It's my idea!

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Forge (v): 1. to form by heating and hammering; beat into shape. 2. to form or make, especially by concentrated effort: to forge a friendship through mutual trust. 3. to imitate (handwriting, a signature, etc.) fraudulently; fabricate a forgery. 

I was talking to my neighbour about my next novel in progress. I bet she could see my eyes glistening with pride as I went into the story and how excited I was about the idea. I already had over 30K of the work and it was action from the first page. 

(note: I'm paraphrasing the conversation)
Suddenly she says: "You know, it really sounds like (she named a book)."

Me: "What? I never heard of such book."

She said: "I read it in high school. It was part of our reading."

Me: "Well, it has to be different, because (this and this happens in my book)."

She said: "OMG! That's exactly what happens in that book!"


(At this point I can hear all my feelings of being unique and extraordinary of this brand new, wonderful idea flush down the toilet.)
Me: "Are you playing with me?"


She said: "No! I'm serious!"

(The glow fades from my face.)
Me: "Crap! I have to read that book!"
(That's when I fell of my cloud nine.)


I have not yet read the book she suggested. We went further into the conversation and I decided that even though the concept is similar, my novel and the direction I want to take are different. It was scary though how close some of my descriptions were to what she told me about the book. So yes, I will be reading it over Christmas to decide if I'm "stealing" someone's idea. But my question is: "Is it stealing?"


I know for a fact there are writers who have never met each other, never read each others work, live probably on the opposite coasts, yet their writing style, concepts, genre, character traits etc are eerily similar.


When I wrote Two Halves I was afraid to use the "sound of cicadas" in one of my descriptions because the book that inspired me to write had it (I wrote my description before reading the book - the movie inspired me to write, I wrote, then read the book later). I'm not afraid of things like that anymore, because how many different ways can you write "a gust of wind", "the breeze was light". There are plenty of novels using them.


My point is, that THIS one is MY idea! It came from a real life inspiration that happened in 2010, so I cannot imagine how an author (whose name I don't know yet) who wrote the book probably 20 years ago could steal my idea.


If you like the craze around the Hunger Games Trilogy, you'll like this piece of work. The MC lives in an oppressed society like Katniss did (no there are no games in my novel) and I can't yet say more than that - but it's cool. I'm beginning to think what the title should be and what the cover should look like. There are few ideas floating in my head, but until I write more I won't know for sure.


I guess at this point all I can do is read the novel my neighbour mentioned and see how eerily similar we are.

Do you find yourself writing in the same style as other authors? Readers, do you find some authors have similar styles? Did you ever have an idea stolen? (I know I thought about roller blades way before they were invented.)

KDP Select

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Serendipity (n): 1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

First let me share the fact that I saw the movie "In Time" this weekend and it was awesome. Predictable ending, yes, it usually is for me, but I still loved it. Pretty good pace, great acting and best of all: wonderful concept that can be relegated to today's society. Justin Timberlake is one of the tripple threats of Hollywood (he can dance, sing, act). I have to say I didn't like him and the curly blond hair when he was with NSYNC, but now truly enjoy him as an artist.

I've also added a new ' About Me page to my blog, so feel free to check it out. I also 'tried to change the background to look like this, but failed. It's one of the images that was used when making the cover for Two Halves. That's how high tech I get. The photo I have is to big in size and I can't seem to compress it without compromising the pixels. I'll keep working on it later.

Now, KDP Select. Last week Amazon launched its new lending program. There's been a lot of buzz and discussion about it on the internet including the Kindleboards, Twitter and here. If you would like to find out more, click here to link directly to Amazon.


I must say I enjoy all the discussions, pros and cons, but here's my take on it and why I didn't enroll:


1. There is no guarantee you will make any of the $500,000 pool available. If no one borrows your book, you get 0% of the pool which equals 0. 

2. 90 days, opt in period is a long period of time for me. I have booked too many promotional items for the next three months to take advantage of KDP Select.

3. You have to pull your titles from other distributors such as Smashwords and B&N. I can imagine someone saying they 'pulled' the title out, changed it a little, then put it back in to those distributors and continue selling. I've already seen threads on this on the Kindleboards.


4. I have a problem when competition is thrown out of the equation. Having a bit of a background in Economics, I know that competition is a good thing. Once it's out, things can change for the worse very fast for both readers, authors and publishers. We need competition and allowing my title to be exclusively with Amazon is not for me.


