Don't forget! SHARE A SATURDAY is still a thing!

In an effort to getting back to talking about other authors, I want to remind everyone stopping by that we still have SHARE A SATURDAY at this blog...it's just been two months since the last guest post! Basically, if you don't know/remember, SHARE A SATURDAY is when I host guest posts / bloggers on...uh, Saturday. We had a good mini run in summer but it seems to have gotten quiet again. Anyone is welcome at any time to come post on my blog about ANYTHING writing/book related! Want to promo? Stop by! Want another date on your blog tour? Hey! Want to just wax and wan about character development or this one SUPER COOL book you read? I ain't gonna stop you. Unless I'm all booked up.*

For an example of previous guest posts on this blog, check out these awesome posts. (Also, you're free to write a guest post here more than once.)

If you would like to guest post on this blog, please never hesitate to contact me via the ways on the contact page, or drop me a line in the comments. I look forward to having you!

*I do make exceptions for posts that only promote hate speech / illegal activities that should damn well stay illegal. But none of you would ever do that. :D

SAS: "Game On" Blog Tour, by Kyra Lennon

"Share A Saturday" is a weekly chance for you, yes YOU, to come on my blog and talk about whatever you want, so long as it's related to writing/books. For more information, such as if you'd like to "share a Saturday" with me, please see below!

Kyra Lennon was born on the South coast of England, and to this day, still lives by the sea. Fiction writing has always been her passion, but she also has numerous articles on a variety of topics published on prolific websites. 

Blog: http://kyralennon.blogspot.co.uk/

When I first started writing Game On, the only characters I had in mind were Leah and Radleigh. Being a complete pantser, I had the loosest plotline imaginable and learned more about where the story was going, and where the characters were going, during the writing process.

What surprised me the most when I was writing, most especially about Leah, was just how much depth she has. On the surface, she’s a British girl living in America, doing a job she loves. That’s it, that’s all there is to see at first glance. But dig just a little deeper, and you’ll find a wealth of baggage and self-inflicted pain that she has been carrying around for far too long. Part of her journey in Game On is trying to figure out if she can “unpack” it, or if she’s destined to carry it around forever.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a writer too, so you will already know just how important it is to give your characters depth. But this doesn’t just apply to the main characters. Think about the ones around your MCs. Do you really know who they are? Think about how J.K Rowling wrote her characters. She knew everything about every single one of them. I’m pretty sure if you asked her Harry Potter’s grandmother’s shoe size, she’d know the answer! Of course, you don’t need to know quite that much, but you should at least know some of their background. The minor players in your own lives have their own pasts, and those things affect the way they interact with you. The same is true for the characters you write, at least it should be if you want people to believe in them.

I can honestly say, I have never had more than one trait or “thing” planned for any character I’ve ever written when I first begin a new story. It sounds like a very sloppy way to approach writing, but it hasn’t ever really failed me. These people pop up in my head, and with one very basic idea as a starting point, they guide me through the rest of the story. They tell me what to do, who they are, where they’ve been and where they’re going. Quite often, they give me this information when I’ve had a different idea, but in spite of my efforts, they usually win and they are always right!

What I’d like to know is, how do YOU approach the creation of new characters. Do you really flesh them out before you begin writing, or do you let them guide you?

-Amazon US
-Amazon UK
-Amazon US (Paperback)
-Amazon UK (Paperback)
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If you'd like to participate in a Share a Saturday, feel free to contact me at my email, hildred @ gmail.com (no spaces) or through any of the other ways to get a hold of me through my Contact page.

SAS: How to Write A Page Turner, by Lorelei Bell

"Share A Saturday" is a weekly chance for you, yes YOU, to come on my blog and talk about whatever you want, so long as it's related to writing/books. For more information, such as if you'd like to "share a Saturday" with me, please see below!

In her teens and young adult years, Lorelei has always rooted for Dracula to be the dark romantic hero, but was often disappointed. She was considered odd because of her interests in the macabre, horror/vampire novels and movies well before it was 'cool'.

