WoW: A Royal View on Back Story

Today I opened On Writing to page 229...

The most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn't very interesting. Stick to the parts that are, and don't get carried away with the rest. Long life stories are best received in bars, and only then an hour or so before closing time, and if you are buying.
                                        - page 229, Stephen King's On Writing

Back story can help create 3-demensional characters and help to brighten the colors on the canvas of your literary masterpiece, but it doesn't propel the story forward. Make sure the back story is important and relevant to the primary story.

In my second book, I wrote a large chuck of back story that reveals a major insight into who one of the main characters is and why she acts the way she does. To make the story flow faster, I took this chuck of back story, broke it up into small bite-size pieces, and sprinkled it throughout the book. I think--I hope--it will ultimately be an effective device in keeping readers' interest and pique their curiosity.

Don't forget to visit me at Tossing It Out on Friday for my hijack of a guest post and big Book 2 reveal. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to writing. I'm so close to finishing my WIP!

WoW: A Message from the King and Lesser Things

I've mentioned on numerous blog posts and comments to others that the main writing book I use for insight and inspiration is Stephen King's On Writing. So I thought I could use my Wednesday on Writing segment to highlight some of the King's pearls of wisdom by opening to a random page and finding a quote worthy of noting. And I know every page is noteworthy, but this will be the test. I shall not cheat.

Talent renders the whole idea of rehearsal meaningless; when you find something at which you are talented, you do it (whatever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head. Even when no one is listening (or reading, or watching), every outing is a bravura performance, because you as the creator are happy.

                                     - page 145, Stephen King's On Writing

I've been having trouble balancing blogging and writing over the past few months. I've wanted to build my blog as much as possible, but my writing has suffered as a result. I've seen similar comments on other blogs, so I realize I'm not alone. Though over the past few weeks, I've put my foot down! And this time it wasn't under the wheel of a backing-up car (not a smart place to put your foot down). My writing has to come first. That's the reason I built this blog in the first place. So now I cut myself off if I haven't hit my allotted word count for the day, which is not always a painless process--I just need to check one more post! Just one more, and then I'll be done!

So with that, Book 2 in The Lorne Family Vault Series is chugging along and I can finally see the end. It's not within reach yet, but it's visible. I'm estimating to write that liberating final word in three to four weeks. I was so afraid when I started that it wasn't going to be as good as Provex City, but now I feel it will be even better once it goes through all the necessary rounds of editing.

My added motivation as of late is to get a new project started, which is in the planning stages right now. What is it you ask? I'm sorry, I cannot divulge such information just yet eager readers. But I can say that it's already keeping me up at nights with anticipation. This detour from Oliver's adventure won't be too long, but it will be refreshing to attempt a new story, with a new voice, and a new style.  Yes, that keeps me up at night.

How is you WIP going? Are you a fan of On Writing? Are you looking forward to the weekend already? The year's almost half over--isn't that crazy!?

WoW: Highlighting Traitor and NA Alley

I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend! If it wasn't a holiday weekend where you live, then I hope you still had time to spend with friends and family. It was a nice one here in Southern California, not too hot, not too cold, just right for walking to the park near my home with the little one. What about you?

Highlighting other Writers

I found Rachel Morgan over the long weekend and saw that she had released the third installment in her Creepy Hollow novelette series, Traitor.

Violet and Nate may have escaped the labyrinth, but only one of them came out unscathed. Nate is now the bearer of a mysterious eye-shaped tattoo, a mark he has no memory of receiving. While Vi is intent on discovering the meaning of the tattoo, Nate seems less interested. His experience in the labyrinth has caused recurring nightmares, and he’d prefer to pretend none of it ever happened. But Vi has never been one to let a mystery go unsolved, and she’ll do whatever she can to discover who’s behind the tattoo—even if it means leaving Nate out of her plan.

                                                                                 - Amazon Description

If you're like me, since I'm new to Rachel's writing, you may have to start from the beginning, but I don't think she'll mind. Check it out for yourself and pay Rachel a visit on her blog!

The other blog I found highly interesting over the weekend was NA Alley. It is run by seven bloggers spreading the awareness of a genre still in its infancy called NA, or New Adult, fitting between YA and Adult. I had never heard of it before, but it makes sense. The college years usually just get lumped into adult fiction, but NA gives them a place all their own. It's fascinating and I'm thrilled to have found it. Pay NA Alley a visit, don't fret about the pickpockets, and join the discussion!

Provex City News

Have you heard of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge? It's a blogfest challenge to read 12 YA or MG books that have been published (or self-published) this year by debut authors and review them on your blog and Goodreads.

