My Fair Princess, ARC

Posted by on 01/13/2012 No comments

My Fair PrincessI am more than 1/3 complete of my final revision for my “sweet romance” My Fair Princess set in the fantasy realm of Alaera, a region populated by faeries, dragons, and more (although the story itself focuses only on a boy and a girl trying to fall in love).

I thought perhaps this would be an excellent time to put a call out for advanced ‘beta readers’. There is nothing more key than perspectives of outside sources. My mother has already read the manuscript a couple times and offered some excellent insight and advice. Now it is time to go even further outside my comfort zone. There is no gain with no pain, right?

So, if you’re interested in receiving an ARC (advanced read copy), please comment with your email and I will forward you a PDF (or another format if needed).

*this novel was previously published as the fan-fiction A Wyndian Princess*

A Writer’s Lesson

Posted by on 04/09/2011 No comments

Medieval illustration of a Christian scribe wr...

The following was an email I crafted to a young writer/fan of mine on this exact date in 2005. All of these tips are relevant even now, so I thought I would share.

A few very important basic facts to remember about writing, and the writing talent are going to be listed below. You might want to post these someplace as a reminder, which you will need. :)

1) “I’ve been writing stories my whole life and I’ve been told I’m very good, mostly by my family and English teachers, but I honestly don’t think I am.”

Our family members and teachers often see beyond the writing to the talent hidden beneath. We, on the other hand, are our own worst critic; forever and always we will go through phases when we abhor something we previously thought was pure literature. I have come to believe that this is one of the basic instincts a writer needs in order to continually strive for improvement (and eventual, unattainable perfection). It is okay to hate your writing; just don’t allow yourself to throw anything away. Especially not when you’re in a phase of hating everything that you’ve written. You will never know when you can use it, maybe not even in the original form you had intended it. Believe me, I’m speaking from long and hard-learned experience (mourns over lost scenes).

2) “I mean there are authors on fanfiction.net that write so well I almost want to give up writing.”

Never allow another writer’s ability persuade you to give up. If writing is your passion, truly, then you should instead use these writers as a guide. A way to learn and absorb different styles and genres so that you may eventually find your own, if you haven’t already. Each writer has their own unique ability, as well as a singular influence (life experience), that no other writer will have. Perceptions are also different, and these differences will affect your style as well as the story you have to tell.

3) “I know part of my problem is I just start writing on a whim, like I’ll get an idea and start writing without planning anything out so eventually I have all these plot holes and stuff later.”

Believe it or not, writing on a whim is something that is encouraged by writing magazines such as Writer’s Digest, and even my college writing professors. It’s a writing exercise that is very important to the duty of honing our ability. Believe it or not, sometimes the best story ideas are found when “writing on a whim” and “without planning anything out”.

In addition, when first attacking a storyline or story idea, it is best to write out all that comes to mind, plot holes and everything. This is called a “rough draft” or what I call the basic skeleton. Once you have that down, your mind is more freely able to wrap itself around what is yet needing to be written; the flesh waiting to be added and those pesky holes waiting to be filled. Sometimes a book/story will go through several “filling out” stages, which is par for the course. You can’t see a next step until you take the previous ones. It’s all part and parcel to the writing process.

Oh, and another thing to note, a writer is never EVER “done”. There is always something to be found, changed, or made better. In fact, I was told this by a published author, who then proceeded to show me the corrections in his *published* book. :-) Why are we never truly done? Because we’re never truly done learning about the craft of writing. Which should be an exciting prospect, and not a depressing one!

4) “I also think I have a problem with holding back, like I don’t want to fully put all my potential into a story because I’m scared that if it isn’t liked then I suck, because if I don’t use all my potential and it isn’t liked I can just say I didn’t put a lot of work into it.”

This is a mindset that is very dangerous for your future potential, as I’m sure you’re aware. Unfortunately, writing with abandon will take time. Once you become more firmly comfortable with yourself as a person, this will be seen, also, in your writing. This will be something that we’ll work on little by little. :-) Once I read your writing, I’ll give you some phrases/mantras that you will be required to repeat each morning/evening/whenever you write. It will seem silly, but once it’s a habit, you might begin to see the difference in your writing.

