Experiments in Creativity

This has definitely been a year that I'm living by the old saying, "Success is 99 percent failure"... what that means is that I'm taking a lot more risks and adventures than I have done before, even if that means setting myself up for certain failure, but most of the time I'm coming up with pleasant surprises. After all, isn't it true that you'll never know what success looks like if you didn't face all those failures beforehand?

My latest adventures resulted in spending over 2 hours in a pool (which had way too much chlorine) with my trusty underwater camera and my sister (complaining I'm trying to drown her by 'forcing her to wear a dress' in the pool). This was the first time I'd done any sort of underwater photography. Heck, I didn't even know if the pictures would turn out more than blurry smudges of red and blues.

Sometimes creativity can be found anywhere, even at the bottom of a pool. You just have to look around and you can create a picture, a story, anything from your surroundings (with a few simple props :P).

All the photography projects I've been setting myself have been really great for the story ideas as well, and I'm already trying to decide what to start next: a story about a demonic wizard's daughter forced to collect people's souls, or a parallel worlds story, or a halloween prank gone awry when a pretend haunted house ends up real??? So many stories, now, I just have to get them out :D

PS There was a reason for the red dress... I was experimenting for a cover shoot that will be happening for another story I'm planning to release after Shade Consumed gets released :D

Something exciting brewing...

As I said last week, a lot of things have been happening lately. One thing that I'm really excited about is my near completion of my latest novel... Okay, so, I've written another novel. That is pretty exciting, but what makes this on-the-edge-of-my-seat, nail-biting, pulling-hair-out exciting is that I didn't do it alone.

GASP!!!

Yeah, you heard me right! I have been hard at work collaborating with my brother and sister to bring out a fantastic story, and soon you'll be able to read it.

Let me introduce you to Shinigami Eyes. A novel that I've co-written with my brother, Adam, taking all of his Japanese expertise (Yep, we're co-writing half-way around the world with me in Australia and him in Japan), and even being illustrated manga-style by my very talented sister, Kristy. I think I'm taking the phrase 'family business' to the next level... but I'm so excited for this story and I know that the more heads the better to put this little baby together.

And now, just for those wondering what this little precious is about, here is the blurb:

Most children hope to grow out of their imaginary friends, for 17-year-old Rin Waters, she only hopes hers doesn’t kill someone. Especially when her imaginary friend puts a boy in a coma. Now she finds herself shipped half-way around the world (to Japan of all places) to live with grandparents she hasn’t seen for ten years and a cousin she can’t remember.

Rin would rather just forget about that one night that ruined her life, and pretend that her imaginary friend doesn’t exist - if it was only that easy - but she finds that hard when manga-obsessed otaku, Matt won’t stop pestering her about manga that sees the future and the tragic accident she’ll be involved in if she doesn’t listen to him.

When mysterious accidents begin to happen to the students around her, Rin has to wonder what length Matt would go to prove his manga is real, or is there really something that wants to see Rin and her new friends dead?

---
 
Don't believe it's coming: It's even got a page on Goodreads. Go on, I know you want to add it to your to-read list. And stay tuned for lots of things that are going to be happening as we prepare for the release.

Bogged down in Revisions

Wow, I can't believe it's almost the end of April. I know I haven't been around here much (and I promise that is changing), but I have had a lot of things on my plate. This includes completing university courses and working.

I guess that's not the most exciting things that I've got going on at the moment though. I'm currently in the revision stage for my YA horror Shinigami Eyes, and planning to start subbing it to agents very shortly. I'm also writing another YA horror and am absolutely loving writing all of these creepy scenes. I've also been told that I'm good at writing the creepy scenes (which is good since I have absolutely no idea whether I am being scary enough when I write).

So what has everyone else been up to?

Insecure Writer's Group - February

Alex's awesome co-hosts for February are:
Sheena-kay Graham, Julie Musil, Jamie Ayres, 
and Mike Swift!   
 Please stop by their blogs and say thank you.

