John Smith

Last Post

2011-02-27T05:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this is my last post.

But before you say anything, let me explain. I'm about to finish the rough draft of my novel, Lycan Island! Yay!

But when I look at it, I can see that there is something wrong.

It's my pen name.

When I first started this blog, I chose the pen name John Smith. If you're a fan of Doctor Who, you'll know why I chose that name. I got the idea from a YA author who uses the pen name Christopher Pike, which comes from a Star Trek character.

However, as I look at the name on my rough draft file, it doesn't seem like it'll work.

The name John Smith seems common, but when you walk into a library or bookstore, you don't see that name as an author. And that's why I thought that I could use that name.

But I'm starting to think that John Smith may not be a great pen name after all. After the rough draft, I'm going to edit it, and then I'm going to send it to an agent. I can just imagine it now. My future agent will try to change the name. He/She will say it's too common. They will probably change it to something like John L. Smith or John Richard Smith.

But I don't want that. It has to be John Smith. That's it.

But let's face it. That's not going to happen. John Smith is a way too common name. So I decided to change my pen name into something a little more uncommon. After some thinking, I decided that my new pen name will be:

John Caliburn

That was anti-climatic. Anyway, that is the reason why I'm canceling this blog. It's such a shame after all the work I put into it. But don't worry. I'm making a new blog:

http://johncaliburn.blogspot.com/

This new blog

So come follow me on my new blog

Also, if anyone here follows me on Twitter or Facebook or some other social networking thing, I'm going to cancel those too. Let's face it. I don't spend that much time on those other sites. In fact, they keep me away from my writing. So I think it's a wise choice to just stick with one blog.

So from now on, the only way to contact me is by:

1) email: johncaliburn42@gmail.com

2) comment on my new blog

A million thank yous to everyone who have been following my journey so far. With the completion of my rough draft, I am one step closer to being a published author. One day, I will be a famous writer, and then all of you can say that you were with me since the beginning.

Thank you everybody,

John Caliburn

P.S. - The word Caliburn is the Welsh name for Excalibur.

Fat Vampire

2011-02-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

Fat Vampire is a novel written by Adam Rex

I've read a lot of books. Most of them are good. But every once in awhile, I come across a bad book. This is one of them.

Don't read this book. It sucks (no pun intended).

This novel is basically about a fat kid, named Doug "Meatball" Lee, who gets turned into a vampire. From the title and description of the novel, I thought it would be an interesting and funny teenage angst type of story or something.

So I read this book.

I didn't like it. And here are the 2 reasons why:

1) I did not like the main character, Doug Lee, who all the kids have nicknamed "Meatball". He is a fat, mean nerd (geek, dork, or whatever you want to call it). Normally, I kind of see nerds as the underdog to the story and I want to root for him to get the girl or something. But I hate this guy.

Doug is a mean nerd. He's the type of person that hates getting picked on, so he takes out his frustrations behind other people's backs. He calls them names and says mean things about them to make himself feel better. And he doesn't even realize that he's doing it. Seriously, people around him call him Meatball as a nickname and he hates it. But instead of asking them to stop, he just says mean things about them behind their backs instead.

I know with the concept of a fat vampire, the author was probably trying to make him as far different from the gorgeous Edward of Twilight as possible. But Doug Lee is not a main character that I liked and I just can't root for him as a hero.

2) And now for the absolute worst thing about this novel, which is the ending. I believe that no matter how good the book is, if the ending is bad, the entire book will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

The ending of this book is bad.

From this point forward, there will be spoilers about the ending of this novel. If you intend to read this book, don't read beyond this point.

Now for the ending of this book: ...It has no ending!

Or to be more exact, it has several different endings to choose from. In the final pages of this novel, Doug gets a stake in his heart. Does he die? I have no idea. Because the novel then gives you several different endings.

For example, after he gets a stake shoved through his heart...

-He lives on and marries the heroine

-He continues to live on and becomes a graphic designer

-In a parallel universe, he doesn't get turned into a vampire. He gets turned into a werewolf instead, and the whole novel would be different.

-He can't pull the stake out of his heart, so he files it down until it's small enough to hide under his clothes

-He dies.

-etc....

Now you can see why I don't like this novel. If I were to rate it, I would give it two stars out of five. So if you're planning to read this book, check it out at a library first. I don't think that it's worth buying, but that's just my opinion. If for some reason you might actually like this novel, feel free to purchase it at your local bookstore.

No one likes Short Stories!

2011-01-24T05:14:00.000-08:00

I would first like to say that I love short stories. I've read almost all the stories by Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, etc....

But for the past year or so, I finally started to notice that not many people read short stories. Of course it should have been obvious to me sooner. Most of the books in libraries and bookstores have been novels. I guess I was just blind.

But I really do love short stories, and I don't understand why they aren't more in demand. When you walk down the street or drive in your car, you see all those people rushing to their destinations. Life seems so busy. You'd think more people would prefer to read something that takes up less of their time.

But here's the truth:

Not many people like short stories.

So I asked the all knowing (yet sometimes misleading) internet on why this is. And this is what the people of the internet had to say:

Reasons why people LIKE short stories:

-Novels are too long

-I'm too busy

Reasons why people DON'T LIKE short stories:

-Loves to see how a character will develop in a novel

-Novels have more complex plotting

-I can curl up with a novel and read for hours

-Short Stories are too short. They leave me feeling unsatisfied

-Novels are a great way to escape from the world

-I like to touch Harry Potter's face on the cover of Rowling's novels

-etc....

These are just some of the reasons why people prefer novels over short stories. I guess I can see their point. But it doesn't mean that I have to like it.

Anyway, thank you all for reading my rant about the dying art of short stories. But before you go, I would like you to answer two important questions in the comments below:

1) What would you rather read? Short Stories or Novels?

2) Think of your favorite author. If he or she wrote a short story, would you read it?

(In my research, I noticed that some people will read a short story by their favorite authors, even if they don't like reading short stories in general)

Thank you for your answers!

Sincerely,

John Smith

P.S. - I'm at the library, and someone's phone started to ring. It played a song from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog". ...Awesome!

Shakespeare Undead

2011-01-11T05:12:00.000-08:00

Shakespeare Undead is a novel written by Lori Handeland.

If I were to summarize this novel in one sentence, it would be:

This is a story about a vampire, named William Shakespeare, who falls in love with a human, named Kate,.... while they both fight off an army of zombies in 16th century London.

No matter how it sounds, this is a romantic tale. William Shakespeare is a vampire, one of the undead. And Kate is a chasseur, a huntress who kills zombies and vampires and anything else supernatural. The two meet when they travel the streets of London at night, hunting for zombies which started to appear in the city.

Together they must defeat the zombies and find the necromancer that is summoning the army. Meanwhile, Shakespeare must try to keep his undead secret from Kate, or she'll chop off his head when she finds out. That's going to hurt a lot more than just being kicked in the nuts.

This is a great tale full of romance, sex, blood, zombies, and Queen Elizabeth. How can you not want to read this book?

P.S. - Throughout the book, there have been scenes that vaguely implies that Shakespeare will continue to live on and write other works in the 20th century, such as The Wizard of Oz, The Sixth Sense, Star Wars, etc....

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T01:40:00.000-08:00

Hey there blog readers,

Happy New Year!

I can't believe a whole year went by.

Let's see. I started this blog in April 2010, so it's been 8 months since I started writing my novel. And I still didn't even finish writing the rough draft yet.

