Potentially a little self-serving, but…

The author who wrote one of my favorite novels and sequels, Jumper & Reflex, did an interview with AMC. Jumper is an out of print book I found for $3 at a used bookstore in Mesa. The spine was cracked and pages were loose.

I think that’s what sold me on it. It look so incredibly well loved.

Jumper was Steven Gould’s first novel -  a SciFi thriller with an anti-hero. It was later made into a movie Jumper (Hayden Christensen/Samuel L Jackson). As a fan of the book, I was disappointed in the film adaptation. The book is always better than the movie, they say. And in Jumper’s case, it’s incredibly true. The novel is darker, deeper, and more realistic.

Although, if I’m being honest, the movie itself was a good story, and anyone who knows me knows I will pay and watch a million times over any crap that Hayden Christensen puts out.

Back on topic: Gould was interviewed by AMC about Jumper 2 – and about his influence in Jumper and the novel Griffin’s Story.
http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/2009/05/steven-gould-interview.php

Oh, and as for my current copy of the novel? More cracks in the spine, and now, more loose pages.

Tags: Publishing, Writing

Authors and the importance of Twitter.

In an effort to keep sending you all helpful tips and fun reads… I wanted to touch on the fact that in the past you’ve all heard me go on about Twitter at one time or another. And how that, when we’re all epic famous authors, we’re going to have be able to handle our own marketing. Social media, for as long as it’s around (and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere any time soon) will always be the best, easiest way to connect with readers and potential readers.
We must all remember that while having the backing of a publisher is great, word of mouth will be the key to our success.
But a lot of times, I’ve been asked : But Cee, what am I supposed to tweet about?
Mashable has put together a list of 100 authors who actively use Twitter. Not only is this a good resource to find people to follow on Twitter, it’s a good way to see what they’re saying, get a feel for the type of persona you want to have:

Some on the list are: Meg Cabot, Barry Lyga, Lisa McMann, Neil Gaiman, Kate Jacobs… and the list is split up by genre, so for the horror fans, there’s a set for you, for the YAers… you get the point.

http://mashable.com/2009/05/08/twitter-authors/

And feel free to check me out on Twitter as well: www.twitter.com/ceeden

Don’t even worry that you don’t have anything out and published yet – creating an online persona NOW helps build the hype. Put a sample on your website, share it with your friends and have them start telling people!

Tags: marketing, promotion, Publishing, Writing

Editing.

Today, I want to talk to you about editing. This is slightly self-serving, as I have decided to halt work on 38th&Sunset and focus on Collide, preparing it for submission. And while we all know that it’ll never EVER be completely finished, we need to get it to a point where it’s as perfect as it can be.

With that in mind, I want to share some information that came from an article I found while browsing on Saturday.
There are three levels of edits:

The first level is a “line” or “copy” edit.
What this entails is reading over your manuscript and checking for common grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes. I think this is one of the few times, as writers, we step away from the creative process and spend more time than we care to admit surfing sites like thesaurus.com, dictionary.com, grammargirl.com and the Chicago Manual of Style.
Ack!

The second level is a “content” edit.
This is usually where we are when we join a critique group. At this stage, you’re fairly certain that you’ve spelt just about everything correctly. You have proper spacing, and have all of your quotes closed and resisted the urge to create paragraph long sentences joined by “and”s and semicolons
This stage of editing is where we look for consistency issues -  would character REALLY say that? Does that make sense to the plot? What does this chapter mean? And overall questions: have I followed the rules of my genre? Am I fulfilling the promise I made to my readers? If I’m working on something historical – am I accurate? Another key thing to look for at this stage is point of view and tense. Making sure this is consistent.

And the third, (which I am at and currently becoming more and more grey as time passes) is a “deep, developmental” edit.
This is essentially where every line, paragraph and chapter is dissected. Another check for consistency and accuracy. The main purpose of a deep edit like this one is to ensure your pacing is up to snuff, that you have enough tension in your pages to ensure your reader is engaged and that your characters are full, 3d. And, above all, that your plot makes sense.

