Feathered

Some Amazing Advice

2009-08-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already, read Jim Butcher's blog. He has a ton of super fabulous writing tips and I am hooked on his Dresden File Series. ENJOY!

Some Hocus and Some Pocus: Using Magic

2009-07-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

What is the first title that comes to your mind when someone mentions magic in books?

Mine is WAY too easy. Harry Potter. (PS. I think the HBP movie was awesome!)

How does one begin to make a magical world such as Rowling has created? Magic is something that can be an asset or a downfall, depending on how well it is handled. The two main downfalls of magic that I have accidentally committed are not being consistent and using it abruptly just to get your character out of a fix.

My work-in-progress, "Defining Gray," does not use magic in the sense of wizards and wands. The magic in my novel comes from demons and angels that aid humans, so I am finding it rather hard at the moment to figure out how the humans will learn the spells.

Wherever the magic comes from in your own novel, it is important for it to have rules and boundaries. All tension in a story is lost if any one character can just cast a spell and end all his or her enemies. As always, your protagonist and your antagonist should be decently matched.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Website has some great questionnaires on world building. The one on magic can be found here.

What's your favorite magical world? Why? Even better, what magical world would you like to be a part of?

(I would like to be in HP, after the last book when most of the bad guys are dead. I'm no Gryffindor.)

Plotting

2009-06-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

I love the word plotting. It conjures up the image of an evil overlord, plotting to take over the world. Sadly, this blog is not about taking over the world. (If it was, I would do it in the style of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.”)

Back to plotting (in the novel sense)…many writers tell me I should just write, just go at it. However, I am always a planner and I don’t want my story to just meander off the road and into a briar bush. So, I’ve tried some plotting strategies such as “The Snowflake Method” by Randy Ingermanson, which helped me look at my plot as a whole. I then completed most of Donald Maass’ “Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook” and this really helped me think about multiple aspects like theme and subplots.

I am currently trying to work out all my story kinks, and it can honestly get quite frustrating at times. Although my story is set in a fantasy world, sometimes the concept can create more problems than it solves. I think the time spent plotting now will pay off, as long as I also continue to write while I plot.

What do you find helpful? What plotting techniques (if any) have worked for you?
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WORD OF THE BLOG from Dictionary.com:
o⋅ver⋅lord
–noun
1. a person who is lord over another or over other lords: to obey the will of one's sovereign and overlord.
2. a person of great influence, authority, power, or the like: the overlords of industry.
–verb (used with object)
3. to rule or govern arbitrarily or tyrannically; domineer.

WRITING PROMPT OF THE BLOG:
You are an evil overlord plotting to take over the world. Describe everything in a journal entry.

(View Peter’s Evil Overlord List for wonderful cliché ideas. It’s full of awesome.)

Getting Off On The Right Foot, Or Rather the Wrong One

2009-05-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

I am having trouble with my first sentence of my fantasy novel "Defining Gray."

Everything I try seems cliche and what one reader likes, another one doesn't.

So, this raises a few questions. What makes a good opening sentence? What makes for a horrible or cliche opening sentence? As you write, should you just please yourself, or attempt to please as many readers as possible?

I've been reading a few of my favorite fantasy novel openings such as Jim Butcher's "Storm Front" and Laurell K. Hamilton's "A Kiss of Shadows."

To get some perspective, I started looking up the greatest literary first lines and decided to post some of my favorites. But before I do that, I want to know what you think of my opening line. (You might not think the same after you read the opening lines of the literary greats.)

My first line reads:
Six feet under. It wasn’t exactly a place someone wanted to go.

So, please comment what you honestly think. I would greatly appreciate it!

Now onto my favorite literary first lines:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. (George Orwell, 1984)

It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not. (Paul Auster, City of Glass)

He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad. (Raphael Sabatini, Scaramouche)

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. (William Gibson, Neuromancer)

What's your favorite first line? Which author do you think has the best novel beginning?

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WORD OF THE BLOG from Dictionary.com:
con⋅ten⋅tious
–adjective
1. tending to argument or strife; quarrelsome: a contentious crew.
2. causing, involving, or characterized by argument or controversy: contentious issues.
3. Law. pertaining to causes between contending parties.