This program may be good for some and not for others, only time and testing will decide. There is a lot of factors that come into play as well: the genre you write in, how well known you are, how many other titles you have (perhaps boosting reader awareness through the program can lead them to your other titles) and many more.


What are your thoughts? Have you opted in? Why or why not?

Blogs, Awards and a Promo...

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Impertinent: intrusive or presumptuous, as persons or their actions; insolently rude; uncivil: a brash, impertinent youth.

  
Before you ask, no, there is no reason why I chose this word. However, when I do list other people's blogs like I'm about to, I do sometimes feel like I'm being intrusive. Note, it's always with good intentions:)
 
So, back to my Friday of Blogs I follow. I figured I'm going to run out one day if I continue listing three at a time (there's so many blogs one can follow), so I'm going to chop it down to one and it can be one I follow, or found informative or interesting etc.

1. Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Knowledgeable author with very informative posts on publishing, writing, the industry etc. Always a great read.


A few days ago I received a Liebster Award from Annalisa Crawford. Yay! Thank you!

Annalisa is a published writer and often comments on my blog - which I love by the way! I always enjoy her honest posts about her process of writing.

So, as per rules for this award (copied from Annalisa):
In accepting the Liebster Blog Award, the recipient agrees to:
- Thank the person who gave them the award and link back to that person's blog
- Copy and paste the award to their blog
- Reveal the 5 blogs they have chosen to award, commenting on their blog to break the news!
- Hope those people in turn pay it forward by accepting and awarding "The Liebster Blog Award" to bloggers they would like to honour

This award is for anyone with fewer than 200 followers. :)


My chosen blogs are:



Gelati's Scoop



Suze Reese





Daph from Publish Novels or Bust

Suzanne from Paranormal Book Fan

KH LeMoyne: Fantasy powered by love

These bogs are chosen mostly because I enjoy them, found them intriguing or they comment on my blog:) I'm sure very soon they'll all grow to be over 200 followers.

Now for the big news!

For a limited time only, I've lowered the price on Two Halves from $3.99 to $0.99 on Amazon. For a full length novel I think that's a steal! I don't know how long I'll keep the sale on. Could be for a few days, or at most until Christmas (we'll see). If you enjoy it, feel free to leave a review and spread the word!

Funnies...

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Merriment (n):  1. cheerful or joyful gaiety; mirth; hilarity; laughter.

I was going to start tomorrow's post with this joke and as I was typing it just got too long so I decided to put it up today and keeps blog and writing stuff separate for tomorrow. I received this joke in an email from a friend. I hope I don't offend anyone with some language ;) Enjoy! I did!

Mathematics:  This comes from 2 math teachers with a combined total of 70 years experience.  It has an indisputable mathematical logic.  It also made me Laugh Out Loud.  This is a strictly mathematical viewpoint and goes like this:

What Makes 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. 

How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

 Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26. 

 Then 

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K 

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 =98% 

 And

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E 

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 =96% 

 But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E 

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 =100%

 And,

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T 

2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 =103% 

 And, look how far ass kissing will take you. 

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G 

1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118% 

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that while Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the Bullshit and AssKissing that will put you over the top.

Now you know why some people are where they are!

Insecure Writer's Workshop

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Langour (n):  1. lack of energy or vitality; sluggishness.

  
Monday was a day filled with anxiety for me. I think exhaustion kicked in combined with a huge feeling of overwhelm. I'd been marketing my mind out of Two Halves which took time away from writing and I think that did it. So my insecurity for this month, definitely being able to market my novel properly. I've been tweeting, on Goodreads (still trying to figure it out), shelfari, kindleboards, facebook, emails to friends and family, press releases etc. Marketing.Has it helped? I don't know. The virtual world is so big!


I think I need to make a schedule for how many hours of marketing I'll be doing each day, then writing. I think that solution will make me happier.

I also want to share with you a wonderful post I found this month under Distraction no. 99 . I don't even remember how I found it. It's a guest post by Sara Zarr about what inspires her, but it does go hand in hand with the Insecure Writer's Workshop, because I think it's exactly how many writer's feel. Give it a read and I'm sure you'll feel better today :)

So I've decided, before the official schedule of my day is made, I need to give my marketing for Two Halves a rest for a couple of days and get back to writing to make myself happy again, because that's what makes me happy. Writing. Last night, I almost finished Marked (the novella) and got chills all over my body of how nicely it's flowing. I plan on completing it today and will let you know by Friday if it's done.

Happy Hopping!
 

My writing...