Today I listened to a really inspiring video podcast which really helped me identify this month's topic - fear of rejection. 

I've been working hard on getting my second novel ready to be released, and this is even scarier than last year when Shadow Embraced was released into the world. I think it's scarier for me because this novel is one that is really close to my interests, but also one outside my comfort area (since it's situated in a foreign country), and now I have all those nagging thoughts rolling around my head - will people like it? will people want to read it? what will they say about it? is it too different that they won't like it??? But I guess everyone has those thoughts - or similar thoughts - when handing over something they have worked hard on to the public for review.

In this podcast, the speaker says what it takes to keep personal expression, no matter what anyone says, or the weird reactions you get because people don't understand (or like) what you wear/say/write is to ask what you really want (do you want to write for fame & money... perhaps that's not exactly the right motive to be writing for, or do you just write because you love writing and need to write?), and ask whether you should care about what people say. Yes, it's good to accept some of the feedback that you receive from your writing, but let's face it, not everyone is going to be a fan of your work, and negative reviews are inevitable, but so are the good.

I know the fear of rejection is a major part of writing, but one thing I know is true... if you don't put your work out there, if no one gets the chance to read it, you will never know whether anyone will like it. And yes, there will be people out there that will like your work.

So, one thing I can say about rejection is to learn from it. If the negative review offers any constructive criticism, any suggestions or feedback as to what they would have liked to see improve, then you can work on improving that in your next work. If the negative review offers nothing but harsh comments, then just push it under the rug, and move on. There's no point lingering on negativity when you have something else you can be writing.

What's your insecurity for this month?

For a last piece of inspiration, here's the podcast I found so inspiring :D

Busy, busy, busy

Can you believe it??? Where has January gone? It seems like only last week we were celebrating the new year, and now a month has passed. It hasn't been a quiet month either as I've been working hard on a couple of exciting projects, collaborating with the fantastic editors and designers at Dark World Books and another wonderful artist to bring out a novel that is quite special to me.

Okay, my life has been quite hectic lately. I've moved to a new place (although I'm not complaining as it's only a short drive to the beach, and numerous frozen yoghurt stores), started a new job, and am getting ready to start uni (again). Yep, a lot of things have been happening, but that doesn't mean the writing stops.

In January I officially completed the final draft of Shinigami Eyes and sent it away to get edited, and now I'm in the middle of planning art work and getting a cover design created. But that's not the only thing I've been up to, I've also been feverishly writing the sequel to Shadow Embraced and should have the first draft completed by mid-February if I can manage to keep to my time goals.

With everything that's been happening, I'm on a roll to get the numerous story ideas I've got rattling around in my brain out on the page (and I mean there are a lot of ideas up there).

Stay tuned for more information about Shinigami Eyes as there will be plenty coming your way shortly :D

So, what did you get up to in January? Did you accomplish any goals?

What are you doing this Nano Eve?

Okay, for the first time since I've started attempting NanoWriMo novels, I don't actually have to work or do anything (other than write) on the 1st November, so I'm attempting possibly the most crazy feat I have ever attempted - that's pulling an all nighter and starting right on the chime of midnight and seeing how much of my novel I can get written before I crash.

Working on another WiP as well as watching movies galore just to keep busy as the clock counts down. Even as I write this there's still 5 minutes until Nano starts, and now this is the time when all the doubts start to creep into my mind:

• Is my idea good enough?
• Can I get a novel out of the plot I have created?
• Will I be able to start the story or just stare at the blank page for the first few hours?

It's not just with Nano, every novel ideas comes the same thoughts. I'm just hoping I've thought through this novel, but I am looking forward to jumping into it (and getting the excuse of being a nerd and reading/watching any form of media with nothing but superheroes for the month). The one problem I do have with my novel is that it is technically two separate stories and I think I need to write it as two stories before I can combine the two characters POVs into one big story... oh well, more the fun.

What have you been doing on the Nano eve/Halloween?

