Should you plot your novel, or dive in and pants it? What is the right way to outline? What is a plot, even? “Plot is people. Human emotions and desires founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike against each other until finally there’s an explosion—that’s Plot.” —Leigh Brackett There are as many ways to write a book as there are books. Notice I said "books", and not writers. Because it is likely that every book you write will be a little different. Sometimes your method for getting it done[...]
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Writing
0 A few years ago, I met Brian online. I was running another writing blog and he was a reader. He asked me to come on a podcast he was hosting and I did. We hit it off. It went so well that I couldn't stop thinking about how awesome it would be to write with him. I was afraid, but I asked anyways. He said yes. Harrowed was born. Our YA slasher book, a la Scream, which turned out to be a love story to 80's metal, cool cars, murder, mystery, and first love. It is one of my favorite things I've ever written. It means so much to have so much of what we love in the b[...]
There's something creepy about zombies. Sure, perhaps it's the carnal rage or unquenchable thirst for your brain. That certainly makes me prefer to never encounter one. I like my brain where it's at, thank you very much. But at the very core, I think it's deeper than that. There's something unsettling about things that should be dead, but did not stay that way. I think that's also why I love ghost stories so much. The Midnight Society member Amy did a YA zombie book round-up that you can spy here, but I want to add to that list with a few of my recent reads. L[...]
We all like to think we're dutiful little ink slingers, writing pitch-perfect prose and never straying into bloodcurdlingly-bad storytelling territory. Sometimes even the best manuscript becomes possessed by bad writing that's in need of a little exorcism. Here are some tips on how to find the sickness within your story or book and purge it. The Stages of the Exorcism Every good exorcism follows a standard checklist used to pinpoint and purge the bad parts: Pretense - When the demon hides its true identity Breakpoint - When the demon reveals itself Cla[...]
It's April 2nd, which means that many of you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo have been working on your book or your project for two days already! Or erm, if you're like me, you really haven't started yet because of the weekend and um, yeah, I should probably get on that. First off, CONGRATULATIONS on taking the next step to make your creative project a reality if you are participating and already signed up. Secondly, if you haven't checked out NaNoWriMo, you should! It's a great way to start the project you've been wanting to work on and creating excellent writ[...]
The Where to Query series is now off to a running start and if I'm lucky, I'll have about as many addendums to this as there are Land Before Time movies. I wanted to do this because sometimes your eyes start to cross when you're researching agents. I know that sometimes I find myself wishing that someone would just make a list for me. So, here you go friends. A magical list put together just for your middle grade horror novel! I've written one post previously on this, titled: Where to Query Your YA Horror Novel. That post is helpful for anyone to re[...]
I have a campy YA horror novel that is struggling to find a home. The market isn't as strong for YA horror as it is for say, contemporary romance. I know what you're thinking--but what about authors like R.L. Stine or Stephen King? Darling, they are outliers. Sometimes when I go to ALA or other conventions and ask publishing houses about current YA horror that I should have on my radar, they're not as quick to have recommendations for me as they are for other genres. Not always, of course. Sometimes they grace me with a zillion recommendations and it's love[...]
This morning, Brian and I took to Twitter and sprinted. It was awesome. We were both up early and it was nice to have someone out there who was writing at the same time. Together, we decided that what would make it even better would be YOU! Anytime one of us is writing, we will post to the hashtag #MidnightSocietyWritersClub. And then all you need to do is join us in our writing time. Post to the hashtag and let us know who you are and how long you want to write for. It's all in the name of building community and encouraging stories to flourish. Even though we'[...]
As a writer, many of my stories start from a tiny little seed of an idea planted in my brain. Imagine these little tidbits, coming from various places, fermenting and growing in the depths of my brain until they start to germinate and sprout into something creepy. That's how my story, Flowers for the Dead, came to be. HOW IT STARTED One of my favorite things to include in my stories? Superstitions. Folk Lore. Strange and arcane beliefs that inspire people to do some curious things. Some of these ideas seem not so strange. But others? They make you wonder ho[...]
Dear Reader, My brain is fried, but I know what I need to recharge. And so, I pass those savings on to you. Please enjoy my Alphabet Roundup II: Happy Things I Like. What is your happy? Let us know in the comments. Then log off, power down, and make some time for shower nachos (exactly what it sounds like). Love, The Davis Girl A is for Aquarium B is for Bat C is for Cupcakes D is for Donuts E is for Erica F is for Fluffypoofs G is for Gluten Free H is for He-Man I is for Ice Cream J is for Jell-O K is for Koalas L is for Libraries M is for Music N is[...]