So this is my New Years resolution. The next time I write a New Years post on my blog (for 2012), I will have a novel accepted by a publisher.

So wish me luck everybody.

Happy New Year to you all,

John Smith

P.S. - I just realized that today is 1/1/11

End of Nanowrimo!!!

2010-12-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody,

Sorry for disappearing for so long. The internet at my home was cut off, so I had to go cold turkey. No twitter, or facebook, or youtube, or anything. But then I realized that this was a good thing. I could work on my novel during Nanowrimo without any distractions.

But now Nanowrimo is over.

I've managed to write over 56000 words at the end of Nanowrimo! Yay!

Although I've completed this challenge, my novel is not yet finished. I still have a couple of thousands of words to go. But still, I have written more in this one month than the previous six months I first attempted to write this novel. So I'm quite happy about that.

Right now, I'm going to take a break from writing for awhile and start reading some books for a week or two. I am currently reading Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handeland.

But I'll eventually continue to write my novel.

I believe that I will finish the rough draft before February.

Thank you everyone for supporting me,

John Smith

P.S. - I'm sorry, but my posts will be a little sporadic from now on. I will probably only be posting about once or twice a month.

Also, I am currently typing this blog post from a computer at my local library.

NanoWrimo: Day 1

2010-11-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

It's the first day of NanoWrimo! Yay!

So let's start it off with a NanoWrimo song:

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T03:41:00.000-07:00

The only time of year when you're allowed to talk to strangers.

This year I'm going to go as Death (with a scythe). I hope a lot of old people will answer the door when I ring the bell. My little brother is going to go as the Black Spiderman. I'm going to take him around the neighborhood in celebration of this special day!

I'm going to enjoy this day before tomorrow appears on the horizon. Because tomorrow is a special day for us aspiring writers. It's not a holiday. It's definitely not a holiday. It's more like a literary version of a woman giving birth. You force yourself to go through the torture of it so as to create something special in the end. So it's certainly a special day. But it's definitely not a holiday.

So are you writers out there ready for tomorrow. Because tomorrow is NANOWRIMO!

I can already feel the bags forming under my eyes.

P.S. - Even if you're not a writer, you must still prepare for the day after Halloween. Be sure to have an abundant supply of toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, mouthwash, and maybe some Pepto Bismol for upset stomachs.

Draculas review

2010-10-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

Draculas is a novel written by Blake Crouch, Jack Kilborn, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson. They worked together to create this work of horror that I was too afraid to read at night.

This novel is freaking scary and gory, with a lot of bloody scenes. They said that if you're tired of the romantic vampires from Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, you should read this book.

When I heard that, I thought that this novel would have vampires that were similar to the ones from Dracula by Bram Stoker or Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice.

But I was wrong. These vampires aren't sophisticated, or charming, or good looking. If you take away what's left of their humanity, that's the kind of vampire you will find in this book.

I guess they are more like vampire beasts. A more violent, devolved form of vampires.

Their thirst for blood is so addicting that they would feed on each other for sustenance. They would even drink their own blood if the thirst is too strong. Which results in so many gory scenes that will just give you nightmares. Seriously, there is this one vampire child who calls the blood, "red candy". If that doesn't give you nightmares, I don't know what will.

And of course, some of the heroes in this novel is a guy with a big chainsaw, and another guy who has a giant gun collection, in which he named one of his guns, Alice.

If you like horror books with a lot of gory scenes, then I would definitely recommend this book. However, I'm only going to give this book a 3 out of 5, because it had too many B-movie elements in it. Plus, this novel had some silly comic moments that were just unnecessary. Did you really need to write a scene with a vampire clown, or the scene with the vampire amputee in a wheelchair?

But I've got to say that I love how the book ends. Like that scene where the leader of the vampires ...(spoiler...spoiler...spoiler...spoiler).... That was just awesome. I'm definitely going to read the sequel in 2011.

If you love horror novels, read this book. You can buy it as an ebook for only $2.99 at Amazon

Start Over

2010-10-13T07:33:00.001-07:00

After much debate, I decided to scrap my novel and start over. This does not mean that I'm giving up. I'm simply just reassessing my situation.

The progress of my novel has been going really, really slow. It has taken me months just to spit out less than 30,000 words of cow manure. And during those months, I had to battle with writer's block dozens of times... and losing.

So I've been spending this past week researching everything I can to improve my writing, getting rid of writer's block, etc.... And do you know what I've discovered?

Outlines!!!

I have learned that a good, long and detailed outline is a fantastic way to write a novel without writer's block. The outline that I wrote for my novel was only 2 pages long. However, according to other authors, their outlines took 20 to 40 pages to write! As a result, they rarely suffered writer's block.

When I first wrote my outline, I thought that it should be short. It was almost like a skeleton, with barely any meat in the writing. I thought that if there weren't too much details in it, I would be able to easily bend and twist the details of the novel to suit my needs and make any changes along the way.

But according to some other authors, their outlines were really detailed. Because of this, they were able to write a rough draft in less than two months. I'm not saying that it was smooth sailing, but it sure made writing novels a whole lot easier for them.

So I'm going to do the same thing. For the rest of October, I'm going to rewrite an outline that is at least 20 pages long.

My novel may be down, but it will rise from the flames, better than ever.

And when November comes around. Boom! I will start writing my novel during Nanowrimo. I will write 50,000 words in a month (and maybe even more than that).

So wish me luck, because I'm going to need it.

The Versatile Blogger Award

2010-10-04T03:04:00.000-07:00

I have just received "The Versatile Blogger" award from Donna Hole. Thank you, Donna!

I'm glad that someone finally recognized me as a versatile blogger. And by versatile, I mean blogging about a bunch of random topics that only vaguely have anything to do with reading or writing books.

Now to accept this world renowned, prestigious award, I have to:

1) Thank and link back to the person who gave me this award. Thank you Donna Hole!

2) Tell everyone 7 things about myself

3) Pass this award to 15 other bloggers

4) Contact the bloggers that I've picked and tell them about the award

So here are the 7 things about myself that you may not know:

1) I attempted to write my first novel in the summer between 8th and 9th grade. I got to around 60 pages before I got bored with it.

2) I'm addicted to watching web shows like I Heart Vampires and Little White Lie.

3) I don't believe in the Roswell incident, but I do believe that there is life on other planets. I'm not talking about intelligent aliens. I'm talking about alien trees or alien bacteria. Not all life has to be technologically advance.

4) I want to take a trip to London someday

5) I have a phobia of china dolls. Actually, I'm afraid of any inanimate object that looks like a human with staring eyes that never blink. But china dolls are the scariest.

6) I love chocolate. And I also love coconut. So yay for Almond Joys!

7) I want to write a book, but I'm really lazy.

And now to pass on this award to 15 other bloggers (I have such a big heart. It's even bigger than a whale's):

Kiersten (Kiersten Writes)

Jess (Big Deal to Me)

Liz (8 Bit Words)

Julia (Writing Jewels)

Clarissa (Listen to the Voices)

Chelle (The Prairie Library)

Chazz (Chazz Hart)

The Bookish Snob

Stephanie (Natural/Artificial)

Heather (Little Squeed)

Petty (Pen and Paper)

Kah Woei (The Books of My Life)

Misty (Writer's Block)

Missie (The Unread Reader)

Natalie (Between Fact and Fiction)

So thanks again to Donna Hole for passing on this award to me. And a gigantic, whale-size THANK YOU to all of you who read my blog!

