kymbrunner

Oh how I wish I could say that writing is completely painless and only gives me hours of joy. For the most part, it's true. I get whisked away into another world, making the fictional characters say and do my bidding. And I make them do a lot of weird stuff. I'm never bored and when I'm "in the flow," an entire day can fly by with my mind completely engaged in my task.

But there are times that writing a novel is hard - damn hard. Subplots that go stale, characters that seem phony, and revisions that feel so muddled in the midst of them that I have a hard time remembering who is supposed to be doing what.

There are quite a bit of mixed reviews about the whole process as these professional writers will tell you. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/mar/03/authors-on-writing

How about you? What do you love about writing? What parts, if any, do you dislike?

Today I'm excited to provide a guest post from YA author, Cherie Colyer, whose debut novel, Embrace, released today from Omnific Publishing. Check it out and then read about the ways you can win a copy!

The Research Behind the Story
by Cherie Colyer
 
Even in fantasy there is research to be done. Since my novel is set in the modern world, I first had to research the setting. The climate, landmarks, high schools, population, all the way down to which beaches are good for collecting seashells and how often the light on Annisquam Lighthouse flashes (every 7.5 seconds for those curious). It was important to me that these details were as accurate as I could make them so that the reader would feel like he or she was in Gloucester, Massachusetts right next to Madison.
 
My research didn’t stop with getting to know Gloucester. I wanted the surnames of my characters to have meaning too, so the characters whose families have lived in Massachusetts for generations have last names of one of the families that had settled in that area back in the 1600s. This is something most readers will never know, but it’s the type of detail I like to include in my stories. 
 
I did an equal amount of research on the paranormal elements. Since I don’t want to give away any spoilers, I’ll simply say that I dug into the known lore to see how I could weave it into the world I was creating. I studied the different myths, their believed weaknesses, why people feared them, and how people protected themselves from the unknown. I then put my own spin on them. Ones I hope a reader will enjoy
 
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Embrace Launch Party Guest Posts!
Jennifer DeLucy Blog: Writing Embrace - From Idea to Release
Kym's Quips: The Research Behind to Story  
Once Upon A *Spark*: Mythology Behind Madison's World
Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts: Bring on the Romance 
Jennifer Lane Books Blog: Facing Change     
 
Embrace Launch Party Posts!
Susan Kaye Quinn, Conjuring Tales for Young Minds           
Kim Winters, Kat's Eye Journal          
Carole, the life of fiction 
Mina Burrows, books for paranormal & mystic minds
Joseph Rinaldo, Read Rinaldo
Angela Brown, in a Pursuit of Publishness
Debra Anastasia, Tell me a Story
Colleen Wagner, London Relocation    
           
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Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It’s responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve. 
 
Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he’s a guy harboring a secret, but she’s willing to risk the unknown to be with him. 
 
Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren’t there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can’t find the answers, Madison seeks her own. 
 
Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover. 
 
AUTHOR INFO
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter
 
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Prizes: To celebrate the release of her debut novel, Cherie is giving away an eCopy of EMBRACE and 5-Embrace Hemp Bracelets today. There are three ways to win:

1) Leave a comment here or at any of the Party Posts.

2) Tweet about the Virtual Party or any of the Party Posts with tag #EMBRACEnovels
Example: 
Nothing could have prepared her for what she’s about to discover. #EMBRACEnovels @CherieColyer #YA avail NOW www.cheriecolyer.blogspot.com
Example: 
Celebrate the launch of EMBRACE by @CherieColyer #EMBRACEnovels #paranormal #YA avail NOW www.cheriecolyer.blogspot.com

3) Facebook (tag Cherie Colyer, author) about the Virtual Party.
Example: 
Celebrate the launch of teen paranormal thriller/romance novel EMBRACE by Cherie Colyer, author and enter for a chance to win Embrace prizes! http://www.cheriecolyer.blogspot.com
 
Do all three and you will have three times the chances to win! Leave a comment at each stop of the tour for a chance to win the Grand Prize.
 
If you haven’t already, remember to stop back by Cherie’s blog or click here to fill out the form to ensure your entry is counted.
 

A killer main character, that is.

