Posts Tagged ‘editing’

What’s Outside The Camera’s Borders

Posted: April 28, 2014 in Living and Life, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Lately I’ve been watching a lot of horror films I haven’t previously watched before, such as Insidious and its sequel, Cabin in the Woods, and the new film Oculus (if I were review that one, I’d give it a 4 out of 5. Psychologically disturbing, but the ending leaves something to be desired. Then again, I prefer certain endings, and the one they used wasn’t one of them). Besides finding these movies extremely relaxing (yeah, I wonder what that says about me too), horror movies, particularly the good ones, teach me a lot about terrifying people, and give me ideas of translating those methods to writing.

For example, in all of those horror movies I listed above, there are moments when something is happening or you expect something to happen and the camera is focusing on one of the characters. It’s in those moments you find yourself wondering, “What’s beyond the camera lens? What if there’s something there that’s about to attack and kill?” If there’s music playing in the background, the tension is heightened, and even if there’s no music playing in the background, the tension is still heightened. Because you can’t tell what’s beyond that camera’s borders, lurking with intent to terrify. Even worse, what you can see in front of you may not be all that it seems. For all we know, that umbrella stand next to the character’s foot may have a rotting arm inside that’ll leap out and grab him. Or the woman fixing her earrings on while looking in the mirror and talking to her daughter may not realize that her daughter isn’t actually behind her. It all adds to the tension, to the terror, and when something finally does happen, it is both a relief and scary enough to cause you to jump or cry out or even scream (I’ve done all but the last one in my time).

So how do you translate this whole thing with the camera into writing fiction? Well, I think a character’s point-of-view acts as a camera, especially when the story is being told in first-person point of view. All you have to rely on to understand the story is the character’s (minimum) five senses and their interpretation of what they’re senses tell them. And in some ways the character’s POV is more limited than a camera, because the character can only see what’s right in front of their eyes, leaving the reader to fill in those spaces where a camera would normally show  what was happening.

Behind you!

 

So if one can figure out how to do this sort of storytelling with a character’s POV as a camera, I think you have the makings of a very scary story.

Do you think writing can in any way be compared to film making? Are there merits to picking up techniques from movies and TV shows, and if so, what are they?

Self-Pub Authors: Creating An Acknowledgements Section

Posted: April 27, 2014 in Journalism, Writing
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My penultimate article on Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors just went live this morning. Creating An Acknowledgements Section basically gives some useful tips on how to create a coherent acknowledgements section for your book. I thought it might be helpful to create an article on this because the acknowledgements section really isn’t talked about that much. I hope someone finds it useful!

And if you enjoy reading this article, check out my other recent articles as well. Doing an Excerpt came out April 7, When Trolls Attack! came out on the 13th, Creating Character Names came out on the 22nd, and What Makes A Strong Character will be out May 2nd. I hope you find them all fascinating reads, or at least helpful reads!

And if you get the chance, check out all of what Self-Published Authors have to offer. It’s a great blog with plenty of awesome articles on everything self-published authors need to know about writing, editing, publishing, and marketing. So if you’re a self-published author or you’re considering become a self-published author, this blog may be a valuable resource for you.

Laura Horn: Making Some Wonderful Progress

Posted: April 27, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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You may be familiar with my WIP Laura Horn, which I started last year and which I’ve had a heck of a time just trying to get halfway through. Between school, work, and other projects, it’s been a struggle to work on this novel, which is sad because I think it has a lot of potential. If I can only get through the first draft, I’d be able to test that theory about its potential!

But as I’ve spoken about before here, my study abroad trip will be in a little over a week (my, how time flies!), and I’ll be taking a break from blogging, writing, and most computer-related activities to go explore England, France, and Germany. This includes working on Laura Horn. Most likely I’ll kill some time in the airport on it while waiting for my flight to Heathrow, but after that it won’t be till late May that I’ll be able to work on it.

