Just a quick reminder that I am running my log-line class again. Often synopses are a nightmare for writers simply because they cannot state simply what their story is about. If we don’t know what our story is about, then revisions are hell because it is virtually impossible to discern what should stay and what should be CUT. Everyone who signs up gets their plot shaved down to ONE sentence, so hope to see you guys there! Sign up HERE.  The recording is included and if you can’t make the day of class, I will still repair your log-line 😉 .

Moving on…

Which is more important? Plot or character? Though an interesting discussion—sort of like, Could Ronda Rousey take a Klingon with only her bare hands?—it isn’t really a useful discussion for anything other than fun. To write great fiction, we need both. Plot and characters work…

Can we answer the question, “What is your book about?” in one sentence. Is our answer clear and concise? Does it paint a vivid picture of something others would want to part with time and money to read? Plot is important, but a major component of a knockout log-line is casting the right characters.

Due to popular demand I am running my Your Story in a Sentenceclass in about two weeks and participants have their log lines shredded and rebuilt and made agent-ready. Log-lines are crucial because if we don’t know what our book is about? How are we going to finish it? Revise it? Pitch it? Sell it?

Once we have an idea of what our story is about and have set the stage for the dramatic events that will unfold, we must remember that fiction is about PROBLEMS. Plain and simple. Furthermore, it is about PEOPLE who…

I hear all the time that “motivational stuff” is crap, that cheerleading is useless, that all those books and speeches are there simply to take our money. What is success? Well, I don’t believe that success is worth giving up everything. Life and love are more important than being the best. And, to an extent I will agree.

Motivational Stuff is Crap

I don’t know about you guys, but I love The Container Store. Every year I set my New Year’s Resolution and it always…always includes this phrase. “Be more organized.” This morning I was hunting for the cat food. I’d apparently hidden it from myself. In the bottom of my pantry I spotted one of those white-board weekly organizers…still in the WRAP.

*hides head in shame*

Exactly how well is that weekly organizer working for me tucked in the back of a pantry? Yes, The Container Store…

What do you want? How badly do you want it? What are you willing to sacrifice? These are the questions we must ask not once, but daily. There is no success without the GRIND.

Or perhaps, the G.R.I.N.D.

Give

Every day we have something to give that will keep propelling us forward. I love, love, love the movie Rocky. This is among my favorite quotes:

The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. ~Rocky Balboa

Life does hit hard…

Image via Amber West WANA Commons

Last time, when we talked about Barnes & Noble, I mentioned a book by Malcolm Gladwell David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants.  This is a really interesting book because Gladwell peels apart our common perceptions of what an advantage really is. Sometimes, that which others claim is undesirable really isn’t.

It is merely different.

Right now I am at a weird crossroads and admittedly I am a bit scared because I am deviating outside the “accepted.” For those who don’t know, my son The Spawn (Age 5) has had an interesting road. When he was two and a half, he had all four front teeth knocked unto the maxilla and had to have them surgically removed. Twenty thousand dollars in maxo-facial surgery later, we had a little bat.

This created some problems. Obviously, his speech suffered the most…

The Scarlet Deep is available today!

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/kf87vch

iBooks: http://tinyurl.com/km4uulf

Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/oh34kfb

Smashwords: http://tinyurl.com/jvoluop

Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/qyhkhgt

Createspace: http://tinyurl.com/q287fof

Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/phodgfw

Any time I ever question that feeling in my gut that tells me I need to take a break from a series or fictional world, I will think about The Scarlet Deep. I love this book. I loved writing it. I loved diving back into the world again. I loved sharing the excitement with my readers when I returned. It was over two years between Blood and Sand and The Scarlet Deep. I know some people probably lost interest in the storyline, and that’s their prerogative.

But I didn’t lose interest, and that’s the point.

See, I have to love it. If I don’t love it, you’ll be able to tell. I may hate it a little at times (I’m looking at you, The Secret), but I have…

Hi!

Well, my last blog post garnered way more attention than I expected. Most of that attention was very kind, though, so I can’t complain. To all new readers here on the blog, I’d like to offer a big welcome! I don’t usually offer much publishing world advice, because this site is geared more toward readers, but I do have a couple links you might be interested in, like my FAQ: Writers edition or one of my 10 Things I Learned posts. (I didn’t do one last year and I really need to, but it seems silly halfway through the year. So… I don’t know. I may wait.) Basically, if you go to the drop-down menu under About Me, there’s a whole section that’s geared toward writers.

In reading news, I have a book out next week! Early reviews for THE SCARLET DEEP are coming in and so far, readers and…