Getting out of my comfort zone (& off my butt)

Sometimes I find that just sitting in front of a screen (staring at a blank screen) can be a cause of some serious writer's block and cause frustration that ends up with me (wanting to throw the computer) shelving a novel or ending up with a lot of unfinished WiPs that I keep telling myself that I'll get back to.

There are some simple tips for breaking writer's block:

• taking a little walk out in fresh air (my dogs love that little suggestion).
• go see a movie... as long as the ideas that come afterwards do not include a scene by scene recount of the movie's plot.
• do something wild and outlandish

Okay, I love going for a little walk around the block... when this happens I can't get away without taking my two dogs, who love me when I need to go for a walk, but sometimes just the little walk doesn't help.

I love going to places and doing things a bit out of the ordinary, and this usually helps to churn ideas within my little head. Even if it's just a drive up the mountain, or taking a 3 kilometre hike down the mountain in search of waterfalls in the rain... yes, I've done that (didn't find the waterfalls, found the camping ground, the waterfalls were an extra 3km walk).

Today my sister and I decided to go and explore some caves. Yep, a totally unprepared, out of the blue trip to the caves. With the trust light from our mobile phones we ventured into unknown territory, climbing up rocks and hoping that I didn't head butt the low hanging ceiling and give myself a concussion (glad to say I'm still in one piece). 

Being fully prepared, I had my trusty camera and decided to play with the only light sources we had in the cave (no flash from the camera here :D). What I can say about my little excursion is that by getting out of the house it does allow me to get a clearer head to help me think of my stories without the stress of deadlines, word counts or blank pages.

p.s. When I eventually got home I was able to finish the first draft of my WiP, Dark Sight... YAY!!!

So, what do you do to clear your head when you come up against writer's block?

Just a Nano Post...

It's getting close to that time of the year again, and yes, I will be participating in NanoWriMo once again. For those that don't know what NanoWriMo is, 1: have you been living under a rock, and 2: it's national novel writing month where the goal is to write 50k in one month. I absolutely love Nano because it helps me get motivated and push myself to achieve my deadlines.

This year was definitely hard with deciding what novel to write (I have so many that really need to be written), but since I need to start a novel from scratch, and most of my other novels I've gotten a little bit complete, I've decided to go with a YA superhero story about a world full of 'adult' heroes and villains and one teenager who decides to challenge authority by giving teenagers powers. It will be told from dual perspectives of twins, Jett and Jace who end up with powers and it will technically be their origin story.

As I sat down to plot it yesterday I realised that a superhero story definitely is going to take a lot of work. There's the entire world I need to create and all the rules for the super powers and backstories for all the characters... oh well, I still have 15 days left until Nano officially begins. I'm really hoping I can achieve it because I already have a cool theme park/rollercoaster battle sequence in mind for one of the hero/villain fights and I'm looking forward to writing it.

Are you doing Nano? If yes, have you decided what you're writing?

Keeping backstory a mystery

Over the weekend I became obsessed with the TV series Arrow (seriously, I watched the entire season over the weekend), and the one thing I loved about the show, besides plenty of eye candy in Oliver Queen himself, was the way they unfolded the backstory. Instead of unloading the entire five years worth of backstory about what happened to Oliver while stranded on a deserted island onto the viewer, the screenwriters only let out little bits and pieces as needed.

Watching this show got me thinking about how to dish out the backstory in my stories. I, for one, don't like being given all the information outright as I like some mystery to still remain or the story I'm reading becomes boring. Too much information too soon can bore the reader and make them lose interest in the story, but then there's the other spectrum (which I am often guilty of, especially in my first drafts).

I have been told by critique partners that I don't give enough of my backstory because I don't like to give away some elements that I want to be kept a mystery. Yeah, which can be a mistake and confuse the hell out of the reader (especially when my main character says "at least I didn't kill him" out of the blue without any other mention of this guy she 'didn't kill'... I'm working on that).