WRITING PROMPT OF THE BLOG:
Look at your favorite story. How does it begin? How does it introduce the characters, setting, and story problem?

I'm a Rocket Man

2009-05-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well, no, not really.

I adore music-all types except polka and yodeling. I use music to write all the time to create mood. After I designed my villain for my story-Haiku-I realized that I had modeled him off of a song I used to annoy my parents with when I was younger.

Some writers don't like any noise when they write and others say that the music that is playing can adversely affect the words that flow onto the page (or computer). I have to put it very low, but I don't like silence.

So, what do you think? Music or silence? Or do you use something else to get the creative juices flowing?
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WORD OF THE BLOG from Dictionary.com:
per⋅pet⋅u⋅al
–adjective
1. continuing or enduring forever; everlasting.
2. lasting an indefinitely long time: perpetual snow.
3. continuing or continued without intermission or interruption; ceaseless: a perpetual stream of visitors all day.
4. blooming almost continuously throughout the season or the year.
–noun
5. a hybrid rose that is perpetual.
6. a perennial plant.

WRITING PROMPT OF THE BLOG:
A young boy is sitting by a river looking around and waiting for something. Why is he there and what is he waiting for?

Writing Program Review! yWriter5

2009-03-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to find a great writing program for awhile now. I've tried plenty of expensive program trials, but wasn't satisfied.

I've finally found one I love, and best of all - it's completely free! yWriter5 is created by author Simon Hayes. He creates programs for his own use, and has some amazing software on his site.

yWriter5 is useful for characterization, setting, and most useful: plotting in scenes. You can see screenshots of the program here. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
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WORD OF THE BLOG from Dictionary.com:
te⋅mer⋅i⋅ty
–noun
reckless boldness; rashness.

WRITING PROMPT OF THE BLOG:
What are your characters' theme songs? Why do the songs say about the character's past and present?

8 Great Writing Sites for All Levels

2009-01-19T18:33:00.001-08:00

1. Writer's Digest – Writer’s Digest is an amazing magazine for writing tips and their site has many of their articles that you can access for free.

2. Dictionary.com – You can sign up for a word to be sent to you every day. It’s great for adding new words to your vocabulary and enriching your story.

3. Here’s Sort of an Odd and End, ITunes – ITunes has some great writing podcasts and something called ITunesU, which has lectures from participating universities on writing and other topics.

My current favorite podcast is Odyssey’s SF/F Writing Workshop that has topics like “Writing Strong Openings,” “Getting Published,” and “Setting the Scene.”
Odyssey is a well-respected workshop for writers who write fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Their podcasts offer some great information that has proven useful.

If you are looking for some grammar advice, Grammar Girl has a podcast called “Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.” Witty and funny, it’s not your everyday English class.

4. For Agent Tips, I read Jennifer Jackson’s blog. Jackson is an agent for the Donald Maass Literary Agency and has recently been ranked #16 on The Power List: 20 Movers and Shakers in Science Fiction
by i09.com

Jennifer Jackson represents great clients like Jim Butcher and she posts weekly stats on how many submissions she received and manuscripts she’s requested. She also posts some do’s and don’t’s and I will personally be making a check-list from her blog whenever I submit my own query.

5. Fiction Factor is another great site which hosts other sites in every genre. They have articles on everything from characters to plot to getting published.

6. NaNoWriMo isn’t just a site you can use in November. The site of National Novel Writing Month has great message boards where authors discuss tips and various topics.

7. VistaPrint isn’t a writing site, but it is one of the best ways to publicize your latest project. VistaPrint runs many specials where you can get products for free, only paying for the shipping. I’ve made bookmarks out of oversized postcards, gotten custom business cards to match my site, and I own pens and sticky notes with my name and site on them. Even if you don’t go giving everything to all your neighbors, you can get some satisfaction from sticking a bookmark with your name in it into every book you own. If you are interested I definitely recommend signing up for their email specials.

8. Absolute Write is a great site that has helpful forums. They have topics that uncover bad agents and scams, Paying Markets for Writers, Ask the Agent, and my favorite: The Book Promotions Ideas and Advice Forum.

What's your favorite websites, blogs, and podcasts?