I'm ready to start writing a new novel, but I need the elusive "just right" character to come along into my radar scope. Okay, the plot isn't completely solid either but I have some pretty cool ideas brewing. But I need to find the person to fill that starring role to get me started. After all, I'm going to be spending the next four-six months with them, every day for several hours, so they've got to rock my world. And yours, if I'm lucky.

Who will it be? The petite girl that everyone underestimates but who kicks ass and doesn't take names?



The mild-mannered, smoldering hot guy with a penchant for rescuing abused girls and elephants?

.

The funny, can't-get-it-together girl who manages to land the most sought after job in NY?



Nah....those characters have already reached the end of their journeys, so time to craft my own killer character. All I need is a lot of time, tons of patience, and a willingness to accept them as they want to be. So I'm off to find my human creation tranquilizer gun with a very large scope so I can nail that killer character in the cross hairs.

BANG!


Where did you find your killer main characters and how did you know you found them?

The title says it all.

This season, it's all about the whining. Please ladies, give it a rest! It used to be fun to watch the NY ladies go to fancy parties, fashion shows, and society events.

But now...I can't stomach all the hatred.

Hey - like the HILARIOUS skit from SNL, I recently asked myself, "What up with dat?"

I just finished writing and revising (with much more of that to come, I'm sure) my  latest YA novel, Gangster of Love. Woo-hoo! I'm soooo excited about it, think it's unique and has a "cool" vibe, and is different than any other thing I've written.... but it's in a different genre than I've written in the past. So....was that a smart move or foolish choice?

The jury's still out.

I've written a MG humorous sci-fi, a MG realistic fiction thriller, a YA literary contemp, a YA romantic comedy,  and now a YA contemp paranormal thriller.  (They're all "pre-published" at the moment, but they're waiting patiently for their big break.) :)

Changing genres wasn't anything I planned I do, it just happened. Five times. I pick a topic I think is cool, mull it over until an interesting premise and characters arrive, and then write like gangbusters. Can I help it that they've all been in slightly different genres? Writing guides tell you to stick with a genre so that when you ARE published, the readers that liked your first book can expect more of the same. But my interests don't run like that. I have to feel REALLY motivated to write an entire novel about something and doggone it, sometimes it doesn't fit into the same category as something I wrote before it.

So I'm hoping that as long as the writing is stellar, the premise is cool, and the readers are into MG or YA, then if I write it....they will come.

How about you? Have you found success across genres or are you a true blue, stick to your guns, one genre writer?

Wow- o-wow. I'm reading the REALLY DENSELY PACKED plotting resource named in my subject line, when I discovered that John Truby has made several You Tube videos about his process! For free, ya'll! Live it up - break out the champagne, and then check him out....

youtu.be/-XgnOpZBuLE

Okay, truth be told, I'm only on page 88 of his book, but each page makes me stop and ponder how I can improve my current novel, so it feels like it's taking me FOR-EV-ER to read. But I'm savoring each morsel like it's the last piece of dark chocolate on Earth. :)

Do you have a great premise? Super characters who have a moral and psychological needs, as well as a path for self-revelation? If not, you might want to read the book or tune in to his videos and super-charge your WIP!

 
Each contestant had to create their own pilot episode while Rachel Ray directed them. She kept saying things like, "We need your theme to shine through." And..."keep pushing your main idea and storytell the rest."

Wait. Wasn't this a cooking show? Where was the advice about how to properly cut vegetables?

But as I listened to the advice given to the contestants this entire season and especially this episode, I realized that hosting a cooking show is composed of something like 25% ability to cook, 25% unique concept, and 50% intriguing personality. That's what it'd take if you wanted to get people to tune in episode after episode.