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Exuberant (adj.):  effusively and almost uninhibitedly enthusiastic; lavishly abundant: an exuberant welcome for the hero.

Thanks for the shout out today to Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you haven't done so, check out his blog!

My writing...

How much writing I do depends on the day. It’s not about inspiration for me, at least not all the time. It’s about finding time. Once I find time, I sit down and the words just spill onto the page. Some of my friends say my emails are way too long. I tend to be able to go on forever, which to me is a curse, because that’s the stuff that needs to be cut out later on in editing. 

When I type, the ideas just flow. I transfer myself into my characters heads. Physically imagine myself being there, in their shoes and wondering what they would do next. If nothing comes up, I think of tastes, smells, sounds, and the textures around me. Cook books and gardening books come in handy. By the time that’s done, my character usually knows what happens next. If the setting becomes too boring I imagine the worst thing that could happen and I make it happen, and we have action.

When I say character, it may sound weird, but it’s true. What’s typed on the page usually comes from the character. Sometimes it’s a struggle because he/she wants to do exactly the opposite of what I’d like them to do, but I guess that’s when a story becomes ‘character driven’. For that reason, it’s difficult for me to write outlines. I try to have a rough idea of the beginning and end. As I start, the middle begins to develop. I may jump between chapters, or write other scenes that I’d like to have in the book, but I’m not sure where to fit them in, only finding the right place later on.

If time allows, I can type 5000-7000 words per day. Beyond that it gets tiring. If I know what I’m writing about, it should take me about an hour to get 1500 down without too much trouble or too many interruptions. My husband can talk to me all he wants, and it’s like he’s not even there. I’m not trying to be rude, but when I’m in the zone nothing gets through. I’ll nod once in a while, which gets really frustrating for him. But I do explain before I start “I’m writing, pretend I’m not here.” I don’t care if it’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, because I can’t hear the question, sorry.

I also tend to work on more than one project at a time. Right now for example, I have two novels in the works (words are actually written down), a novella (almost complete), a second novella (rough idea) and I’m beginning to think about the sequel for Two Halves. I tend to jump between projects and it always depends what I feel like writing about. It never gets boring.

To me, the act of writing is not working, it’s not a job. It’s something I truly enjoy, as do many writers. My goal next year will be to treat it more as work (although when I write it will feel like play) and by treating it that way, I will be able to perhaps find the time I need to write.

Do you have a process you follow when writing?

When life gives you lemons...

WORD FOR THIS POST:

Introvert (n): 1. a shy person 2. in psychology a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings.

This week life gave me 1 lemon and I had to make gallons of lemonade. That pretty much sums up what happened to me from Monday 4am until now.  I won't go into all the details, because that would take up too much space, but kids are well, still getting better, they're home and that's all that's important. Everything else will have to be caught up on shortly.

Sometimes, no matter how much planning you do ahead of time, life just seems to get in the way and brings surprises that test us in many ways. I'm glad I passed this test. Maybe not with an A+, because that would take a miracle, but I'm happy where I'm at now.

So, Two Halves is up on Amazon.com. Yay! I had a few issues with the original upload, but now everything is ok. Still have to fix the title page showing up in double, that's on the to do list.
It is also available in other formats on Smashwords.

I hope those of you who read it let me know what you think. I'm extremely excited about it!

While at the hospital I had a chance to almost finish Marked: A Two Halves Novella. It should be done by end of next week, then I have to set it aside before editing. I struggled with keeping the Novella PG rated. I'm still not sure what to do, because the main character does not want it that way. Right now it's with adult content. No matter how I write, he makes it that way, and it's the only way it seems to flow and be appropriate for who he is.

Two Halves is a young adult novel, I'm not sure the Novella will be that way. I'm trying to figure out how far I can push it to still keep it PG, but it's hard. I'm writing from a male POV and he wants to do things to his mate that aren't PG. Where should I draw the line?

The great thing about the novella is that it explains where many of the characters come from. It gives a deeper background of why they are who they are, and how they came to be that way. I expect it to be available in Spring 2012. I have the cover art all ready and know exactly what I want on the cover. We'll see how it goes.

The reason it will be Spring 2012, is because before it's out I need to write the sequel to Two Halves (yes there will be one) and then there will be a novella that follows the sequel to continue the events from the first novella and it all has to be done before Marked comes out, because of specific events that happen.

I know it sounds confusing, but it makes sense when you read it.

I hope you enjoy the novel as much a I do. I'm looking forward to posting some more info for novice writers on what I'd learned along the way and where I looked for help.