I hope these little bits help you.

mintbaby

Procrastination Activities

Posted by on 01/16/2011 No comments

Self-Discipline
What is it about goals that often send a writer skipping in the opposite direction?

If nothing else, it has reminded me – again – that self-discipline is a necessary skill for a writer to experience even a modicum of success. After all, if we do not practice control and discipline how will we ever accomplish a favorable end result? How will we survive the grueling task that is finding an agent/publisher/editor in order to see our books in print? It could happen eventually, of course, but success is not something that occurs out of blind luck. There is a requirement of a struggle, both internal and external. We must endure the critiquing, the re-writing, the editing, the hacking and slashing, the fleshing and all else that being a writer entails.

And if we don’t have self-discipline and control? We will always have a mind (or drawer) filled with ideas rather than a shelf groaning under the weight of our titles on proud display. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather the latter be MY end result.

mintbaby

Get the Write out

Posted by on 09/15/2010 No comments

Writing has been my obsession since childhood.

But stating something like that doesn’t really sink in until I talk to others who share my love for writing.

Does that happen to you? Do you not realize just how intensely you adore a hobby until AFTER you talk to someone else?

There is something about the comparison that draws out the similarities and differences alike. Something like that fascinates me!

When I listen to others talk about writing, the wishful thinking and the “some day I’ll write that book” statements I am floored. If they love writing, if that is something they aspire to, why doesn’t it fill their every thought until they can finally see their story in printed form? Why do they not make time for their characters? Why do they not obsess over every possible lane and avenue the story could take?

My obsession was such that I even played video games in order to get more of everything. More stories. More characters. More possibilities. And then, when I took that first fateful plunge into writing video game fan-fiction? The heavens opened and the floodgates were drawn back! Such a blur of fun and agony. The angst. The joy. The first introduction to the submission process – and the acceptance! The fans. The mentorings. The entire experience was unlike anything I had before, and it is that I attempt to emulate now in the ‘original fiction’ realm.

Some day I will rewrite all my fan-fiction to original fiction. Then they too can bask in the limelight of being read on an e-reader or pulled from a shelf. :) And don’t you think every character should have that ending?

"Nona Mintbaby King"

Outside the Zone

Posted by on 09/09/2010 No comments

The blank page. At times, an insurmountable horror for writers.

Discomfort ZoneFor some, new and old, this blank page is that first, gaping step into the discomfort zone. It is the leap into the maw of the unknown. We’ve dreamed about it, agonized over it, and dedicated ourselves to the journey beyond the terror of that first paragraph. For others, the blankness  is little more than an annoyance. It might entail only a mocking whisper as they tap their pen against the starkness, searching their mind for that first poignant sentence.

I remember my own experience as a new writer more than 2 decades ago. The empty page beckoned to me, and I couldn’t wait to fill its whiteness with the story bursting inside my heart. With pen in hand, I scribbled “That’s not how you begin a story, Vicki,” and my first YA novel, The New Road, was born. There has been little pause since.

The most memorable instance of tumbling into the discomfort zone found me when I acted as the Junior Director of our church’s drama team, The New Life Players. I was tasked with writing an entire scene for an evening production, including a unique song. My younger brother was chosen to play the main character throughout the production, an unbeliever who then met five unique individuals who offered him their testimony. Part of that witness/testimony was the song. Agony ventured to new heights when I discovered that I would be the person acting and singing the part that I scripted.

It has been too many years now. I don’t recall the character name or the song. One of my closest friends, Melissa, accompanied me on piano and still loves the melody and its message. I should find out if she has the lyrics and chords and scan them into my computer…. Through that jaunt over the battlefield of the discomfort zone I grew as a writer and performer. Public speaking and performing is not my favorite thing. In fact, it’s something I despise because I know that I am better with the written word than the verbal. But I didn’t shirk the duty, and I know I am better for the facing of my fears.

No matter how much I hated it at the time.