The good news is that since I took my finals, submitted my final papers, and now only have the distractions of work, trip preparation, and whatever’s on TV/in theaters/on my bookshelf to keep me from writing, I’ve been able to make a lot of progress on Laura Horn. In the past couple of days, I finished one chapter that I’d started on about two weeks ago and wrote about three more chapters. This has me elated, and I’m planning on getting more done before I go off on my trip. I hope to at least get three more done before I leave, because I’ll be a little over halfway through the novel then and when you know you’re well beyond the halfway point, the process of writing a novel becomes a bit easier and you find yourself being less intimidated by the amount of writing you have to do.

In any case, I plan on making some wonderful progress with this novel, and hopefully when I get back from Europe, I’ll be able to finish it by midway through July at the very latest. If I can do that, then I will probably feel less regret that I took so many breaks with writing the novel and look forward more to the editing and publishing process. That’s the hope, in any case.

In the meantime, I’m going to head to bed with the hopes that, after having watched a couple of scary movies these past couple of days and with the possibility of watching one more tomorrow (Oculus, to be exact), my twisted imagination cam come up with something really fun and creepy to write. In fact, I’ve been playing with this idea in my head for a story. I know how it’d start, but I can’t seem to figure out how to get the story to go beyond the first scene. Here’s hoping I can come up with something in my sleep!

And with that, I wish you a good night, my Followers of Fear. Pleasant nightmares, one and all!

Review: “Jewel of the Thames” by Angela Misri

Posted: April 26, 2014 in Novel, Review, Writing
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I was very excited to read Angela’s first book (you should read my interview with her back in late March) and I’m sorry it took me so long to get through it. Now that I have, I have to say I had a lot of fun reading the first book of the Portia Adams adventures.

Jewel of the Thames is three stories (or “casebooks”) in one book, each detailing a different case young Portia Adams, a young woman with an inquisitive eye and a thirst for knowledge who moves to London from Toronto upon inheriting a very notorious property from some very distinguished ancestors. When she gets to London with her guardian Irene Jones and moves into 221B Baker Street (yes, you read that address right), she soon finds herself getting into some very interesting mysteries, each one more thrilling than the last, and all will have you scratching your head till the last page. Of course, the most interesting mystery will turn out to be Portia’s ancestry, and its resolution at the end of the book will leave you stunned. Or at least it did me, and I had an inkling on how the story would end.

I only had a few critiques on the story. One is that a couple of moments in the story, Angela uses more telling than she does showing. That’s not a huge problem, but I thought a little more showing would make the scenes a bit more real to me. Also, I would’ve liked to see more delving into the lives and personalities of the other characters, even those that only showed up for one or two pages. Portia’s the most developed of all the characters, and I’d like to know more about Constable Brian Dawes, or about Sergeant Michaels and Mr. Archer, or even that snooty girl from Portia’s class at Somerville (I’d love to see her mentioned in a sequel! Imagine if they became friends).

All in all, JotT is a wonderful book for mystery readers looking for an exciting new read and especially for fans of Sherlock Holmes stories, earning a 4.5 out of 5 from yours truly. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

“Travelers of the Loneliest Roads” Is Now On WattPad

Posted: April 24, 2014 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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A while back I wrote a short story called “Travelers of the Loneliest Roads,” a story of a young woman hitchhiking on the back roads of America who gets picked up by a very strange ride. I wasn’t having much success in finding a magazine to publish it in, so I thought I’d share it on WattPad, where short stories rejected by publishers have found some success.

I really like this story. It was my first experimentation with trying to make the story progressively more terrifying using techniques I’ve picked up from various novels and movies, and I thought I did a damn good job. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone here who checks it out has to say though. After all, you know what they say: authors are often some of the worst judges of their own work.

Anyway, if you’d like to read “Travelers”, please click here. I hope you enjoy reading it and whatever your thoughts about it, please let me know what you think. As I’m fond of saying, I love feedback, whether it be positive or negative.

That’s all for now. I’m going to try to get some more writing done before my shows come on later tonight. So until next time, happy reading my Followers of Fear.

Conversations With Ruth Ann Nordin

Posted: April 21, 2014 in Author Interciew, Writing
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ruth_small_pic

There is so much I’d like to say about Ruth, but I only have limited space to do so. Let me start with the things you definitely should know about her: Ruth is a prolific author, having written an astounding forty-six books, consisting of many different types of romance, as well as science fiction, fantasies, and non-fiction. A co-founder of that wondrous blog Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, many authors, including myself, look forward to her articles on how to self-publish cheaply and to do it well. And having been in the business for a number of years, she knows what she’s talking about. Though if you ask her, she will say that she still has a lot to learn.