Or Not So Much Motivation

2009-01-18T21:34:00.001-08:00

So, NanoWriMo has come and gone and I didn't reach 50,000 words. However, it did motivate me to start thinking and working on my story at least a little bit everyday. The newest thing I am trying is the Snowflake Method.

I find writing the plot from multiple views repetitive with this method, but writing out the plot in its entirety before I go back to the writing board is proving useful. I can map out how I want each scene to play out and the points I need to get across to the reader. I think this will definitely help me later so that I can work out problems now and not have to revise my whole story when something doesn't make ends meet.

I've tried about everything so far: note cards, reading writing books, etc. So far, I like the Snowflake Method the best, but planning that much will not appeal to writers who write on a whim.

So, what do you find useful? How do you plot your stories?
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WORD OF THE BLOG from Dictionary.com:
writ⋅ing (So we can know exact ally what we are trying to accomplish.)
1. the act of a person or thing that writes.
2. written form: to commit one's thoughts to writing.
3. that which is written; characters or matter written with a pen or the like: His writing is illegible.
4. such characters or matter with respect to style, kind, quality, etc.
5. an inscription.
6. a letter.
7. any written or printed paper, as a document or deed.
8. literary or musical style, form, quality, technique, etc.: Her writing is stilted.
9. a literary composition or production.
10. the profession of a writer: He turned to writing at an early age.

WRITING PROMPT OF THE BLOG:
You find an old note in the attic that is a hand-drawn note of a map that leads to a hidden treasure. The map is of your backyard and signed by a famous actor. What's in the time capsule you discover and why did this person leave it in your yard?

Motivation

2008-11-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

NaNoWriMo starts today. Something inside of me wants to try and write my best instead of an output of mass words on a page. I think I decided I want to try and be an author "when I grow up." (Key word: try)

I have a dream agent, one I know I will probably never get, but it's an inspiration. Her statistics for requesting manuscripts are very daunting (about 0-1/102 submissions each week).

But first, I need to write my story, and I will get to it after I clean my room. (You know I am procrastinating if I am cleaning, but I can't do anything artistic in a dirty space.)

I started reading a book by Les Edgerton called "Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go." It's proven very useful so far, besides the fact I find it's rather repetitive at times.

PS. If anyone needs any writing book recommendations, I practically keep them in business and I'll be glad to recommend some. You can find a small list of my recommendations on AaralynMontgomery.com

Good luck fellow Nanos!
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WORD OF THE BLOG from Dictionary.com:
sky·lark
Noun-Skylark-having brownish plumage and noted for its singing while in flight.
Verb-Skylarking-To play actively and boisterously; frolic.

WRITING PROMPT OF THE BLOG:
You are on a bright street with people all around and suddenly some random person gets in your face and starts screaming and shoving at you in a rage. What on Earth has made the stranger so mad and why is he or she taking it out on you?

Ready to be Feathered?

2008-10-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

When I think of the word feathered, I tend not to think of some poor old man covered in molasses from head to toe about to get humiliated by a handful of angry townspeople who happen to own bags and bags of feathers...

I like feathers. They are beautiful and different, almost like snowflakes. Above all, they are fluffy. My main character, Reianya is an angel, so I decided to name my blog Feathered.

That being said, NaNoWriMo 2008 is almost upon me and it's my first year participating. There are only about three more days and I am more nervous than excited. I loved planning my novel. I have been planning it for what seems like forever. I plan it to procrastinate on it. Now, I actually have to write it, but I hear that's what you're supposed to do when you want to eventually publish a novel.

Anyways, I'll be posting my Nano experience on this blog, as well as a few odd and end thoughts that decide to grace me with their presence.

Good luck to everyone in Nano! I hope we all make it to that grand finish line so we can claim our reward (a well earned sheet of paper putting us in NaNoWriMo history).
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WORD OF THE BLOG from Dictionary.com:
pomp⋅ous
1. characterized by an ostentatious display of dignity or importance: a pompous minor official.
2. ostentatiously lofty or high-flown: a pompous speech.
3. characterized by pomp, stately splendor, or magnificence.

WRITING PROMPT OF THE BLOG:
You are on a busy New York subway and find an envelope with a love letter and a a few broken keys from an old typewriter. What's in the letter and what do the typewriter keys have to do with everything?