Getting the balance between too much backstory and not enough is a tricky business, but when it all comes together it helps to make the story interesting and capture the readers interest.

So what about you? Do you struggle with when and how much backstory to put into your story? For readers, do you like reading a lot of backstory or do you like finding out little snippets here and there?

You know you're a writer when...

You know you're a writer when incorrect grammar starts to 'irk' you... Okay, there was this road that I drove down nearly every weekend to get from my town to my parents. As you can see from the picture, it's very country. It's nearly 50 km's (30 miles) of dirt road and winding bends, but there was this one sign that always annoyed me (and my brother). How could a sign annoy me you may ask. It was all due to the one missing apostrophe. Sam Hunts Creek... it sounds like Sam's hunting the creek, okay now I'm just being pedantic.

Yep, it was grammatically incorrect and every single time I drove past it all I ever wanted to do was to pull over and add that darn apostrophe. Well, my brother got his wish. On his final weekend in Australia he chose to yell at me to pull the car over and in a spur of the moment action, we actually added the apostrophe.

We actually weren't the first one's to think of doing this. Coming back the other way, the apostrophe had already been added. Yeah, I wish we had been the first to think of doing this, but now I can rest in peace knowing that I have corrected one more grammar injustice mistake in the world.

Have you done anything crazy that proves you're a writer? Do you get annoyed by the silliest of things? Tell me the craziest thing you have done.

Camp NanoWriMo

Okay, this is kind of a spur of a moment thing (seriously spur of a moment thing as in signed up yesterday), but I decided participating in another NanoWriMo. I have decided that I need to get a fire placed beneath me so that I will finish writing some of my story ideas. Camp Nano isn't like the Nano in November. You can actually choose how many words you will be writing and I have chosen to be venturous (which will probably fail horribly with all the promotion I need to do for Shadow Embrace's release at the end of the month) and write 70k.

I think giving myself a deadline like this is a fantastic way to motivate me to complete those novels and get other manuscripts ready.

Do you write best with a deadline? Do deadlines work? Let me know if you're participating in Camp Nano.

When you're on a roll...

Sometimes life can get so overwhelming and I don't have enough time to prepare for my obligations let alone do any writing, but for the past two weekends I've been able to have a breather and spend the entire weekend writing. This has helped me re-write the first 20 chapters of my WiP, Shinigami Eyes.

The one thing that has helped me to get ahead in my WiP is setting a deadline (and having beta readers craving more chapters). I'm actually on a pretty crucial deadline because my alpha reader moves to Japan in less than a month so I lose the person who's making sure the plot makes sense and everything in Japan is pretty accurate (my beta readers... who are Japanese or living in Japan are helping with the rest of the inaccuracies).

The one problem I'm finding now that I'm on a roll is that I don't want to stop.

Do you set a deadline with your writing? How do you feel when you get on that writing roll?

To Hook or to Dangle

As a writer, I have read so many books, blog posts and articles that all sprout the same advice "you need to hook the reader from the first page" or "you need to start with a bang", but I was just wondering whether a reader will read a slow chapter one if the characters are interesting, but also the opposite, what about if the story starts with a bang but there are lifeless or unbelievable characters?

I do like to try and give a story a go, if I see characters that I like or a story that I see going somewhere, but if there's still nothing happening by chapter five then I think nothing's going to happen in the whole story. I'm the same with a movie, and there have been several movies that I have not been able to sit through (unfortunately I've attended the cinema for several of them and ended up spending the majority of the movie writing... I did get a lot of work done though :P).

I am a writer who likes to start with an action scene, but in my latest WiP Shinigami Eyes, that was not possible because my character is stuck on the train and in my first draft the entire action wasn't even seen on the pages (seriously, I'd only mentioned the action). In my rewrite, I've changed it and have been told it is better with the action, but I still worry about the hook and whether it will keep the reader wanting more (but since I've got beta readers who are anxious for me to continue I'm gathering I'm heading in the right direction).

