Yes, actually, this post does relate to the song from Wicked (which I want to see SO bad! I've heard it's mind-blowingly incredible.)
Ahem. Ignoring my ramblings...
I've been an avid follower of author Kody Keplinger (ya know, who wrote The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)) for probably about a year, and I just love her humor and YouTube videos. She's such an inspiration to aspiring authors, and gives fantastic advice.
Take, for instance, what I'm going to post.
In this video she discusses rejection, and how defying a little gravity can do loads of good for you when pursuing that elusive, fantastic, published author dream.
It's basically one of my favorite videos to watch when I feel down, or when I need to rid of some stress and get myself inspired. Enjoy! (And make sure you check out Kody's blog if you've yet to already; you won't regret it! It's http://kodymekellkeplinger.blogspot.com/.)
On a different note, Harry Potter was AWESOME!!! It's been two weeks since my last post, and--whadaya know--I've seen it two times since then! Yes, there were things that could've been done slightly differently, but that's just the nature of the beast when dealing with movie adaptations of books. I still give it a glowing 5/5 stars, and still completely, wholeheartedly, undoubtedly LOVED it. =D Make sure you see it too!
And that's all I have. Have a great day! :)
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Friday, July 29, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Some Short Advice
I often write short stories (page or two long, or at least until I lose interest in my practice characters, practice plot, etc.) and get to thinking about the best (and worst) ways to begin a piece. Book, blog post, newspaper article... The list goes on and on. But, of course, I'm speaking more toward novels.
So, the best way to start your tale? Or, rather, the way you NEVER want to...
DON'T START YOUR NOVEL WITH YOUR CHARACTER WAKING UP.
Don't. Don't EVER. If there's one piece of writing advice I've seen everywhere, from literally every agent that's ever spoken on the topic to other writers' blogs, it's that you do NOT ever want to start your novel with someone waking up. Why? It's a cop-out. No, really. As other agents have said in one way or another, surely there's another way you can start your story. Surely. And trust me, it'll do you loads to make this fix. In fact, agent Mary Kole once said that if your story does not begin with someone waking up, you're already a caliber above 50% of the submissions she sees. This, of course, does not determine whether or not she chooses one submission over the other, but it most definitely places you in a better light, so-to-speak.
In other news, I recently began The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. And I'm not lying when I say it's AMAZING. I can't put it down. And the weird thing is, it's a war story. I don't like to read about war when it so abundantly (and unfortunately) happens around the world, for death is not exactly a happy topic, but it's so heartfelt and sincere a work that I just cannot get away from it. Go check it out from the library or read some reviews online. You'll know what I'm talking about.
Well, that's it for now. =) (Oh, sidenote: I don't exactly know why the date on my last post says April 4th, because I most definitely posted it around the 20th. Just something that was bothering me, and something that I wanted to make note of. Hopefully this post has the date right...even though if it doesn't it's my fault in the first place, for I should be checking things more thoroughly; today's May 22nd.)
I leave with this unusual fact (who doesn't like random, unusual facts?):
When glass breaks, the cracks move faster than 3,000 miles per hour. To photograph the event, a camera must shoot at a millionth of a second! (http://www.strangefacts.com/facts1.html)
So, the best way to start your tale? Or, rather, the way you NEVER want to...
DON'T START YOUR NOVEL WITH YOUR CHARACTER WAKING UP.
Don't. Don't EVER. If there's one piece of writing advice I've seen everywhere, from literally every agent that's ever spoken on the topic to other writers' blogs, it's that you do NOT ever want to start your novel with someone waking up. Why? It's a cop-out. No, really. As other agents have said in one way or another, surely there's another way you can start your story. Surely. And trust me, it'll do you loads to make this fix. In fact, agent Mary Kole once said that if your story does not begin with someone waking up, you're already a caliber above 50% of the submissions she sees. This, of course, does not determine whether or not she chooses one submission over the other, but it most definitely places you in a better light, so-to-speak.
In other news, I recently began The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. And I'm not lying when I say it's AMAZING. I can't put it down. And the weird thing is, it's a war story. I don't like to read about war when it so abundantly (and unfortunately) happens around the world, for death is not exactly a happy topic, but it's so heartfelt and sincere a work that I just cannot get away from it. Go check it out from the library or read some reviews online. You'll know what I'm talking about.
Well, that's it for now. =) (Oh, sidenote: I don't exactly know why the date on my last post says April 4th, because I most definitely posted it around the 20th. Just something that was bothering me, and something that I wanted to make note of. Hopefully this post has the date right...even though if it doesn't it's my fault in the first place, for I should be checking things more thoroughly; today's May 22nd.)
I leave with this unusual fact (who doesn't like random, unusual facts?):
When glass breaks, the cracks move faster than 3,000 miles per hour. To photograph the event, a camera must shoot at a millionth of a second! (http://www.strangefacts.com/facts1.html)
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