She went on to write novels that she had always wanted to find in bookstores, but couldn't. After 35 years of trying to impress agents/publishers, but failing, finally her first vampire novel, “Vampire Ascending” was taken up by a small publisher. She now has her sequel, “Vampire's Trill” out, and a third in the Sabrina Strong Series going through edits.

Inspiration comes from authors J.K. Rowling, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and Janet Evanovich, and others. Visit her blog here !

How to Write A Page Turner

You know how you'll hear people talk about a book that they couldn't put it down? Ever wonder how the writer's accomplished it? Well, I'll give you a few tips. I don't mess around, I learn from the masters!

Let's take J.K. Rowling's books because most people have read them. First of all when the Harry Potter books came out, I really wondered what all the big deal was. I didn't buy the books until I saw the first movie. That got me interested. I read the first book, and had to read the next one and the next one, and then could not wait for the fourth one, and after that, I was hooked. Why? Why was it when I was done with these books I felt like I had left my best friends? Why did I want to go live with Harry, in Hogwarts and be magical?

J.K. Rowling understood how to bring her characters alive, make them seem real and did it in such a way we didn't even notice. 

Sympathetic characters:

First of all, consider her main character, Harry. Harry, as you know, is the “boy who lived” after Voltermort killed both his parents and then went after baby Harry. He wore that mark from then on. 

What a way to begin a book, or a series! You've automatically made the reader sympathize with the main character. Then when you find out how horribly he's treated by his aunt, uncle and cousin—more of the same thing. You feel sorry for him.

But wait! Harry is not defenseless, nor is he stupid. He finds out he's a wizard. Plus, he knows better than to befriend people who are nasty. He's brave, and has pluck and daring, all the necessary equipment of a good hero of a story.

Application:

When I began my Sabrina Strong Series, I didn't want to have a kick-ass heroine. I wanted someone who most people could relate to. As the story opens, she's just lost her father, and her mother disappeared one day, and everyone thinks she was abducted, and never found. But Sabrina knows she was turned into a vampire. So, she knows that vampires exist. 

Problem (1): She needs a job, but can't hold one down because she is a touch clairvoyant—she has to wear gloves to keep most of her visions at bay, thus most jobs she's unable to do or hold down. 

Problem (2&3): Then comes along an ad for a clairvoyant. Ta-da! But wait, she realizes that the person who is to interview her is a vampire (she's clairvoyant, remember?). But she really needs the job, and this is something she can do! So, she goes on to the interview, but before she gets inside, she's attacked by a werewolf. Vampire Nicolas saves her. Afterwards, he becomes someone she needs to lean on in order to get through the first few nights of working for vampires under Bjorn Tremayne in Chicago. But Nicolas desires her, and so does Bjorn. Since Bjorn is the master, what he says goes and prevents Nicolas from having anything to do with her.

But hold on! Sabrina is not exactly certain she wants a vampire lover. Plus, the shiftchanger and her are getting really close. And they get even closer.

The job (problem #4): there is a murderer who is killing vampires and draining their blood. And soon, she is on the hit list. She has to find out who it is before anyone else gets killed—especially her!

Problem #5:

Meanwhile her best friend has been abducted by vampires. Sabrina is the only one who can find her. She does locate her, but she's near death and finally she meets the vampire who gave her the hickey on her inner elbow when she was young. Vasyl, a rogue master. He has come to her aide, and little does she know it, but he has been waiting for her to grow into a woman.

When I began thinking up the problems that Sabrina had to face, I knew that this was going to be somewhat action packed. There was also a mystery to solve, because I love stories with mysteries. And there had to be some romance. But it wasn't to be a simplistic romance, it had to be a little more involved, and make her choose the right guy. I didn't want the reader to figure out after the first chapter who she was going to wind up with at the end.

I never like an easy plot, not when I read, and not when I write. I'll become bored quickly. I need adventure, and working in an urban fantasy plot it is pretty easy to come up with all sorts of ideas to throw in there.