To make it to publication, I suspect 25% depends on your solid writing skills, 25% on having a unique hook, and 50% on storytelling abilities, all qualities that make readers want to tune into chapter after chapter.
After I write my next chapter, I'm going to stand in the kitchen and read it aloud for my salt-and-pepper shakers. If I do well, I'm hoping they they'll stick around for the next chapter. :)

It's been awhile since I've been standing ten feet from the stage at a concert, elbow to elbow with a hundred other fans, but that's just what I was doing this past weekend. Two friends and I drove nearly three hours north to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to go see one of my old favorites from high school, Ted Nugent, who was playing at a county fair. Needless to say, I've been a fan for decades even though I probably don't have his music blaring from my car on a regular basis. But I do have Stranglehold as one of my ringtones and if that doesn't prove I'm a huge fan, I don't know what does. :)


So I'm standing in about the fourth row deep when the aforementioned song, Stranglehold, comes on. If anyone out there is a Ted Nugent fan, you'd know this is his signature song, and indeed, my all-time favorite. I melt a little inside, dreamily singing and twanging the guitar chords (I'm sure to the dismay of those around me), when the couple in front of me moves back away from the stage a bit so they can talk. Naturally, I move forward, still singing, completely "in the zone," psyched that my favorite song is on. I'm even taping it off my iPhone, something I couldn't have done at a concert when I was in high school, for sure.

Of course, THE JERK comes back and now is upset that I'm there, so he turns his back to the stage and pushes me forward into the others as hard as he can. I ignore him, trying to yell an apology (amidst giant speakers) to the people who I'm getting slammed into that the guy next to me is being a *jerk.* (Please insert your favorite swear word *here* because I didn't say "jerk" either.) Long story short, his boorish behavior continues to the point where he's putting his hand in front of my phone and he's spending all of his time trying to ruin my experience instead of just watching Ted's incredible guitar playing. (Some of his other songs were faster or a different version than the CD, but he was staying true to Stranglehold and man, it was flawless.)


Tears start streaming down my cheeks - not from being so close to Ted Nugent singing my all-time favorite song (although it was certainly swoon-worthy), but because this kid who probably couldn't hold his own in a fight against these older, muscle-bound guys risked getting the crap kicked out of him - for me! Someone he had never met.

It was an amazing underdog moment and every time I tell it, like now, the tears stream down my face. Ugh! But I know God let me experience this event so I can transform it into a book sometime in the future. Not this concert or even these circumstances, but THIS FEELING OF ELATION AND GRATITUDE toward a stranger. Simply amazing. After that song, the concert ended. I ignored the jerk and turned to my HERO, who saw my tears and I thanked him. Said I'd been waiting a looong time to see Ted, drove three hours, and that what he did was the nicest thing a stranger ever did for me. He hugged me and said, "I was happy to do it. That guy was a huuugee *jerk.*" (Insert word again - definitely NOT the word he used either.) And we both turned and went our separate ways.

I don't know that the experience changed him in any way, or if he even repeated the story to anyone, but I'm proud to call him MY HERO.


 

Stranglehold by Ted Nugent (*for your viewing pleasure*)

The short answer is: as much as you need to make your book feel authentic.

Non-fiction writers have quite a different task I'm sure, because they have to make it BE authentic. But for us fiction writers, we only have to make sure there is the taste of authenticity. If someone wanted "bet-a-million-bucks-it's-true" facts about a topic, they shouldn't read a fictional tale. Sometimes we have to bend the truth a bit to fit our story.

I roped in my husband and two other couples to head downtown to go on the Chicago Hauntings ghost bus tour. I wasn't sure what I'd use from the experience, if anything, but it gave me a sense of what goes on during a ghost bus tour. Here are a few pics of the tour (but I don't want to give away too much - you should all go on one and experience it for yourselves!) :)

The Ghost Bus (www.chicagohauntings.com) turned out to be a narrated tour to many of the sites where multiple people were killed in tragic ways in and around downtown Chicago. The site of Mrs. O'Leary's barn and the St. Valentine's Day massacre were just two of the myriad of places we went. Presumably, after experiencing this tour, I could now easily place a character on the bus, driving the bus, narrating the tour, or getting haunted by one of the ghosts who were tragically killed here, or anywhere for that matter. The possibilities are endless.

So while I had a great time with my friends, I also got a good sense of what it would be like to use any or all of this research in my next novel. Could I have read about these things instead of shelling out 28 bucks to listen and visit these places? Sure, but the experience is much more vivid in my mind now and will help bring my story to life (or to a haunted past life, as the case may be...).

What's the most fun you had in the name of research?