Is it what you think it is?

Wow, I feel a lot better today. I've just finished a presentation where I got to teach a 10-minute lesson to the class (last presentation and I feel like a weight has been taken off my back). I decided to do an activity on characterisation, and I gave the students a set of four cards which I created myself that depicted four entirely different characters. The reason for these cards were to get the students to give the characters a role (hero, villain, sidekick or love interest).

I got a lot of great feedback saying that it was a great activity (not that I'm bragging). My aim was that it helped the people think about twisting character roles. So, when creating a story do you always know who the hero will be?

Every story has two different perspectives, but most are only told from the good guy's POV. Wouldn't a story be very different if the story was told from the villain's side, would they actually get the reader to sympathise with them?

By giving the villain a motive and purpose it's helping to create a new depth to the character and story, afterall aren't we, as writers, always trying to come up with new twists and create 3d characters.

So, when working on a novel try to tell the story from the bad guys POV, even if it's only a paragraph. Try and see why he's doing what he's doing (unless he is 100% evil) and I'm sure you'll see the story in a different light.

For those that love Queries

I know how many people absolutely despise love writing queries. I stumbled upon this contest over at Grab a Pen which will make anyone love writing queries.

Review: The Naughty List

The Naughty List by Suzanne Young

Synopsis (From back cover): Everybody Knows Tessa Crimson is the purrfectly perky captain of the Smitten Kittens cheer squad. What most people don't know is that the Smitten Kittens double as spies-for-hire. Their mission? Catch cheating boyfriends in the act and bring justice to the girls of Washington High. So far, every suspect on their Naughty List has been found 100% guilty!
             Thank goodness Tessa's relationship with basketball captain Aiden is strawberry-smoothie. Or so she thinks.

The Naughty List is the debut book from Suzanne Young, and this is the first in a series. Just after hearing the synopsis I had to read this novel. I thought the idea of cheerleaders doubling as spies to catch cheating boyfriends was a very original idea, and I was not disappointed.

Tessa Crimson is the captain of the Smitten Kittens (also S.O.S the cheating agency) who's dating captain of the basketball team, Aiden. She thinks everything's perfect until she gets an S.O.S text stating that Aiden is suspected of cheating on her. Now she's left with the decision, should she spy on Aiden or trust him?

The Naughty List was a fun little read, and Tessa was a entertaining character to follow (even if her perkiness did bug me a little as the story progressed). I love how Tessa didn't like to use cuss words so used words like "strawberry-smoothie" to show how displeased she is. And, some of her exclamations just made me laugh like "Gingersnaps!"

There are enough twists and turns throughout the story to keep anyone guessing about how it's going to end. I'm looking forward to the next few installments (So many Boys and A Good Boy is Hard to Find are already scheduled for release later this year).

Cover: The cover looks cheeky, like someone standing at the window and capturing this delightful moment. It really sets up the whole mood of the book.

Plot: 4/5 stars
Ending: 4/5 stars
Cover: 4/5 stars
Overall: 4/5 stars
Recommend: Fans of Ally Carter
Debut Author Challenge: #2 of 12

Wind-down Wednesday

Wow, another Wednesday, and another really good reason to wind-down. So, here's a clip from Family Guy that I know I can relate to, but I'm sure the feeling's mutual for a lot of others as well.

Well, I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.While I'm at it I would like to give a big thanks to Deb Salisbury for giving me:

 Now, all I have to do is pass it on to five people and share ten things about myself. That doesn't sound that hard, does it?

So, here are the five I'll pass it on to:
1. Annie from Dutch Hill News
2. Michelle Mclean
3. Ali Cross
4. Alison from Adventures of a Cautionary Tale
5. Mireyah Wolfe

And, now for the ten things I need to share. Now, where do I start?
1. I have been in five car accidents and have walked away from all of them (not a statistic I like to think about because I think cars hate me).
2. I never liked English class during High School because my English teacher made it seem so boring, it was only after I finished that I got serious with writing (woah, that's eleven years ago, seems like forever).
3. I absolutely love Disney and animations (they always have a good story to cheer me up when I've had a really bad day).
4. I played the flute all the way through Primary and High School (I'm pretty sure that's Middle, Junior and High School for the US).
5. I'm rather impulsive (if I see something that I want I pretty much get it... that could explain why most of my library consists of books I've still got to read, and I'm currently trying to get through three at once)... but, shopping is another way to relax, don't you agree?
6. The only coffee I drink is White Chocolate Mocha's from Starbucks (which I absolutely love).
7. Call me a big geek, but I love Anime's (and am eager to attend the convention in April where I'll actually be entering a karaoke contest and singing an entire song in Japanese... well, the worst I can do is trip over the words and totally embarrass myself but that's not much).
8. I am related to a famous Australian Singer (but would rather not know because I didn't know he was a distant cousin until he was in the finals of Australian Idol... I haven't even met the guy).
9. I love horror stories, movies, anything pretty much that terrifies (I was desensitised as a child when I was six and my cousins left me at the entrance of the haunted house ride at a fair... hey, this is a pitch black room where you can't see where you're going... I guess being traumatised has it's advantages).
10. I hate clowns (It's not that I'm scared of them, I just don't believe anyone can be that happy all the time, and fitting that many people into a small car is just wrong).