Creating an action packed novel, one that keeps the readers wondering what will happen next begins with creating problems for the main character to solve. And having a sympathetic character, someone the reader can root for and enjoy for a whole series. The romance thread doesn't have to be as difficult as I've made it. But I didn't want her to wind up having to be tied to one guy throughout the whole novel, or the whole series.

Make it Real:

Make your characters seem real by having them do some normal thing, like sleep, or eat (or needing to pee). One of my complaints about certain novels is where the characters never seem to eat or sleep. If you don't show them at least contemplating eating, or feeling sleepy, or getting up in the morning, remembering a dream, etc. they won't feel real. And if they don't do any of the above, their dilemmas must cause them to not feel sleepy or hungry, but for the right reasons.

I actually like to have my characters have conversations while eating. I find it a challenge for them to use utensils as props in speaking. Possibly you can think of other ways to make things interesting while they eat, depending upon the conversation. 

Even my vampires need to eat and have human emotions, desires, jealousy, and these are not totally centralized on blood, sometimes it's about power, and sometimes it's about other needs.

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If you'd like to participate in a Share a Saturday, feel free to contact me at my email, hildred @ gmail.com (no spaces) or through any of the other ways to get a hold of me through my Contact page. THE REST OF JULY IS OPEN~

SAS: 3 Great Hangouts for Independent Writers, by Michael Abayomi

 "Share A Saturday" is a weekly chance for you, yes YOU, to come on my blog and talk about whatever you want, so long as it's related to writing/books. For more information, such as if you'd like to "share a Saturday" with me, please see below!

Michael Abayomi was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He fell in love with the art of storytelling after reading J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. He currently works as a freelance website developer and shares a passion for books, computers, movies, music, video games and women.

Blog: www.michaelabayomi.com

  

Are you a fledging independent writer with a recently published book? Or maybe you’re still sitting on the fence regarding self-publishing? Or perhaps you already have a number of self-published books under your belt, but still feel like a new kid on the block? If either of these cases happen to be true, chances are you’ve been trying to learn as much as you can about self-publishing. Or at least you’ve been trying to connect with fellow independent writers through the various social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Blogger etc)

The ebook market is constantly evolving, and there is a need to keep informed about those changes. In the seven or so months since I first self-published, I’ve managed to stay in the loop by frequenting the following three websites:

A Newbies Guide to Publishing

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com

Truth be told, I’d been following J. A. Konrath’s blog months before I took the self-publishing route. Back then, I was still contemplating whether or not to query agents about my book series, Guardians & The Lost Paradise, which was only half-written at the time. I quickly discovered the wealth of information amassed there, which covers everything from how to go about promoting a book to his views on the ongoing ebook revolution (and what it means for writers). Thankfully, most of this information has also been collected into an ebook of the same name.

Let’s Get Digital

http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com

Let’s Get Digital is a professional blog for independent writers. It was created by Irish writer, David Gaughran, one of my many online friends. I met David in an online forum (can’t remember which one) and I had subsequently found out about his books and blog. Even though the blog is just one year old now, there is still a wealth of information to be discovered there. He’s also collected most of that information into an ebook of the same name.

Kindleboards Writers’ Café

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php?board=60

Of the three websites I have chosen for this post, the Kindleboards Writers’ Café happens to be the one I frequent the most. It is a forum where indies can talk about all things Amazon (and way more). The sense of community there is overwhelming sometimes, and it is quite common for the same newbie questions to get answered over and over again. I’m more of a lurker myself, preferring to learn by reading through the ongoing discussions (rather than raise new questions). Some of the members are also quite eccentric. This is why just reading through the replies on some of the more popular threads is enough to brighten an otherwise sour day.

What about you? What other forums, blogs or Facebook groups do you follow or frequent as an independent writer?

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If you'd like to participate in a Share a Saturday, feel free to contact me at my email, hildred @ gmail.com (no spaces) or through any of the other ways to get a hold of me through my Contact page.