A few years later, I took a conscious plunge into the discomfort zone. Forever seeking out new inspirations for the next story, I ventured into the realm of video game fan-fiction. What is fan-fiction? According to Wikipedia:

Fan fiction (alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF, or fic) is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator.”

The most daunting prospect in writing fan-fiction was & is two-fold:

  1. You must stay true to the characters in how they speak, act/react in any given situation.
  2. You must stay true to the setting created by the original creator, keeping the facts of the game and the game universe clear and concise in your head as well as in the characters’ everyday lives.

These two requirements put you as a writer into a type of open box. On four or five sides you are graced little freedom. However, there is one freedom you do have: the storyline. The caveat is that even here there are regulations; the storyline must keep the facts of the game in mind.

The MintfieldOver the course of 5 years of writing fanfiction I penned 46 novellas, short-stories, and poems. Many of these were submitted, accepted, and published to online sites such as RPGamer and IcyBrian, two video-game resource websites that have approval committees reserved for fanfiction.

Fanfiction served as my introduction to science-fiction, a genre I had convinced myself to never write for. It also served as an intro to a variety of jaded character types that I wouldn’t have envisioned in normal circumstances.

An example: original character Janine Larabie. Janine is a sexy, no-nonsense officer in a black ops mercenary/military group. In my story, she falls for the antagonist from the popular video-game Final Fantasy VIII. In my edgy romance The Reluctant Knight, Seifer Almasy, the antagonist, is intrigued by this “button-pusher” who transfers from a northern military base. There is an immediate attraction, due mostly to the fact that Seifer and Janine both prefer hard-nosed individuals who tell it like it is without regard to the other’s feelings. Life is too short, they believe, for touchie-feelie nonsense.

Janine Larabie The novella is fraught with head-to-head confrontations between the two as they work out a friendship and then a close relationship. In fact, because Janine is a button-pusher, she is the first to get Seifer to admit to secrets from his past as a “dare to trust”, a rush for people like them who don’t trust anyone with anything. It sets both on a path of inner healing that allows them to share a closeness and a bond they have never experienced before.

The Reluctant Knight grabbed me by the hair and dragged me along behind the characters as I frantically jotted down their story.

It has been five years since my last jaunt into writing fan-fiction. I have grown as a writer, and I sometimes wonder if I would cringe and moan at my fanfiction quality now that I have matured in style and approach? Perhaps that is another, less realized venture outside my realm of comfort?

My most recent venture into the discomfort zone was writing for the National Novel Writing Month. Specifically, last year’s NaNovel, Silver and Iron, a fantasy suspense novel that was a continuation of the paranormal tale began in To Save a Soul (2008 NaNovel). In To Save a Soul I had the benefit of writing the story from my husband’s story outline. Silver and Iron, however, did not have such a luxury. It was a true “write by the seat of your pants” novel where I didn’t have a clear idea of the middle or end of the storyline.

True to the basic goal of NaNoWriMo, I put my fingers to the keys and just wrote the story as it came to me. Now, I have 56k words and no ending, and my writing juices struggle to continue because I’m not certain how to approach the ending that is still very misty in my mind. My husband and I have decided the best thing to do would be to re-enact the story so that I can experience the twists and turns of the adventure and figure out what my main characters are going to do in order to solve the mystery and catch the villain. It is a unique challenge for me to look at a page and wonder what in the world I’m going to write next.

In hindsight, it has taught me that I don’t like writing from the seat of my pants without a clear idea of where the story is supposed to go. I need a goal!

Of course, there are many more situations where I found myself facing into the black void that is the discomfort zone, especially in my journey toward publication and all the throes and woes that go along with that! All in all, stepping or leaping into the discomfort zone has been the best source of learning for me as a writer. A stretch from the norm to prove that I can do anything I set my mind to. A peek from behind a usual door to the adventures waiting outside that whisper of blessings, to myself and others.

Writing in the discomfort zone is a thrill and, like Janine Larabie, I’ve become a thrill-junkie looking for the next bit of discomfort.

Nona 'Mintbaby' King

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*this post originally fell under the christianwriters.com blog chain subject ‘the discomfort zone’