As a reader, do you like to be hooked right from the first page, or do you keep reading if there are interesting characters? What, if anything, makes you stop reading?

Getting things perfect

I've had a very productive weekend. I started my revisions for Shinigami Eyes and have re-wrote 2 chapters, adding extra details and changing necessary events. But before I could start these revisions I spent the majority of Saturday searching through (and renaming) over 3000 pictures from my holiday just to find the pictures that would help me describe the setting and help me picture one important event that in the first draft wasn't even seen (it was only heard of and I thought that was, well, really boring).

Yeah, 3000 pictures are a lot (believe it or not, there are still 2000 more on my brother's phone I didn't have my hands on), but I had to make it perfect. The first draft was missing the description because I couldn't picture the place, and even though I had visited it, I just needed those pictures to help me get a better idea of where things were and how things were going to happen.

Stay tuned for a post later this week about my trip and I'll show you (not the 3000 pictures) some of the places I went. :D

So, do you like to see the place you're describing or do you write purely from imagination?

Inner Editor vs Inner Hinderer

Okay, I have to admit that sometimes it can take me a while to hammer out the first draft and that is because I can sometimes re-write sections three or four times and still not be happy with how that section is turning out, but during NanoWriMo I was determined not to let my inner editor dictate what to include or exclude from my story (yeah, I know that  some of my characters disappeared for long portions of the story and that I didn't introduce some of those characters until they were necessary, but I'll be able to go back and fix that in the next draft).

Once I stopped my inner editor from trying to change the story after I had already wrote it, I was able to get more of the story written in less time. I'm still not finished with the first draft, but I can at least see the ending in sight and I should be finished the first draft before the end of the year and then I'll be able to add any of the scenes or do any of the changes I need to make in the second draft without worrying about whether I'll ever finish the story.

So, this got me thinking, does the inner editor hinder the story's progress during the first draft? Is it better to write the first draft before worrying about editing the story?

Writer or eavesdropper?

Okay, I have a guilty confession to make. Sometimes I go to a coffee shop and sit down just to hear other people's conversations. Yeah, I know, that makes me an eavesdropper, but I love listening to real conversations and seeing how people speak (and perhaps pick up some interesting tidbits that could later be used to fuel my ideas).

But, isn't this one way to help create realistic dialogue? If you don't listen to people and watch how they act, how does the writer know they are creating realistic characters? That's my argument and I'm sticking with it.

Don't tell me I'm the only one who does this. Who else loves to catch bits of conversation? Who out there catches sight of someone (whether it's what they say, what they wear or how they look) and thinks that they could use that quirk in their stories? 

Nanowrimo

It's that time of year again, where writers everywhere are preparing to write a crazy 50,000 words in one month. For those that don't know, November is the month of caffeine, chocolate and sleepless nights as writers push to make it past the finish line.

With there being less than a month until the hectic mayhem starts, I'm busy trying to plot my idea. October is usually the month that most of the plotters spend getting all the details of their novels worked out (while I know several who have absolutely no idea what to write up to 11:59pm on the 31st October and have still powered through the 50,000 words). So, this month is going to be exceptionally busy for me.

Okay, I'm being a bit ambitious this year. I've had this story idea brewing for a few months, but I wasn't going to start writing it until I go to Japan on holiday in January. So, what does my holiday to Japan have to do with it? Well, it's actually because the story is based in Japan and I've been researching like mad all the elements of Japanese culture (such as home life and schools) that no holiday can tell me.

It would probably be the best idea to wait, but I've been to Japan before so I know the rough locations where I'm setting the novel, and my character really, really, really wants to be written. So, here's an introduction to my Nano novel titled Shinigami Eyes (it's a YA supernatural mystery):

After an incident at a school dance almost got her date killed 16-year-old Rin is sent to live with her grandparents in Japan. Being the new girl is hard, but also being told by crazed Otaku (someone obsessed with anime/manga) Matthew that she is a character in a manga called Shinigami Eyes that he recons can tell the future is something that she can't handle. 