I was able recently to sit down with Ruth and pick her brain on writing, her experiences with writing, and what she’s been up to lately. And as always, it was a wonderful and illuminating experience.

How did you get into writing?

When I was in the eighth grade, I went to the library looking for a certain plot.  I searched through all the books in a section and couldn’t find the book I wanted to read.  Then it occurred to me that I could write the book and read it.

Do you have a routine when it comes to writing?

I wish I did, but I don’t.  I do have the luxury of staying home during the day so I can write, but I also have a husband and four kids to take care of, and they are constantly interrupting me.  I pretty much write during the entire day, but I write in 10-20 minute spurts.

How did you get into self-publishing and what has the experience been like?

I got into self-publishing because I wanted to have full control over the content in my books.  My experience has been extremely rewarding and surprising.  The rewarding part is that I get to see my books in ebook and in paperback.  I have the pleasure of going back and reading them whenever I want.  The surprising part is how quickly self-publishing took off for authors.  Back in 2009 when I gave up on the idea of going with a publisher, I pretty much assumed I would never sell any books.  Back then, there wasn’t this expectation you could make money self-publishing books.  You believed the publisher was the only way to see money (via advances and royalties).  These days, the opposite is true.  Never in a million years, did I think things would be as they are today.

Why did you help start “Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors”?

At the time Stephannie Beman and I decided to create the blog, there was no other blog out there dedicated to helping other authors who were thinking of self-publishing their books.  I had searched the internet, and it seemed that every blog I came across was dedicated to helping authors who were looking to find a traditional publisher.  I wanted to educate, inspire, and support other authors who wanted to self-publish their books.  Back then, the big thing was just letting authors know it was okay to self-publish.  There was a lot of stigma associated with self-publishing.  Today, that stigma is still there, but it’s so small that it doesn’t even come on the radar.  These days, the focus is more on educating new writers on how to produce quality books that can compete with (and often be even better) than traditionally published books.

What inspires you the most?

The characters in my stories are the ones that inspire me to write.  If I don’t feel an emotional connection to them, then the book isn’t worth writing.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

When I’m not writing, I’m usually doing household chores, spending time with family and friends, or reading.  Most of my reading is nonfiction, some for spiritual growth and some for research on how to better write or run my business.  My fiction reading is mostly for genres apart from romances.  I write romances so much that I like to get a break from the genre to read other things.  I love horror the most, probably because it’s a lot different from romance.

What are you working on now?

I always have several projects going on at the same time.  I’m working on two co-authored books with Stephannie Beman and three that are on my own.  Four are historical western romances and one is a contemporary fantasy romance.  See why I like a break from romances when I read?

If you were stuck on a desert island and could only have three books to pass the time till you were rescued, what would those books be?

The Bible, How to Market a Book by Johanna Penn, and Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World by Kristen Lamb.

 

If you would like to find out more about Ruth, you can visit her on Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, as well as on her website, her blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter. And while you’re at it, make sure to check out any of her 46 books. I bet you won’t regret you did.

Every Found Footage Horror Film Ever

Posted: April 16, 2014 in ideas, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Remember this famous scene?

Or close to that amount, anyway. And by the way, if you enjoy found footage horror movies and don’t want me to spoil them, you might want to just leave this post. Trust me, you’ll thank me in the long run.

The other day I had an idea for a found footage horror movie. There’s been a lot of them in theatres lately, including Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, Chronicle, and Entity, just to name a few. I remember when Paranormal Activity came out, how it was such a big deal and how even people who weren’t fans of horror were holding huge conversations and spirited debates on it. I saw the commercials of people lined up around theaters to see it, and I remember some friends of mine telling me how they went to see it, and near the end one of them got up and started shouting, “I’m a bitch! I’m a bitch! Get me out of here!” I was so mad that I had to wait till it came out on DVD to see it (those were the days when I had to rely on my parents if I wanted to go see a movie in theaters, and they only took us if it was a film the whole family could watch. Guess how many of those were horror films? That would be none).