John Smith

Back to the Future lesson

2010-09-29T03:59:00.000-07:00

Hey there blog readers,

I've just finished watching Back to the Future (again). When people think of this movie, they usually think of time travel and crazy scientists and stuff. But when I watched it again, I realized that this movie teaches you an important lesson in life.

It taught me that no matter how smart you are, or how talented you are, you won't get anywhere in life if you're not confident.

The character of Marty McFly is someone that hates being called a coward. This is because his father is always intimidated by the bully. Marty's dad is a coward who holds his head down and flinches in fear at the slightest thing. He just sits there and takes the abuse that the world dishes out at him. He's not confident at all.

As a result, their house and life and etc... are just pieces of cow manure.

However, when Marty goes back in time and inadvertently gives his father more self-confidence, he then returns to the future, only to discover his father lives in a nicer house, with a richer life, and he just published a novel (plus the once scary bully is now waxing his car).

This goes to show you that you need confidence to succeed in life. I don't care if you are intelligent or if you have some special talent. If you don't have an ounce of confidence, people are going to walk all over you. You'll just be that cubicle guy who has coworkers making you crunch their numbers so that they can go home and relax, while you stress over paperwork with the janitor pushing a mop around late at night.

So be confident. Don't think about how you might not make it, or how your work might get rejected, or how you'll fail. You've got to believe that the novel/song/invention that you've created will become something big someday. Put your mind to it and make it happen.

Be Confident!

Forever cover!

2010-09-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

I'm a follower of Maggie Stiefvater's blog, and she has just revealed the cover for the third novel of her Wolves of Mercy Falls series! Today!

Here it is:

This novel will come out on July 2011. I can't wait!

The Impotence of Proofreading

2010-09-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

I just found this video, and I think that it really defines how proofreading your words can help improve your writing. And it's super funny!

The (De)Evolution of a Writer

2010-09-24T04:08:00.000-07:00

One of the funniest (and true) writing comics I've ever seen.

If it's too small to read, check it out here

An Abundance of Katherines ... in your pants

2010-09-22T05:28:00.000-07:00

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun-but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predicatability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and may finally win him the girl.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green deals with a character named Colin, a prodigy that's not a genius. After getting dumped by Katherine XIX, his best friend's solution is to take him on a road trip to forget about her. Of course, the majority of the book is not really a road trip. They have to eventually end up somewhere, so they stop at a place called GutShot.

The main character, Colin, is a self-centered smartypants who constantly worries about the future and his relationships with other people. He fears that one day he's going to die and no one will remember him. So, he tries to get a "Eureka!" moment so that he can create something big that many people will remember him for.

Throughout the book, we get glimpses of his past, which shows us why he only dates girls named Katherine. With all this combined, we get a story that is not only hilariously funny, but it also talks about relationships in an insightful way.

I highly recommend this book. Not only will it be an enjoyable read, but you can also learn a few things from it as well, such as:

1) Just because you have a super genius brain, doesn't mean that you will grow up to win the Nobel Prize or something. Most geniuses grow up to be just a simple doctor or lawyer. One even grew up to become a murderer (although they never proved it).

2) If you ever have a child who is a prodigy, don't make him waste his time by learning Sanskrit and other dead languages. It does show off his mental abilities, but in the end, it's pretty useless. He has all this potential, don't waste it.

3) Bees can only sting you once, and then they die. I already knew that. But, thanks to this book, I learned that hornets are able to sting you multiple times without killing themselves.

*I also learned other things from this book, like Thomas Edison didn't technically invent the lightbulb, and that Nikola Tesla once fell in love with a pigeon. But those 3 things I listed were kernels of knowledge that for some reason struck home with me.

Also, here is my most favorite quote from the book: "What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?"

Read this book. You'll love it.

!Nerdfighters!

The Thirteenth Chime interview

2010-09-20T03:35:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Emma Michaels published a great novel called The Thirteenth Chime. She is a blogger who became an author of her very own book (something I hope to accomplish soon). So, I did a post-publication interview with her to find out how it feels to now be a writer.

1) Where did the idea for "The Thirteenth Chime" come from?

A) The Thirteenth Chime was born from a series of small experiences I encountered one night and my desire to write something different from anything else that is currently available on the market.

2) Now that you're published, how does it feel?

A) It is an incredible feeling and although the road was long and difficult, it was worth it! I have learned so much, met so many amazing people and am just loving it!

3) One of the things that make a published writer different from an aspiring writer is the deadline. How does a deadline for your second novel affect your writing?

A) I find that I work best with a deadline. Not only is it easier to keep on track, but it provides me with a bar that I can rise above. I also have a few helpful tools I use including that my plot outline has it set up for how many pages to write a day and I give myself little prizes. (Snacks like a chocolate kiss per page or some dried blueberries!)

4) If you were a superhero, what would your power(s) be and what would be your kryptonite?

A) I love this question!! *laughs* I think my kryptonite would have to be chocolate or writers block! :-)

5) If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A) There are many wonderful places I would love to visit. Currently, it is a toss-up for me between Japan and Brazil. Both countries have so much to offer visitors and are rich in history and culture.

6) Do you ever go back and reread your book?

A) Definitely! I like to go back through my work, especially when I am experiencing different emotions. For me, this will not only allow me to obtain a better grasp on how readers will enjoy the book, but it allows me to write an even better story in the future.

7) If you could ask any author just one question, who would you choose and what would you ask?

A) I would ask J.K. Rowling if she ever had any regrets - not just about her writing, but overall in her life.

8) In the event of your untimely demise, who (any fictional character) would you like to solve your murder?

A) David - he is very intuitive and most likely to give everyone fair perspective while never giving up on the truth. I would want to not only know who killed me, but to understand why it happened and know everyone's perspectives. I feel certain that David is the right choice.

9) Were you surprised at the number of people who bought your book? Or did the numbers meet your expectations?

A) I've actually been blown away as to how many people have not only bought the book, but in how that number is increasing weekly. Although I have not been given an exact count yet by my publisher as even they only find out after a certain amount of time has passed, but we've been given a ballpark figure and I am ecstatic!! Thank you to everyone who has been so wonderful in supporting me and sharing your warm wishes!

10) Is there any advice you would like to give aspiring writers?

A) Never give up! I know the road is a long and arduous one, but it is worth it once you make it here. Enjoy the road because every step you take both pre-publication and post-publication is another opportunity to learn!

Thank you so much John and to everyone reading!!! I appreciate your support and feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people cheering me on!

Sincerely,

Emma Michaels

Thank you Emma for doing this interview with me. I wish you great success in your path as a writer. I can't wait until the next book comes out!

You can find out more about Emma on her blog: http://emmamichaels.blogspot.com/

Watch the trailer for her novel: http://emmamichaels.blogspot.com/p/thirteenth-chime.html

Check out a preview of her novel: http://www.amazon.com/reader/

Concert Giveaways!

2010-09-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I'd gone to the 102.7 Fresh concert, featuring Tyler Hilton, Five for Fighting, and KT Tunstall. While I was there, I managed to get some autographs. So I decided to do a Giveaway! Yay!
The prizes are:

A 102.7 Fresh sticker card, signed by Tyler Hilton

Five for Fighting's latest album Slice, signed by John Ondrasik (singer of Five for Fighting)

*For all those KT Tunstall fans out there, I'm sorry but I didn't manage to get her autograph :(

Anyway, I'm planning to give out these prizes separately, so there can be two winners. So tell all your friends about this giveaway!