Hey, I'm a debut author with a YA book available! I can be a participant and a promoter. *devious grin* So I'm working on getting Provex City promoted in the challenge. I added it to the official Goodreads list--though I'm not really sure if I was supposed to do that myself. I emailed the moderator, but haven't yet gotten a reply. Hopefully, this challenge can help Provex City get a few more reviews!

Any interesting Memorial Day weekend stories? Have you checked out Traitor or at least visited Rachel's blog? How about NA Alley--ready to join the charge? Are you up for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge? There just so happens to be one more day to sign up!

WoW: Your/You're in for a Treat

 Writing Tip: You're vs. Your

I didn't want to screw up my new schedule on the second week in, but I entered the 2nd Annual Flash Fiction Blogfest on Monday and want extra time to check out all the blogs participating. I definitely recommend you checking out the link, or blogs on the linky in my previous post.

So I'll keep this brief. I ran across this video on Monday and found it interesting: it's of a white rapper, Mac Lethal (I don't listen to much rap and hadn't heard of him until stumbling upon this video), explaining the difference between you're and your, which is one of many common mistaking in writing. I must admit his rapping is hilarious, informative, and impressive. ***Advisory: if you're offended by swearing, don't watch this video.***

Provex City News

Julie at What Else is Possible? mentioned Provex City in her post last Friday, which is awesome and I can't thank her enough!
A few comments from last week advised me to do a blog tour for my book, which sounds great, so I'll have to look into what I need to do to make that happen.

The other thing I really want to take advantage of is utilizing Goodreads. I still haven't done much with it, but I know there are a lot of authors and readers on that site and it's a great place to meet more people and promote. Wish me luck! Friend me, if you haven't already. :)

Work in Progress

Well, I've written about 1000 words in Book 2 over the past week, which is not something to brag about. But at least I did 2 new flash fiction pieces, which I am proud of. My writing routine at work has been disrupted as of late and hopefully I can get my time back real soon because I'm so close! I've just delivered Oliver into a huge heap of danger and need to find a way to get him out of it. The funny thing is that I don't know how he's going to escape yet, and if everyone he's with will escape with him, but I'll think of something.

Do you place your characters into situations where you don't know how you'll get them out until they're already in the middle of it? Did I use you're vs. your right each time in this post? Don't answer that one.

Attention!!! 

On Friday, I'll post my very first review, and it is of Alex J. Cavanaugh's CassaStar. The Ninja Captain himself may even stop by and share a few words...you'll have to check back to find out!

WoW: First Wednesday on Writing!

 Writing Tip: Less is More.

Ernest Hemingway believed that through omission you could strengthen your story. The reader then must fill in those gaps with their own feelings and emotions. His Iceberg Theory states:

If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.

                                               - Ernest Hemingway in Death in the Afternoon

When Stephen King was in high school, submitting short stories to magazines, he received a rejection letter with a critique that he has used throughout his admirable career.

"Not bad, but PUFFY. You need to revise for length. Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft - 10%. Good luck."

                                                                           - Stephen King in On Writing

Both of these quotes speak to not over writing. Get to the point. Get to the action. Describe selectively and focus on things pertinent to the story, driving it forward. Let the reader fill in the gaps. Take out the fluff. The leaner story should be more clear and flow more gracefully. There is an elegance to simplicity. Less is more.

Provex City News

Have you checked out the Provex City review from Allison at Geek Banter? If not, then I've got just the link for you! CLICK HERE. Geek Banter is also a great blog to follow, so don't be shy.

I've been so focused on this blog that I haven't really gotten out and campaigned Provex City around the web. I'm looking into utilizing Goodreads and the Kindle Forums more. I think that's a good place to start, but do you have any other suggestions?

I have to make a decision soon as to whether I'll remain exclusive to Amazon to keep Provex City on the Kindle Lending Library or take the opportunity to put it up on Smashwords, which will distribute the ebook to other sites like Barnes&Noble and iBookstore.

I'm up to 16 reviews on Amazon, which is a great start. Now, how can I make it 100?

Work in Progress

Currently, my WIP is the second book in the Lorne Family Vault Series. For now, I'll just refer to it as Book 2. I've promised myself not to start using the title until I finish with my first draft, and as you can see from my left sidebar, I'm at 82,000 words with an estimated 110,000 for completion. It may only end up being 100,000, it's hard to tell, but I don't want to rush the climax. My writing has slowed as of late due to competing priorities, so my goal of finishing in a month's time is sliding back. Now, my goal is two months, and to hopefully have the book available by Halloween. Now that I've given myself some public deadlines (or estimated times of completion), I can't wait to see how I do.

How is your WIP going? Have you set goals for yourself? Do you have rewards planned for when you reach your goals? How much do you typically cut from a manuscript? Have you read a book by a fellow blogger that you'd like to recommend (I just finished CassaStar currently reading Slipstream, and just downloaded The Backworlds)?