Anyway, I realized then that there are a lot of similarities between found footage films, at least the popular ones that make it into the theatres. The most glaringly obvious (besides the method of filming, of course) is in terms of plot:

  1. Characters become aware that there is something supernatural going on and resolve to investigate. We may also be informed that the footage we are about to watch was found after a certain amount of time, usually after the deaths or disappearances of the characters.
  2. Characters investigate, and start to realize that there is something strange going on.
  3. The strange events escalate, becoming more and more sinister in nature.
  4. The characters start to get anxious or angry and start fighting among themselves.
  5. The strange events reach a zenith, during which time the terror is (hopefully) very high and most, if not all of the characters die off.
  6. The film ends, and we now know why the characters have disappeared and only the cameras and film were found.

In addition, most found footage films are made very cheaply (Paranormal Activity was made on $15K and Blair Witch Project was made on $20K to $25K, while major horror films like The Conjuring and Sinister were made for 20 million and 3 million, respectively). And for some reason, the characters always have their cameras on and holding them up to get the footage, even in awkward situations. We as the audience either forget that most people, even filmmakers, wouldn’t place such emphasis on getting everything while our lives are in danger or we just overlook it. Also, there tends to not be title cards or opening or end credits. None at all. Helps to make it seem like these events actually happened, I guess. Oh, and also the characters tend to be isolated somehow. Whether they’re trapped in their house or lost in the woods or in an abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere, they’re cut off and there’s no knight in shining armor to come to their rescue. They are alone, and it’ll be their undoing.

Look out behind you!

But yeah, that’s basically most found footage films out there.

So if these films are so similar, especially in terms of plot, why do horror filmmakers keep making them and why do horror fans keep going to see them? Well, I guess it has to do with the execution. These sort of films may be as predictable as your run-of-the-mill romance novel, but there’s so much room to experiment and try to new things. And even if you have a basic idea of how the plot is going to go, you don’t know what will be behind the corner or what will jump out and terrify you. You can’t know, so if the movie’s any good, you’ll sit on the edge of your seat wondering what the heck will happen next, and screaming when it does.

So with all that in mind, could I possibly make this found footage film I came up with myself? quite possibly. I plan on buying a video camera after I get back from my study abroad trip, so it wouldn’t be inconceivable to make a film. I’d just need a little funding, a cast and crew, and a location. Plus the time to do it and some marketing. It could possibly happen. I even have a title in mind: The Red Monk. Good title, right?

Well, if the opportunity comes along, I’d love to do it. And you never know what could happen. It could be a very big thing.

What do you think of found footage films? Love them or hate them? Do you think they’re a bit predictable?

If I did make a film, would you see it? Would you even want to be part of it?

Some Good News, Some Bad News

Posted: April 11, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Review, short story, Writing
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Good News: Somehow I managed to get several articles written for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, all of which will come out in the coming weeks leading up to my study abroad trip. The next one comes out tomorrow, if I remember correctly.

Bad News: As the end of the semester comes closer, I’ve got a number of exams and papers to prepare for, including a 25-30 page paper for a research seminar! Oy vey! So as much as I’d like to focus on making progress in Laura Horn before I go abroad, I doubt that with my workload I’ll make it to Chapter 35, which would be a nice stopping-point before I go on my trip.

Good News: A short story I wrote for a class assignment got an A+ from the teacher, who “cried at the end of the story” and wanted me to publish it, along with some suggestions on ways to edit it. I plan to submit it somewhere this weekend, as well as submit a couple other short stories to other magazines.

Bad News: Another short story I wrote got rejected from a magazine this morning. I’ll try submitting it somewhere else, but I worry. Some of the criticism the editor gave me made me wonder if this short story is as good as I thought it was.

Good News: Reborn City got another five star review. This, along with a sale I plan to hold next month and the possibility of making it to the next round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award make me hopeful.

Bad News: I won’t know about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award until Monday most likely, and I don’t want to go into more detail about the review or the sale until I have that info. Plus, RC‘s my first novel and I’m up against 399 other books in my category, all vying for 100 spots at most. I hope the excerpt I gave them is good enough!