To try to win these prizes, all you have to do is earn some points. The more points you get, the higher your chances of getting a prize. Please leave a comment, if you've done any of this:

+1 If you follow my blog
+1 If you follow me on twitter
+1 If you're a fan on facebook
+2 If you tweet about this giveaway (please leave a link)
+3 If you blog about this giveaway (please leave a link)
+5 If you subscribe to my youtube channel
+1 If you add up your points for me (no cheating!)

You can only get a maximum of 14 points (like a sonnet).

Remember to leave a comment with all of your points. Also, don't forget to leave an email address so I can contact you if you're a winner. If you don't feel comfortable leaving your email address on my blog, then email me:

johnsmith00042 (at) gmail (dot) com

Good luck to all of you!

Bran Hambric: The Specter Key trailer!

2010-09-17T02:32:00.000-07:00

Hey there blog readers,

The trailer for Bran Hambric: The Specter Key has come out! This is the trailer for the second novel of the Bran Hambric series written by Kaleb Nation. For those of you who don't know, Kaleb is a blogger/vlogger who became a writer (which I hope to be someday as well). He created this trailer himself, so watch it and enjoy!

Kings of Clonmel

2010-09-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

When mankind seeks protection from the world's many dangers, they put their faith in warriors, kings, gods, and even money.

In the neighboring kingdom of Clonmel, a mysterious cult has sprung up, promising defense against lawless marauders in exchange for people's riches. Their sermons are attracting audiences from miles around, but there's a dark side to this seemingly charitable group, prompting Halt, Will and Horace to investigate. What the trio uncovers could threaten the safety of not only Clonmel, but their homeland of Araluen as well.

The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan is the 8th book in the Ranger's Apprentice series. This book deals with a religious cult that is tricking people with bandits and false gods to get control of Clonmel. They want money and power, so it's up to the Rangers to stop them. This book also reveals the past of one particular Ranger... the famous and mysterious Halt.

You should definitely read this, even if you haven't read any of the previous books in the series yet. This book seems to be the beginning of the latest arc in the series. They will face new enemies, journey through new lands, and meet Halt's twin brother, Ferris, who turns out to be the king. Of course, everyone hates Ferris, but not because he's evil (even though he tried to kill Halt a few times when they were kids). Ferris just comes across as a fat, lazy, and pathetic king, which is a huge contrast to the legendary Halt.

But anyway, read this book. With swordfighting, trials of combat, and past secrets being revealed, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat, with a laptop on your lap, ordering the next book off of Amazon.

Monologue Song (La La La)

2010-09-13T03:57:00.000-07:00

Although I don't watch Saturday Night Live that often, I do sometimes hear about some extremely funny things about it. Recently, I heard of a song played by Taylor Swift when she hosted SNL a few months ago. So I went and checked it out, and it was hilarious!

She played a song called "Monologue Song (La La La)", and if you want to watch her perform this song as well, here is a link.

P.S. - This is a video from NBC's website. It's not a youtube video, so I don't know how to embed it on my blog.

Secondary character is more interesting

2010-09-09T03:59:00.000-07:00

Hey there blog readers,

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I've been writing a novel. Here is an update. My novel is going very slowly, especially since I just found out that my character development sucks. So I've been brushing up on my skills... and I also procrastinated. But now I'm seriously typing away again. And do you know what I've discovered?

My main character is boring.

Not only that, but one of my secondary characters is starting to seem more interesting. There's a part of me that's now thinking that I should rewrite the novel with her as the new main character. But there's two problems with this:

1) This secondary character is supposed to be sort of mysterious, and making her into the main character will put her in the spotlight, which will make her less mysterious.

2) I'm too lazy to rewrite the whole thing, even though I haven't even finished the rough draft yet.

So after much debate, I decided to keep my MC as my main character. However, my secondary character will now start playing a vital role in my novel. Although I hope that my MC will be less boring.

So here's the question to you blog readers. Do you ever get the feeling that your characters are taking on a life of their own? Because there is a part of me that thinks that my secondary character wants to kill my MC and take the main role of my novel, even though she wasn't that important in the first place.

Erak's Ransom

2010-09-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to earn the Silver Oakleaf? So few men have done so. For Will, a mere boy and apprentice to the most difficult Ranger to please, that symbol of honor has long seemed out of reach. If he is to ever earn it, he must prove himself in ways he never imagined.

Now, in the wake of Araluen's uneasy truce with the raiding Skandians comes word that the Skandian leader, Erak, has been captured by a desert tribe. The Rangers, along with a small party of warriors, are sent to free him. But the desert is like nothing these warriors have seen before. Strangers in a strange land, they are brutalized by sandstorms, beaten by the unrelenting heat, tricked by one tribe that plays by its own rules, and surprisingly befriended by another. Like a mirage, nothing is at it seems.

Yet one thing is constant: the bravery of the Rangers.

Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan is the 7th book in the Ranger's Apprentice series. This novel begins with a beautiful wedding, but then it immediately jumps into a journey at sea, and then to a harsh desert adventure (if you're writing a book, this is an example that you should start a book as close to the action as possible, so as to catch the reader's interest). The characters that I've come to know and love are thrust into an unforgiving land. Now they are out of their element as they try to rescue their friend and ally, Oberjarl Erak.

I would recommend this book to anyone, even to those who haven't read any of the previous books in the series yet. This book contains swordfighting, twists and turns, contrast in different cultures, and amazing details about the desert that makes you think that you're really there. This story will take you on an adventure full of suspense and danger. I don't know how many times I wondered if the main character was going to survive until the end of the book. Seriously, go read it.

102.7 Fresh Concert

2010-08-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

So last Saturday I went to the 102.7 Fresh Concert at Eisenhower Park. It was awesome!
They featured Tyler Hilton, Five for Fighting, and KT Tunstall:

Tyler Hilton - I Believe in You

Five for Fighting - 100 Years

KT Tunstall - Black Horse & The Cherry Tree

*My camera is mainly for taking pictures, so the video isn't high quality and the zoom sucks. But the audio is surprisingly better than I thought it would be.

If you can't see any of the videos, click here

Youtube Channel !!!

2010-08-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hey blog readers,

I have recently been watching book trailers. If I publish my novel, I plan to make my own book trailer (once I learn how), and it'll be awesome. But I'm going to need a site to host my book trailer (someday...) and what better place than Youtube. So I decided to create a youtube channel.

Here it is: thelazywriter youtube channel.

* The channel names for "John Smith" and "Bow ties are cool" have already been taken. If you're not a Doctor Who fan, then you probably don't understand what I just said.

I hope that you enjoy my channel, and please SUBSCRIBE.

John Smith

P.S. -- When I read The Hunger Games trilogy, I think that I'm going to review it on video.

Mockingjay!!!

2010-08-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

Finally, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins comes out today!

To be honest, I haven't even read The Hunger Games or Catching Fire yet. I first heard about these books awhile ago, but when I found out that they were dystopian type novels, I was a little turned off by them.

Ever since high school forced me to read books like 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, I kind of started to not like dystopian novels.

But I keep hearing all this good stuff about The Hunger Games trilogy that I now want to read these books. So I waited until Mockingjay comes out so I can buy all three of them at the same time.

If you haven't ordered this book yet, go stop by your local Borders or Barnes & Noble. Or if your eyes are glued to your computer, order it here at Amazon

Once I get my copy of these books, I'll post a review of all three.

Character Development

2010-08-22T01:32:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading my blog, then by now you've already learned how to create characters. If you don't know how to create characters, just click here for my blog post on the subject.