Well, that's me for another Wednesday. Thanks Deb (go and check her out, she has links to wonderful resources for writers) once again for the award, and I hope I didn't lose any respect for the ten things I shared.

Who creates the words you write?

Last night I said, without thinking, something that I've been reading around on the blogosphere for a while now in response to something my brother said (he said he wanted to hit me over the back of the head for that one). What was this mischievous word? "Awesomesauce". A word that I first learnt from reading the fantastic Elana Johnson's blog, but have seen it around on so many blogs ever since.

What does it mean? Well, doing a random Google search (you gotta love Google, everything under the tips of your finger) I came upon the definition in Urban Dictionary:

Something or someone truly amazing. Usually: more awesome than the word "awesome" can describe.

This made me think where do the words come from (and do the people who create them actually get any credit)? You've got to admit it, someone had to be behind creating slang terms and catch phrases. There's IM, 1337 (pronounced as Leet) and even Vulcan (I have to hand it to the fans for creating an entire language out of snippets from a tv show).

These words and new languages have been used in many stories, and sometimes they even change meaning due to the person and generation they're speaking to. Hey, when LOL became popular it took me a while to figure that it stood for "Laugh Out Loud". Now I hear you laughing, but I could've sworn that it meant "Lots of Love" which was it's previous meaning.

When you write do you use any catchphrases or slang to show the characters age and relate to the readers of the now? Do you stay away from such trends so that there will be no communication breakdown? Or, do you just not think about the words/slang you write and just write?

Can you hear it: Selecting the soundtrack

Everyone has their own ideal setting for writing, or just relaxing in general. Some can only work if there is total silence, some need chaos (like that from a coffee shop or busy restaurant) to get the creative juices flowing. What about me? Well, I need some kind of background noise, and usually in the same tempo/genre/mood of what I'm writing.

I've read a lot of authors websites that mention having a soundtrack for the novel, and I've found this technique a very handy tool to get into the right frame of mind for writing, and it's also a fun way to procrastinate think about the story.

For haven, my soundtrack consists of:
1. Down with the Sickness by Disturbed
2. 7 Days to the Wolves by Nightwish
3. Monsters by Matchbook Romance
4. The Curse by Disturbed
5. Rest in Peace by James Masters, aka Spike (see above, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
6. Disturbia by Rhianna
7. It's the Fear by Within Temptation
8. Somebody Help Me by Full Blown Rose
9. Vampires will never hurt You by My Chemical Romance
10. Whisper by Evanescence

So, do you have a soundtrack to the story you're working on (if you don't, then why not)?

P.S. that's my kind of vampire. Spike from Buffy, bad boy all the way, and he's actually coming down under in 2 weeks...

An ode to rejections...

Well, since it's already 4:30 on Thursday here I guess I've missed Wind-down Wednesday (don't feel bad, I'm feeling great because I took my singing and guitar lesson and that really helped relax me).

My guitar teacher is also a collaborator with some original songs that I write. Instead of doing my usual depressing gothic style music (hey, I love that dark and emotional packed music) I chose to write an upbeat, happy song based around what we all know. I thought it would be good to share with you all, it's titled "Jump".

A single voice above the noise,

A single thought of not enough.

That inch of doubt that holds you back,

Are you good or will you fall?

Facing the bumpy road that life reveals.

Jumping all the hurdles, stumbling for a few.

Feeling like the light's switched off,

Fumbling for a match.

You always second guess yourself

Over and over, facing doubt.

Never be afraid. Don't just stand there

When you can jump, jump, jump.

You'll hit the ground running if you jump.

When all you get is pain, and the ground is approaching fast

All you need is one little smile, think about that yes.

Is all the work worth the trouble?

You'll never know if you quit.

Isn't life a bumpy road, never knowing where it leads.

Having your eye on something far, watching the sun slowly set.

Taking the road less travelled isn't that hard,

Taking that chance against all the bets.

You always second guess yourself

Over and over, facing doubt.

Never be afraid. Don't just stand there

When you can jump, jump, jump.

You'll hit the ground running if you jump.

Is it worth the trouble?

Can you see the goal?

Push yourself forward,

Take that chance.

You'll never know

If you don't jump.

It's just a work in progress, and stay tuned because soon there'll be actual music for it (yes, it will even contain my voice singing... oh the horror). Just writing this really helped lift my spirits, so I hope it can do the same for some of you too.