The key in making your edits more effective is time away from the manuscript. Put it away for a week, a couple of weeks and work on something else. Never stop writing – while your baby is sitting on the shelf, taking a time out, start a short story, write an essay… keep flexing your muscles. And READ as much as you can. When you come back to your manuscript and you start your edits, be patient. It’s trying. Complicated. Frustrating.

But ultimately, it is what will get us to where we need to be.

“Books aren’t written – they’re rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn’t quite done it.”
-Michael Crichton

For my next post, I want to throw a question out there: what are your favorite/common rookie writer mistakes?

Tags: editing, positivity, Publishing, Writing

38th&Sunset : Lyrical Exerpt

I’ve always said I wasn’t one for poetry – I was mildly interested when I was in high school but as I’ve grown up, I’ve left it behind.

As most of you know, 38th&Sunset is about a musician, and if I were to use someone else’s lyrics (say AAR for example, or Matt Nathanson) I would either incure HUGE royalty charges (and rightfully so) OR a legal problem.

Either way, I’m not a big fan of either situation.

Then Saturday fell upon the Valley, gloomy skied and chilly winds. And I sat here in the studio, in my ripped jeans listening to some acoustic music – really being as in character as I was able to (minus the whole being a guy thing) – and I closed my eyes and began typing lyrics as they came to me.  These will be peppered through the book when needed

Enjoy!

Waves of hair float around
her face and I
stare into deep
maple syrup colored eyes

Endless night as we lay
Heat of the engine beneath
Burns a fire into me
Fingers intertwine

Laughter lives in her eyes
Life lives on her lips
Whispers in the dark make me whole
Thunder booms in my chest

Fender in my hands and she watches
notes pour out of me
like careless rushing waters
lost to her sea

And while I was writing, I thought about Collide,. and thought this would fit the two main characters there, as well:

She has stolen my heart
and she twirls around
does she even know.
Brown curls fill the air
cinnamon fills my lungs
I breathe her in.
I follow like gravity
every move she makes
Surrender to her smile.

Tags: lyrics, music, poems, positivity, Publishing, Writing

Shamless Self-Promotion Time!

This is one of those shameless self-promotion type posts, so I’m going to leave it at that! This week’s gem post brought some great feedback, and I’m already hunting for great resources for next week. It’s Saturday, however, and 70 degrees in the Valley, so I’m off to enjoy the weather, be inspired and take in as much of the city as I can before it becomes an inferno!
< click “Read More” for the shots & artwork> Read more…

Tags: cl coons, photos

Gem Post – Negativity & Self-Editing.

Today’s post is just a c0uple of quick gems that I sent out to my email list — but I wanted to share them with you all, because they can be helpful to anyone who’s working on a manuscript!

“All of this boils down to one thing: negativity is a test of strength. If you show weakness in the face of negativity: you lose. If you show strength and character in the face of negativity: you win.”

Read more…

Tags: autocrit, editing, nathan bransford, negativity, positivity

And now, for some positivity. (OR: All Hail Bransford!)

I am a big fan of Nathan Bransford, who is an agent at Curtis Brown in S.F. His blog is FAN-FREAKIN’-TASTIC and in the past week, he has had some stellar posts. There are two that I want to highlight — both extremely positive and helpful.

Nathan is stoked about the future of publishing:
http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-im-optimistic-about-future-of-books.html

It’s rare that anyone in the industry is speaking positively lately, but Nathan goes into detail about why he thinks that the future is bright, how ebooks and paper will marry and the roles of agents and publishing houses as the transition continues. Looks like there will be plenty opportunity for all of us!