Now that you made your characters, you will now need to know how to develop them. Before, I used to think that the most important thing in a story is the plot. But that's wrong. Great characters are just as important as a great plot (and if you're writing in first person perspective, characters are definitely more important than a good plot). So be sure to develop and make your characters real.

Here are some methods that I use to help develop my characters so that they won't turn out to be flat and boring:

1) I fill out the Nanowrimo character questionnaire. They ask you questions about your characters, such as their fondest memory, their quirks, their insecurities, etc.... (they will also ask you questions about your characters that you will never mention in your book. You should answer those questions anyway because those answers will make the character more real in your mind, so you'll write them in a more dynamic way in your book). If you fill out this character sheet, your characters will become more real.

2) There should be flashbacks about the characters in your story. If one of your characters has a flashback, then that means that the character has a past history. This history will make your characters seem more real. For example, a husband and wife is talking about having children. In the next paragraph, there will be a flashback of that husband as a young boy playing by himself in the backyard. The flashback ends, and the husband tells his wife that he wants a lot of children. This shows that the husband is someone that wants a big family and doesn't want his children to grow up lonely like he did.

3) Write about your character in different situations. If you write a scene where your character is in a birthday party, or a maze, or sent into the future, or etc... then you get to see how your character will react outside of your story. A character shouldn't be a puppet used just to move the plot along. You've got to see how the character will react in different scenarios.

4) Create a short biography of your character from his/her point of view. Make your character describe the important moments in his/her life. Write it so that it seems that your character wrote it in their own grammer, dialogue, and tone that they would use. This develops the character's speaking voice, while at the same time gives you the character's history.

5) Keep in mind that if your character were to die, would your readers care if he/she died? (I recently wrote a short story in which the main character dies. I got someone to read it, and she cared more about what's for dinner than the death of that poor boy). To be honest, my best advice to teach you how to make readers care more about your character... is to read Harry Potter by JK Rowling. Those books can teach you a thing or two about creating characters that readers will care about.

So that's all the advice I can give you about character development. There are probably other tips out there on how to make your characters more real, but I can't keep procrastinating and look over every single article about developing characters. Sometimes the best way to develop your character is to just write down your story.

Happy writing to you all,
John Smith

I Quit!

2010-08-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

Last week, a woman named Jenny announced that she was quitting her job through a series of messages written on dry erase boards, which she photographed and e-mailed out to her entire office of roughly 20 employees. Those photos — and a wildly amusing supposed backstory — have since found their way to the Internet.

Here are those photos:

If any of you here thought that this was real, I apologize. This is a hoax created by the Chive.

I found this post on Rockin Rita and I thought that it was hilarious! So I decided to share it with you as well. For proof that this is a hoax, click here.

One Lovely Blog Award!

2010-08-18T00:20:00.000-07:00

Hi readers!

I would like to thank The Fighter Writer for my second blog award! It's the One Lovely Blog Award!

Thanks for thinking that my blog is... lovely. Weird.
I would have called my blog fantastic, stupendous, life changing, and modest. But I guess lovely is a good description for it too.

Anyway, the rules for this award states that I need to do the following:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are the 15 other blogs that I'm passing the award to:

LadyViolet
The Wormhole
In Which A Girl Reads
The Thoughts of A Book Junky
Musings of A Reader Happy
Stir Your Tea
Ted Cross
Constant Revision
Smash Attack Reads
Reading Teen
Blog with Bite
Small Town Book Nerd
Writing Jewels
My Writing Journey
Raquel Byrnes

Congratulations to you all!

John Smith

The Bold Faced Liar Creative Writer award!

2010-08-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Readers,

Guess what? I just got an award! Yay!
It's The Bold Faced Liar Creative Writer award!

And it's all thanks to RaShelle for giving it to me. Who is RaShelle you might ask?
RaShelle is a gourmet chef that can make Gordon Ramsay cry in defeat.
RaShelle is a negotiator that can convince bank robbers to free their hostages in exchange for a pack of chewing gum.
RaShelle is someone who never needs an umbrella because it's against the laws of physics for rain to fall on her.

But seriously, RaShelle is a creative writer with an awesome blog: http://rashelleworkman.blogspot.com/

...and she can tame dragons with the sound of her voice.

Thank you for the award, RaShelle!

To be able to accept this award, one must now do the following:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to them.
2. Add the award to your blog.
3. Tell six outrageous lies about yourself and one truth.
4. Nominate four creative liars–I mean writers–and post links to them.
5. Let your nominees know that they have been nominated.

Here are my six lies and one truth about myself. Can you spot the truth?

1) I hate coffee

2) Danger is my middle name

3) I once met the Old Spice guy

4) I've seen every episode of Star Trek

5) Dogs bark at me when I wear purple

6) I once went to Stonehenge

7) I have a pet chinchilla

Now to pass this award on to 4 other people:
Cassay
Monica
T.S. Bazelli
J.C. Martin

Congratulations!

Thank you to all who read my blog,
John Smith

P.S. - To be able to write fiction, you must be able to tell a lie.

The Thirteenth Chime!

2010-08-13T01:41:00.000-07:00

Finally, it's Friday the 13th (Aug 13, 2010). Today is the day that "The Thirteenth Chime" by Emma Michaels is officially released! Yay!

Right now, you can hop on over to Amazon and buy a copy of the book. Plus, if you enter the code (before Sept 1st), you can get $1 off the price.

To find out more about this book, click here

Creating Characters

2010-08-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Every plot needs a good character to move the story along. But how do writers create characters? Well, I don't know about other writers, but my style is more plot oriented. I come up with a plot to the story, and then I create a character afterwards to make that plot move along.

For example, if your plot has to deal with killing monsters and vampires, then a kick ass slayer type of character is what you need.
If your plot is about a war of wizards, then maybe an ordinary kid who later becomes a powerful wizard will be the right character for your book.

!Alert! : Creating characters just to move a plot along can make your characters really passive. Readers want to read about a character that takes an active role in the story. So you must develop your characters until they can move around on their own, even if you take the plot away. (This is one of my weak points as a writer. My characters tend to be on the passive side. But I'm learning).

Another way to create characters is to just use a stereotype. There is nothing wrong with using stereotypes in a story. I know that it's a cliche, but some authors do it all the time, especially if they have to write about tons of characters.

For example, a few of JK Rowling's characters in her series, "Harry Potter", are stereotypes. Like, the gentle giant, the wise old man, the comic relief, the friend who would betray, etc... Those types of characters could be found in many other books.
However, I'm not saying that Rowling's characters are just stereotypes. They might have started out that way, but since Rowling is a master at character development, her characters have grown out of the old cliches and become so much more. So a good starting point in creating characters are by using stereotypes.

These are the two methods that I use to create characters. The characters in my novels were created after I made my plot. And some of my characters are just stereotypes, like the goth, the jock, the spoiled rich girl, the comic book geek, etc... (this sounds like the setting of my story is in a high school, but it's not). However, my characters have evolved over the months and years since I first thought of them. And I think that they're great characters, except for the one that I'm going to kill.

So happy writing to all you writers out there,
John Smith

P.S. - After awhile, the characters kind of come to life on their own. Their personality starts to evolve and break out of the stereotype, little by little. But that's okay. Sometimes this could make your character more real and dynamic. So don't try to restrain and force them into the image in your head. You'll be fighting a losing battle.

Flying Monkeys, Please?

2010-08-08T01:43:00.000-07:00

My birthday is today! I'm now 21! And the only thing that I want for my birthday is over 123 flying monkeys (and by flying monkeys, I mean followers) to join my army. Is that too much to ask?

