boring characters? Mess with them. Weird plot? Now is the chance to smooth it out. Any other things that seem off in the first draft are to be corrected in the second draft. Even things as simple as the character's hair color, or where they live can be modified to suit how you wish for things to play out.

Now, that doesn't mean you/I can be lazy. The more you research things for your first draft, the easier the second and third etc. will be. I think.

I hope.

Yes.

Nobody cares. You can do whatever you like.

So do it already. I am. It's kind of scary. But fun :D