Nathan’s Ten Commandments for the Happy Writer:
http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2009/03/ten-commandments-for-happy-writer.html

This may very well be the best blog post in the history of industry blogging. My personal favorite:

7. Reach out to fellow writers. No one knows how hard it is to write other than other people who have tried to do it themselves. Their company is golden. If you’re reading this it means you have an Internet connection. Reach out and touch a writer. And plus, the Internet allows you to reach out to writers without smelling anyone’s coffee breath.

Oh, and PS – In my epic geekdom, I took a break from writing 38th&Sunset this morning to design some cover art for it and Collide. If you’re any good at Photoshop, do it! It’s painfully fun and fulfilling!

Tags: agents, ebooks, nathan bransford, Publishing, Writing

Critique Groups.

My lack of updates recently have been directly correlated to my involvement in my two critique groups — one I attend, and one that I run. My presence in two separate groups is testament to how much I believe that every writer should be in a group. Especially any writer who wants to be published. The Monday night group, ran by Audrey Wyatt (Adult Literary Fiction) is a very diverse group… comprised of a horror writer, a comedic writer, a romance/YA writer *(myself), a sci-fi/fantasy writer and an adult literary writer.

The benefit of others reading your work is immeasurable. I’ve done immense amounts of self-editing while having my piece read, and the advice I have gotten back has been wonderful. As a writer, one of the challenges I struggle with is wordyness. I talk things to death. I end up with a word count that borders on astronomical and at early revision stages, can be too close to the work to see what needs to go.

Enter awesome critique partners. They see where I can trim the fat. I have one manuscript that is done and one that is a work-in-progress, each critique group focuses on a different project. 38th&Sunset is worked on at the Monday night group, while Collide is perfected at the Wednesday group that I affectionately call “The Fabulous Four”.

Which brings me to my next point of discussion. The Fabulous Four is what I like to refer to as a dream team of writers/critiquers. All of us, full time writers. All of us, commercial, light toned, same genre. Writers who know the rules of the genre, know what sells, what to look for. However, running a group and finding the right people proves highly challenging. Not every writer is for every group. When you’re looking for a critique partner, try and find someone who is in your genre. A romance writer doesn’t know the rules of historical fiction, and an erotica writer wouldn’t be helpful for someone writing middle-grade. While the search can be long and trying, it is worth the investment.

Once you find a group of writers that works for you, hold on tight. They can be your lifeline!

Tags: buisness, critique group, fiction, Publishing, Writing

Collide Forum Avatars

Okay, this is more of a joke than anything, but I did want to release them for those who are reading/have read for personal use.

Enjoy!

Poetry and the New Girl

I am, self-admittedly, ignorant to poetry. I don’t know much about it, it never really held my interest. If you were to ask me who my favorite poets were, I would hum and pause and think about it in an attempt to come up with something not completely cliched.
And I would fail.
Because at the soul of it, I love Pablo Neruda. And Robert Frost.
I know, I know. If you were the type of blog readers who rolled their eyes, you would be doing so right now.
When I read Frost, I SEE his visions. When I read Neruda, I can almost FEEL his heart bleeding. That’s art to me. When I read a line like: “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” I can feel that. And lines like that resonate. They ensure that they will always be remembered.
Having spent the better part of the week at the ASU Piper Writer’s Conference, I’ve been exposed to some amazing people. And some not-so-amazing people as well. There is one, however, that sticks out to me. A poet, whom I would have normally written off and not bothered with because he was “out of my genre”. It was this poem that stuck with me:

Horizon
by: Kazim Ali

It’s unbearable what you remember,
numb in a storm wanting the answer.

There’s a boat that loves to drink.
You love to be tricked or called names.

Pray you quicksilver rush to me quickly make me
mad, unfasten me from shore.

At its freezing point wind shatters.
Were you faking it or really dying.

The night has a name the storm is ashamed of.
Send me to the earth’s end, I have never seen it.

To me, this says one thing.. one big, glaring thing. That good writing is good writing. And with good writing you can bring in someone who doesn’t normally “get” what you do, how you do it, or would otherwise not care.  Certainly something to aspire to.