"Fly, Fly, Fly"
-the Wicked Witch of the West

Thanks to all my flying monkeys!

Mockingjay tour

2010-08-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

Are you excited as I am about "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins? The book is set to be released on Aug 24, 2010, and she's doing a tour for her book.

Scholastic has revealed the dates of her tour here.

Is she going to be at a city near you?

My Horcruxes

2010-08-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

If you've read Harry Potter, you'll know that a horcrux is something you put a part of your soul into so that you can never completely die. He who must not be named managed to split his soul and put it into 7 things.

So I'm going to ask you. If you could pick any 7 things in the entire world to make your own horcruxes, what would they be? Mine would be:

1) My laptop

2) One of my Harry Potter books

3) My black/yellow spider hat

4) My left shoe

5) My Ipod

6) Starry Night painting by Van Gogh (because it's surrounded by security, making it hard for my enemies to get their hands on it).

7) A copy of my novel (if I ever get it published)

What would your 7 horcruxes be?

Placeholder Names

2010-08-02T05:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't really been working on my novel much lately. It's not because I have writer's block. I just decided to go back to my outline and change things a little to make the story more consistent. And when I looked over my outline, I came across something I learned awhile back but never blogged about.

So let's talk about character names.

When you write an outline for your novel, you describe scenes and the things that happen. You write about how your main character does this, then he chops off this guy's head, then he goes to have a tea party, etc... You write about many things that happen to the main character.

And your main character is important. Not only that, but all of your characters are important. And so each and every one of them has to have the perfect name for your novel. And what do you do? You spend weeks and weeks thinking of the perfect name. The name that absolutely fits your character's personality.

Let me tell you... this is a waste of time. You might think that you're making progress on your novel, but you're just being lazy. For example, in my novel, I have 6 or 7 important characters. And before I even started writing the novel, I wasted about 2 months looking up names for my characters. During those 2 months, I didn't make any progress on the story at all. And the story is the most important thing.

So don't make the same mistake as me. Focus on the story. But in the mean time, just use placeholder names for your characters. Placeholder names are just any old name you use for your characters. For example, just call your characters "John" or "Sarah" etc.... Any name would do. The point is to not waste time worrying about the names of your characters.

The only time you should worry about those names are when you're doing the final draft for your novel. Otherwise, it's just an excuse to be lazy (which I'm guilty of).

So that's my advice. Focus on the story, and not the character names. Just use a placeholder name in the mean time. Also, don't procrastinate.

By the way, for any future novels I might write, my placeholder name for my main character is going to be "main". Seriously, I'm just going to call him "main" while I write about him.

Happy writing to you all,
John Smith

P.S. - If you want to know the names I've come up with for my characters while I was being lazy, check out my "Works in Progress" tab.

Breaking Dawn... I just don't understand

2010-07-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

So recently I'd got addicted to watching a bunch of web series on Youtube, like "Little White Lie" and "I Heart Vampires". One day, I saw this web series that made a reference to "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer, involving Jacob Black and Renesmee

I then wanted to blog about that same thing, because when I read "Breaking Dawn" a long time ago (before my blog), I had the same opinion.

Even though I'm a guy, I rather like the Twilight saga, although I'm not much of a fan of Bella. When it comes to vampires, I like female main characters to be more like Buffy. Someone who can kick ass, but can still be vulnerable enough to rely on her friends when there's trouble.

Anyway, there are a few things in the Twilight saga that I eventually understood. But there is one thing that I will never ever understand.

In "Breaking Dawn" there is this scene where Jacob falls in love with his soul mate, the one who he will spend the rest of his life with, the love of his life. And that person is Renesmee, a half human and half vampire. Usually that's okay and all. It's very romantic. But Renesmee is a... baby.

Doesn't anyone else think that that's a little disturbing.

It would be like me (for some inexplicable reason) being in a maternity ward and catching sight of one of the babies there, then saying, "she is the one. That baby girl is the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with." I don't know about you, but I find that disturbing on so many levels. But of course, it's okay for Jacob to fall in love with a baby because he is a werewolf. But if a human were to do that... can anyone say pedophile.

I just don't understand. And I don't think I ever will.

P.S. -- I actually looked this up a long time ago when I read "Breaking Dawn". Renesmee is half human and half vampire. There is actually a word for that. She's what is known as a Dhampir.

Hmm.... I might write a novel about a Dhampir someday. Maybe.

Paper Towns ... in your pants

2010-07-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

I've just finished reading "Paper Towns", a YA novel by John Green (one of the vlogbrothers and co-creator of the Nerdfighters).

This books is awesome! It's so awesome that they originally made two covers for the same book when it was first published.

The novel is about this guy, Quentin Jacobsen, who is in love with his next door neighbor, the super unattainable Margo Roth Spiegelman.

But one night, she comes back into his life by climbing through his window, and then convinces him to go on a night filled journey of pranks and adventure. The next day, she disappears, and it's up to Quentin and his friends to go and find her.

On this search, Quentin begins to discover who the true Margo really is. He begins to see that his version of Margo isn't like the one in reality. Margo is a mystery, and it's up to Quentin to solve the mystery if he is going to find her (of course, this search includes a life changing road trip).

So, if you like novels that have depth to them, mixed in with hilarious brilliance, then this is the book for you. Seriously, this novel has everything, including being naked under your graduation robes, peeing in beer bottles, a car accident involving a cow, a rumor about chronic masturbation causing blood to appear in your urine (although it was just a kidney infection), the largest collection of black Santas in the world, etc...

Read this book. It's awesome!

Hoping that you'll like this book,

John Smith

P.S. -- !Nerdfighters!

Don't talk about your novel!

2010-07-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

What are writers? My definition of a writer is a person who has stories that they want to tell other people. Essentially, writers are storytellers (in paperback or hardcover form).

(*Of course, writers should only write stories that they themselves enjoy. But if other people enjoy their stories also, then that's good too).

However, writers tell their stories through novels, and so they have to write those novels. That is why writers shouldn't talk about their novels. Why? Because if writers talk about their novels, they lose the urge to actually write the novel itself.

Here's an example: Let's say that there is this guy (an aspiring writer) who has a story for a novel in his head. Like any writer, he wants to talk to people about this story. So he tells his friends about what happens in the novel; who dies and lives, the evil guy, who falls in love, the exotic places, the twist ending, etc.... Then by the time he sits down to actually write his story into a novel, he loses the urge to touch the keyboard or hold a pen. Why? Because he already told the story.

Writers, once they have a story idea in their head, have an urge to tell that story. And unlike storytellers around a campfire, writers tell their story through novels. So if a writer tells his friends about the story, the subconscious mind of the writer is telling him that he already told his story, so he doesn't need to write a novel to tell his story anymore. So he loses the urge to write.

That is why you shouldn't talk about your novel!

You don't see me talking about my novel or blog about it (okay, I used to do this, but I stopped. From personal experience, I know what it's like to want to tell your story and then lose the urge to write it).

So I apologize to those who support me and my novel, and yet don't know what my novel is about. I only ask that you be patient with me. I will write and publish a novel someday (maybe in a year), and I promise you that you'll enjoy it.

Thanks to all who support me,

John Smith

PS: If you do talk about your novel (which you shouldn't), you should limit it to only one vague sentence:

(*My novel is not a romance and it doesn't have vampires, but it does have a werewolf).

My profile picture is an obvious hint...