Good News: I’ve found a camcorder that is within my budget that I can get after I get back from my trip. Creating book trailers and maybe starting a YouTube show or improving my YouTube channel might get easier with one of those camcorders.

Bad News: My local theater isn’t playing a movie I really want to see, a horror film with Karen Gillan of Doctor Who fame. Well, that’s not as bad as it could be. I might know a certain woman (my mother) who’ll want to go see it with me, even if we have to drag her fiancee with us to do it. Forget I mentioned it.

When you get right down to it, a self-published novelist’s life is never easy, especially when you also happen to be a student with a part-time job and a lot of homework. Sometimes, like when I get criticism from magazine editors, I feel a little down. But there’s always opportunity for improvement. There are people who enjoy what I write and let me know when they get the chance to do so.

When I first started writing this blog nearly three years ago, I was just some freshman with one publishing credit to my name, a novel in need of some serious editing, and no idea how I was going to build a following or get my novel onto the printed page. Nearly three years later, I have a few more publishing credits, I’ve got two books out, a third on its way, and two more in various stages of writing/editing. I write articles occasionally for another website to help other self-published authors out, and I’ve made some friends who’ve been invaluable assets in helping me get this far.

So is my life as a writer ideal? I don’t know a single writer who can say that their lives are ideal. Even the biggest names in the industry are wracked by the usual anxieties, wondering if their work is up to scratch or if people will think their manuscript is sh*t or if they’ll ever live up to their childhood idols or if they’ll sell any copies.

I think for where I am at this point in my career, I’m at a pretty good stage. Would I like things to be better? I don’t know a single writer who wouldn’t want that. But I’m a lot better off than I could be, and I have plenty of space to improve, and the resources and friends to allow me to do that.

So as the weekend creeps nearer, I’m going to work to improve, to write and to publish and be the best I can be.

Good News: The future is open, and my Tarot tells me fortune is headed my way. I’m heading to meet it.

Snake: Two Months Away

Posted: April 10, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Two months away.

Two months away.

It’s hard to believe. So much time has passed by, but you lose track of it and then these things just sneak up on you. I’m a little in shock. My youngest sister Liat is fourteen as of today. I remember when she was an itty-bitty baby, and now she’s a teenager with a really dark sense of humor. What happened in fourteen years?

But in all seriousness, two months from today my second novel Snake will hit the digital bookstores, where people can download it to their e-readers or order a print copy should they choose to do so. It’s been a very exciting process getting Snake ready for publication, and I’m looking forward to putting it out and hearing what people think of it.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Snake, here’s the blurb I’m using to advertise it:

How far will you go for love and revenge? When a young man’s girlfriend is kidnapped by the powerful Camerlengo Family, he becomes the Snake, a serial killer who takes his methods from the worst of the Russian mafia. Tracking down members of the Camerlengo Family one by one for clues, the Snake will go to any lengths to see the love of his life again…even if it means becoming a worse monster than any of the monsters he is hunting.

Sounds interesting, right? Either that or kind of twisted and creepy. I’ve gotten both reactions before. Anyway, I hope you’re looking forward to reading Snake as much as I am looking forward to you reading it. And if you want to read an excerpt from Snake, you can click here and do so. Or you can scroll down a little and watch the book trailer for Snake. I promise you, it’s veeery creepy.

Have a good day, my Followers of Fear! I know I am, and so is probably my sister. Happy Birthday, Liat. Don’t go too wild on your birthday, okay?

Self-Pub Authors: Doing an Excerpt

Posted: April 7, 2014 in Journalism
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I decided that before I left for my study-abroad trip and got nearly zero-writing done, I’d write several articles for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors. God knows I have enough ideas for articles. This is the first, Doing an Excerpt, with some helpful tips on picking passages from your latest work to use as excerpts on blogs, in contests, and in the back of your latest released book (there’s something I should try!).

Please take your time and explore Self-Pub Authors. It’s a really helpful website and it’s got articles from several different authors, myself included, on how to do self-publishing for little to no cost. And if you find the articles helpful, feel free to subscribe. We’ve got articles coming out all the time, so there’s never an end to the useful information you can read.

All for now. I’ve got an appointment in a bit, so I’ll get ready for that. Have a nice day, my Followers of Fear.

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