SAS: The Perils of Being an Author With Synesthesia, by Morgan Bauman

 "Share A Saturday" is a weekly chance for you, yes YOU, to come on my blog and talk about whatever you want, so long as it's related to writing/books. For more information, such as if you'd like to "share a Saturday" with me, please see below!


Morgan Bauman is a YA fantasy author currently in the process of publishing her series "UNTOLD MEMORIES". You can check out her blog here!

The letter A is a brilliant, apple red. The number 4 is a green so vivid and fresh that grass dreams of it during long hot summers--summers that scorch grass the dry, brittle yellow of the song Hotel California. E is green, too; a frostier green, colder and deeper. My main character’s personality is a dulled, reddish brown that matches the R that begins her name.

Synesthesia is a relatively rare condition in which the sensory wires in the brain overlap and intermingle; one sense involuntarily sets off another sensation (in addition to the sensation it would have triggered on its own in a neurotypical brain). For some people, letters may have personalities; scents may evoke specific textures pressed against one’s hands; tastes may have shapes; the days of the week may each have a poignant flavor. This isn’t something imagined by the synesthete; if tested, the sensations will remain constant over years and decades.

For me, every musical note, letter, number, concept, voice, and character has a color. The color of a word on the page doesn’t always match the color of the word in the air. Just like the tightly packed dots of color in an old-time comic book, the words’ colors change as I string them into sentences and paragraphs, bleeding into each other, warping and fading. Commonly used words tend to fade, color-wise; as a child, I thought this was what people referred to when they said, “That’s my name; don’t wear it out.” If I pack too many vibrant words together, paragraphs begin to clash and look disjointed. My stories have to look good on paper as well as aloud, so I read them to myself as I go.

So far, it probably sounds like a boon, and it is; I wouldn’t trade my synesthesia for a million dollar book deal. But the title of this piece mentions peril. What perils could there be?

If I’m listening to a song with dark brown guitar and yellow-brown vocals--while writing about a character with a green personality interacting with one with a dull red personality--but this particular chapter calls for muted blue in the description, I sometimes stop ten or thirty times and just hold my head in my hands while trying to sort through everything. I get distracted. The words get jammed in my fingers, the tip of my tongue, impossible to dislodge.

Color flow--whether in a mix CD or a chapter--is extremely important to me. I intentionally use jarringly different colors in language for a specific effect; I name characters and their personality blossoms out of the colors of their name (or they get renamed).

Which leads me to the final peril of being an author with synesthesia: sometimes, you write something literal only to have it be taken as metaphor; other times, you realize that your hidden description--the colors coursing underneath the text--are invisible to all of your readers. The hidden, watery themes; the dry touch of the desert in your villains; the bursts of vivid color on the barren landscape of the page--invisible.

Even so, I like to include them. After all, what’s better than secrets hidden in plain sight?

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If you'd like to participate in a Share a Saturday, feel free to contact me at my email, hildred @ gmail.com (no spaces) or through any of the other ways to get a hold of me through my Contact page.

Introducing Share a Saturday, or, LET MY BLOG BE YOUR BLOG~

I couldn't resist.

Hey everyone! I'm here to announce a new feature over here at Musings of a Procrastinating Author: SHARE A SATURDAY,, or, a chance for you to feature yourself on my blog for a Saturday!

Have a new book coming out?

Have an older book with stagnating sales?

Looking for an opportunity to write guest posts?

Come to my blog and promote yourself / write a guest post to generate interest! I don't mind! I don't really do anything on Saturdays around here! Really, I'm just looking for a way to give back to all you awesome people, whether it's signal boosting or just getting your name out there. I wish I could do this on my own, but there are only so many hours in the day and it's easier to just approach me about it! (Seriously, it really is, lol.)

So if you're interested in taking over my blog for a day to promote your writing (any genre and age range fine!) just drop me a line in the comments or email me at hildred @ gmail (no spaces) and we'll work it out! Feel free to spread the word too. I'm open~

First post will be this Saturday...assuming there's any interest!