I'm sorry, that is all I'm going to tell you about my novel... for now.

What kind of name is Hermione?

2010-07-26T05:11:00.000-07:00

If any of you have been reading my blog, you'll know that I'm a fan of Harry Potter (best books in the world!). So, I kind of pay attention to the things in the Harry Potter fandom, like Wizard Rock. For any of you who don't know, Wizard Rock is a group of different bands that create songs involving anything related to Harry Potter.

This video involves one of those bands, known as "The Parselmouths" ft. Nerimon on guitar. So if you're a fan of Harry Potter, or you just like great music, watch this video. It's awesome!

*This song is slightly insulting to Hermione, so if any of you are fans of her, you better know how to take a joke.

Let the seed grow!

2010-07-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

In a dark and stormy night... sitting in front of the computer, an idea struck you like lighting. It's not just any old idea, it's the idea for the greatest novel in the world. It's so great that you've got to write it down now! .....

!!!STOP!!!

When you've got an idea for a novel, you don't just write it down immediately. You've got to wait and let it grow. Like a seed, you've got to nurture it and take care of it, until given enough of time, it will sprout into a full novel idea.

I believe that once you're struck with an idea for a novel, you have to wait at least six months, before you start working on the novel. Because within that time, your idea will grow and stretch and do the hokey-pokey in your mind. When that happens, the idea will become something even more amazing.

I should know, because the novel I'm writing was pretty much a generic idea when it started out. Now, 5 years later (yes, I've been letting the novel idea grow in my mind for 5 years. And yes, I was procrastinating), my novel idea has grown into something more awesome.

So when you're struck with an idea for a novel, you shouldn't just jump into it right away. You should let it sit in your mind for a minimum of six months. During those six months, you should write down the random ideas that come to you, which can add more depth to your novel. After that, outline those random ideas and then turn it into a novel (I know not every writer outlines his novel before he writes it, but I'm the kind of writer that likes to outline his ideas).

I hope this post was helpful to all you writers out there,

John Smith

P.S. -- Letting the novel idea grow in your head shouldn't be an excuse for you to just sit there and procrastinate. Even though I'm guilty of this, that doesn't mean that you should be too. So at the end of those six months, start writing!

If I Become A Famous Author....

2010-07-17T04:52:00.000-07:00

I recently watched a vlog by Kaleb Nation. He tells us the 5 things that he would do when he becomes a famous author.

So, I'm also going to tell you the 5 things that I would do when I become a famous author:

1) One of my novels will become a movie (the director and screenwriter of "Eragon" will stay far away from it).

2) Get a pet chinchilla, or a hedgehog, or a ferret, or a bloodhound dog, ..... and then I will call him "Watson".

3) Meet other famous authors, such as: JK Rowling, Kaleb Nation, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Stephenie Meyer, Eoin Colfer, Suzanne Collins, DJ Machale, Garth Nix, etc.... and a bunch more.

4) Write an episode for Doctor Who (after I learn how to write a script).

5) Ask for permission to write the next book for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series, and work extremely hard on the book, because Eoin Colfer did a sort of good job, but I think it could have been better.

That's pretty much it. Those are the 5 things that I want to do once I become a famous author. If you guys become a famous author, what are the 5 things that you would like to do?

What is the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything?

2010-07-16T05:22:00.000-07:00

The answer is....... 42

Wow, that was wise and anticlimatic at the same time.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 'trilogy' by Douglas Adams

My twitter account is back! Yay!

2010-07-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

I just got an email today that said that they reinstated my twitter account! Yay!

I'm alive and not suspended! (Happy Dance!)

But I'm going to promise myself not to go on twitter constantly, or I'll just get addicted again.

Time to go work on my novel.

Thanks to the people who work for twitter,

John Smith

P.S. -- Follow me on twitter! Please? I'll be your best friend!

There is a 99.9% chance that the Character won't die, but...

2010-07-15T05:11:00.000-07:00

There are many novels out there that manage to put us on the edge of our seats.

I don't really understand how they do this. In novels, there is a main character. Most of the time, like 99.9% (non-accurate percentage), the main character lives on after the end of the novel. Every reader knows this. However, how is it that the author manages to write the novels in such a way that we, the reader, believe that the main character might die.

Let's use Harry Potter by JK Rowling as an example: Harry Potter is the main character. From the very first pages, we know that Harry Potter won't die. He'll live on after the seventh book has ended. He might get injured and hurt along the way, but he won't die. Let's face it, if JK Rowling killed off Harry Potter in the middle of the story, everyone (including Rowling herself) will be like "I hate you forever, JK Rowling."

So knowing that Harry Potter will continue to live, how is it that JK Rowling and other skilled authors can make it seem like their main character is going to die. We read about how they put their main characters in dangerous situations against powerful enemies, but instead of going, "Don't worry, he'll live", we're more like "please don't die, please don't die, ....." when we read that scene in the novel.

Can someone explain to me how these authors can do that? I know it has something to do with suspense and stuff, but I don't fully comprehend the technique involved. How is it that those authors can reach into the .1% and make us think, even for a second, that the main character is going to die?

If you've read this post expecting an answer from me, you looked in the wrong place. Although I do hope to someday understand the method, right now, I'm still incompetent.

Sorry for the lame post. I'm just typing this, hoping an answer will come to me. Or maybe one of you guys may know the answer and help me out.

Thanks to all my readers,

John Smith

Who do you write like?

2010-07-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to this awesome blog, Cafe of Dreams. And today, there was this fantastic post on that blog. This post had a link that gets you to this site, which can analyze your writing and tell you who you write like. When I tried it, I pasted one page of my horror short story on the site, and it analyzed by story. Guess who it says I write like.

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Yay! That just made my future look brighter. I'm going to go now and work extra hard on my writing!

Who do you write like?

Twitter account suspended!

2010-07-13T08:20:00.001-07:00

For awhile now, I've been addicted to Twitter. But guess what? My Twitter account was SUSPENDED!

I've been using twitter for awhile now, trying to get friends and followers, trying to build a platform of people who would be interested in my novel and stories. So you can imagine how stunned I was when I lost contact with all those people. At first, I was really angry and desparate to get my twitter account back.

But then I realized that this is a good thing (even though I lost hundreds of followers). I was really addicted to twitter. And if you're a writer, that's a bad thing. The blue bird lures you away from your novel, and then weaves a spell of procrastination over you. But now that blue bird is gone, and I can get back to writing. Yay!

Time to get to work.

.............

....Hey look, someone became my new friend on Facebook. I'll just pop over to that site for a few seconds before I get started writing.

P.S. - If I don't get back my old twitter account, I'll just make another one AFTER I finish writing a book.

Ways to overcome writers block

2010-07-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

You're writing your novel and it's coming along great. You type along, fingers flying over the keyboard. But then, it comes out of nowhere... the monster that every writer fears. "Oh no! It's Writer's Block!"

It's coming at you, with its giant stinger ready to paralyze your brain with its neurotoxic chemical, preventing your mind from coming up with new creative ideas. So what can writers do when the monster comes at you. What defenses can writers carry to overcome such a mind numbing attack.

Do not worry, for I am here to load you with my armory of anti-writer's block weapons:

1) Keep on writing your novel and plow through writer's block. If you force out ideas for your novel, you might just be able to force the mind numbing stingers away, which will allow your novel ideas to eventually flow out freely (This rarely works, but try it anyway). Don't think about it, just write and plow on.

2) Write anything. When writer's block hits, try writing other things instead of your novel. Try writing some short stories or poems. Thinking up and writing new stories might spark the creative juices in your brain to think up new things for your novel.