 She tries to ignore Matthew's attempts to persuade her that she is indeed a character until the manga shows her standing over a dead body. Now Rin, with Matthew's help, has to discover the identity of this person and why she would want to kill them, before the manga becomes a reality.

Apart from finishing my research, my planning is going to involve creating a wide cast of characters, plotting my mystery elements and even figuring out 'who did it' and 'murder victim'... even though my brother suggests to just write it and as he says "see who wants to jump under the knife". I'm excited to start planning for this because there's going to be manga, witches and murder... what else could anyone need?

So, who's participating in Nano? If you are, have you thought about what you're writing? And are you a pantser or plotter?

What is a realistic character?

When I read I love to get inside the head of realistic characters. Even when watching movies I sort of have a habit of wanting the main character to mess up, or even get hurt while trying. Yeah, I know. I'm messed up, but if the character can achieve their goal without problem or setback, then they are really dull to watch. This is probably why I prefer superheroes that are trying to hide from the cops rather than working with them.

So what makes a real character?

• Faults
  Everyone has faults, no one is perfect (even if perfectionism is their fault). Whether it's being a slob to having a phobia, if the character has something that people can relate to, then it's easier for the reader to believe the character and get close to the character.
• Quirks
  Everyone has some habit, trait or movement that they do (don't shake your head, you know you do). This could be a nervous habit such as biting their lip or cracking their knuckles. One of my quirks is I have a habit of pacing when speaking on the phone. Any phone call, not just upsetting or nervous calls. Sometimes these quirks aren't even noticeable to the character and they are done by the subconscious.
• Likes/Dislikes
  Everyone has likes and dislikes, whether it's food or music or even teachers at school. Showing the character hates something or is obsessed with a band is just showing they have a personality.
• Secrets
  Yeah, also something everyone has. Secrets can be little like the $5.00 you stole from your mother's purse when you were 13 to big as in, my father is a serial killer big. Secrets are just a part of life, and sometimes those secrets can cause problems and hurt the character when they are trying to achieve their goal.
• Lies
  Don't tell me you've never lied. Even if it's a white lie by telling your best friend they don't look fat in that extremely tight top, that's still a lie. If the character never says anything but the truth, then they are either very, very, very honest, or just dull. 

Realistic characters portray traits that everyone has. If they don't, then what will make the reader believe they could be real or even want to follow the story with them.

What makes a realistic character to you?

Does reading help?

I'm a writer, but also an avid reader. Seriously, I have about 500 books sitting on my shelves (yes, some of them have been read) and I love devouring new and interesting stories. It amazes me when I meet someone who says that they want to be a writer, but they don't like reading. I just can't imagine being a writer and not loving to read.

I believe reading helps, not only to show you what's out there and is currently being published, but it also helps with the skills of writing and broadens the language skills of the writer. Yes, reading can even give inspiration and help writer's block. At the moment I'm writing a YA horror and was having a bit of problem bringing the eeriness and scares into the scenes where I know what's coming. Okay, I'm obsessed with horror movies and have read some horror novels (loved R.L. Stine when I was younger), but I didn't know how to make something scary when I knew every single event and surprise that was happening. That's when I had a spur-of-the-moment impulse to read some horror books that I've heard are really creepy (none other than the Ring books by Koji Suzuki) and just the first chapter has really helped give me some ideas as to creating an eerie atmosphere so that my scenes will be super scary (which is exactly what I want).

So, I believe reading is a necessary part of the writing process. What do you think?

When do you know you're finished?

I'm nearing the end of my YA Paranormal and I know that once I hit 'The End', it's not really over. Even as I write I can see a whole lot of work that I need to fix, especially after my first reader (who is quite harsh on getting everything perfect) finishes... yeah, I like reading through my MS and see bright blue blocks of highlighted notes that tells me what I can do better. But I know that it DOES make my story better.

The writing is the easiest part of the novel, then you've got the editing and the rewriting. So, how do you know when you've finished that MS?