One aspect of writing that’s been more of a challenge for me with the next novel, as opposed to “Killing the Immortals,” has been striking a balance between keeping the suspense taut for the reader, while also giving the reader the details they need. [Read more…] about Suspense vs. Development
Writing
The Interview with Ellen
I want to quickly introduce you to Ellen Smith, author of a terrific and well-received book from earlier this year called Reluctant Cassandra — she describes it as Southern Fiction, which could interest a number of you — and the curator of a cool little blog at ellensmithwrites.com, where she does much of what I do here … talk about what motivates us to write, our challenges, share a little something from behind the scenes with those of you watching this whole crazy process from the outside. [Read more…] about The Interview with Ellen
Why Momentum is Important in Writing
One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to overcome with this second novel I’m working on now has been maintaining the momentum I had with the first one, along with the three shorter stories I wrote earlier this year. [Read more…] about Why Momentum is Important in Writing
Flipping Tropes on their Heads
Walking out of the movie “War Dogs” last weekend — It’s an entertaining film, for what it’s worth — I kept thinking about how tired I am of the “Concerned wife/girlfriend who exists only to nag her busy, adventurous husband about how dangerous his job is, and to cry about getting lied to” character tropes. You’ve all seen the movie/read the book.
He’s the protagonist. He does all kinds of interesting things, driving the action. She’s sitting at home, probably taking care of the kid. He lies “to protect her.” Eventually, she realizes it and walks about, typically taking the kid to her mom’s house. He begs and pleads. She considers changing her mind, but she leaves. [Read more…] about Flipping Tropes on their Heads
Excerpt from my short story: “The Slingshot”
In the midst of writing “Killing the Immortals” and getting that behemoth edited and ready for publication, I’ve had to allow a few much shorter pieces to gather a bit of dust. And, frankly, that’s fine. Getting some distance from the process of writing them helps by making it easier to look at them with fresh eyes.
It’s actually funny revisiting them after all these months; it’s like I didn’t even write them. I don’t really remember typing the words, so it’s pretty much like reading someone else’s story. I’ve been trying to iron out some wrinkles, catch typos, and get these ready to send to an editor for a deeper look. After that, I’m not sure, but I definitely want to get a final manuscript complete so they’re ready to go when I decide what I want to do with them.
One of those short stories is called “The Slingshot.” On the surface, it’s about a terrible accident happening, and how a family deals with it. Theme-wise, it’s about the relationship of two brothers, and how it can transcend some very difficult circumstances. The first chapter is below. I’d love to hear your thoughts, in the comments here, on Twitter, Facebook, or come knock on my door. Ya know, whatever. [Read more…] about Excerpt from my short story: “The Slingshot”
Setting Sales Goals for Your First Novel
As I get closer to sending my first novel, “Killing the Immortals,” sailing out into the world, I’m starting to think seriously about what I want to accomplish with it, what sorts of goals to set for myself. The Nobel Prize for Literature would be all right, I guess. There may be a step or two to get through before that, though. Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about the committee that decides those sorts of things, but my assumption is that they’ve got a high-ish bar.
So, we all may want to have incremental goals shy of a Nobel Prize that will give us something to shoot for in the meantime, until fame and fortune come to whisk us away. I think goals are important, but I also think they’re challenging to figure out when you’ve never published a novel before. You can look at all the “The average self-published book sells 250 (or whatever) copies” blog posts you want, but how does that relate to what you’re doing? So many factors are going to impact how many people buy your book and how wide a reception it gets, from its genres to its cover to the blurb you write to the following you’ve built up to how much work you put into marketing the book to whether or not your story/writing sucks. What does “average” even really mean when so many books are haphazardly thrown together with visions of hefty royalty checks, mahogany-decked libraries, and new elbow-patched jackets without considering the insane amount of work and luck it takes to become the next millionaire author? [Read more…] about Setting Sales Goals for Your First Novel