3) Go for a run, or do some sports, or any physical activity that will burn you to exhaustion. Doing all these things will create a spark inside your body. Physical activity pumps chemicals like adrenaline, endorphins, and who knows what else, all throughout your body. All of your body's natural chemicals will rage a war with each other, until they ignite a spark of inspiration that will blow the monster away.

4) Take a break. Go watch a movie, or read my blog, or listen to music, or just sit on a park bench and go people watching. You can even do nothing and just fall asleep. Sometimes all you can do is to distract yourself from the mind numbing stingers and wait for their effects to go away.

5) Run away to another place. Sometimes you just have to run from the writer's block monster. So run away to another place and write. Sometimes changing your surroundings by going to a different place can help (make sure it's a place where you can concentrate on your writing).

6) Drink Coffee. Something as simple as a cup of coffee (caffeine) is the solution to fight off the writer's block monster's mind numbing attacks.

7) Deny everything. Close your eyes and deny that the writer's block monster even exists (I don't think this works at all, but try it if all else fails).

These are only some of the things you can do to defend yourself against writer's block. So if you're a writer, you should no longer fear the moment when writer's block will creep up on you and sting your brain.

*These anti-writer's block weapons don't always work. So prepare for the mind numbing stingers.

Guest Post for Jane Friedman

2010-07-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hey there blog readers,

I just wrote a guest post for Jane Friedman, who works for Writer's Digest. The post is about using poetry techniques to help write your novel.

Check it out here.

Short Stories: A way to overcome Writer's Block

2010-07-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there blog readers,

I'm sorry to say this, but I've got writer's block. So I've been putting my novel on hold for quite awhile. I want to finish my novel, but I can't. The ideas are just not firing in my head. I want to write, yet I can't write my novel.

So I'm going to write some short stories instead.

Just because I can't work on my novel doesn't mean I have to stop writing. I've had a few short story ideas backed up in my head for quite a long while now, but I never got the chance to write them.

So I decided to write short stories as a way to overcome writer's block. By doing this, I've discovered many benefits from writing short stories during my writer's block:

Productivity - I'm going to eventually write and publish these short stories one day, so why not just write them now while my writer's block prevents me from writing my novel. I'm not going to just sit around waiting for my writer's block to end.

Passion - When you spend months staring at the same novel and the same characters, the story begins to look a little dull to you. So if you spend some time away from your novel and work on something new, then by the time you start working on your novel again, you will work at it with a renewed passion.

Creativity - When you continue to write (even if it's not your novel), you can keep your creative juices flowing and stop the right side of your brain from building up cobwebs. Then by the time you're inspired again to continue on your novel, the ideas will explode out of your fingers. You'll be lucky if your keyboard doesn't catch on fire.

Jump Start - Your creative brain is not firing on all cylinders, so maybe if you write short stories, it will jump start those creative cylinders so that it will reconnect your creativity back to your novel. The ideas that fuel your novel will come back quicker and you'll overcome writer's block much faster than simply waiting around for it to end.

These are just some of the benefits that I've discovered while writing my short stories. Of course, you don't have to write short stories to overcome writer's block. There are many ways to get rid of writer's block, and different ways work for different people.

I'm the kind of person that loves to write and I've got some story ideas that needs to be written down. So this method of overcoming writer's block will work best for me, and that's why I'm blogging about it.

On a final note: It doesn't have to be short stories. You can try writing poems, or flash fiction, or even a comedy sketch, if you want to overcome your writer's block.

Happy 4th of July!!!

2010-07-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day everybody!!!

I'm going to take a break from writing today, then go see the fireworks at night.

Tips to get Novel Ideas

2010-07-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few simple tips on how to get novel ideas:

-Sleep a lot. You can only dream when you're asleep

-Go outside and experience the world. You'll probably get hit with something sooner or later

-If you're lazy, then just daydream. You've got nothing else to do

-Talk to a lot of people (or animals, or maybe even inanimate objects)

-Listen to a lot of music or watch a lot of movies

-Try doing some of those writing prompts

-Go on Google Images and just look at a bunch of random pictures

-Remember the words, "What if..."

-Go people watching

Well that's it. Hope you'll think of a great idea for a novel!

The First Step: Light Bulb!

2010-07-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

What is the first step for writing a novel?

It's an idea, of course!

To start a novel, you first need an idea. A spark of inspiration, a seed planted in the soil, a light bulb to brighten up the usual dull cobwebs in your brain. Call it what you will, but you need that idea.

But where do ideas come from? I have absolutely no clue. Some theories say that ideas come from your dreams. Others say it comes from the jumble of thoughts in your head mutating into an idea. While the rest of them say that ideas are inspired by your Muse (mine's on vacation right now).

Wherever they come from, once you have that idea, you have taken the first step on starting your novel.

Hope you'll have some great ideas for a novel

Best Advice for Writing!

2010-06-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

I have looked through writing guides, how-to-write books, writing blogs, etc.... and so far, the best advice that I have discovered is from a youtube video of one of Stephen King's interview. One of the people in the audience asked him what his best advice was for aspiring writers, and his advice was:

To Read Alot and Write Alot!

And this is the best advice for any writer. ...I'm serious. This is the best advice out there for aspiring writers. I know it sounds simple. And guess what? It is simple. This advice is the magic pill of writing. Just because it's not complicated or super specific doesn't mean that it's not really good advice.

I'm willing to bet that most famous writers out there are people who have read a lot of books since they were little kids. Plus, they must have written some stories as well, before they even tried to get published.

Okay, let's break this down:

Read Alot!
-To someday be a great writer, you have to know that you're writing something for other people to read. So, read some other books. Alot of other books. Learn the rules, get in touch with characters, follow the plot, etc... You see, reading is a lot like... umm... I think baseball's a good example. Let's say someday you want to be a famous baseball player. Well, you can't be a baseball player if you've never seen a baseball game in your life and learn the rules of baseball. So, you can't write a great novel if you've never read a novel in your life (and be sure to read a lot of novels!).

Write Alot!
-To someday be a great writer, you also have to write a lot. Practice makes perfect. I'm not going to lie, your first few attempts at writing will probably be failures. Do you think the first stories that Stephen King wrote or JK Rowling wrote was published. They have written stories that the public will probably never see. It's like that baseball example. In baseball, it seems simple because all you have to do is catch the ball, throw the ball, hit the ball, etc... It seems simple, just like writing seems simple. If you've read a lot of books, it would seem like you can write a book as well. Guess what? It's harder than it looks. Again... Practice makes perfect.

Since I believe that this advice is the best out there, I'll type it again:

To Read Alot and Write Alot!

May 25.... Towel Day

2010-05-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Today is Towel Day!

It is on this day, May 25, that fans all around the world can pay tribute to the late, great Douglas Adams.

On this day, fans of Douglas Adams and his 'trilogy' of five books, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, can remember him by carrying around a towel with them. As all fans of the 'trilogy' know, the towel is an important and significant item to a hitchhiker.

(*Anyone who doesn't understand how useful a towel is, go back and read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 'trilogy', especially the third chapter of the first book).

So carry around a towel with you today!

May 11.... RIP Douglas Adams

2010-05-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

For all those who read this blog on this day, May 11, I would ask you to take a moment of silence for the dearly departed, Douglas Adams.

.........................................

One of the greatest authors of all time, Douglas Adams, passed away on this day, May 11, 2001, at the age of 49. For those of you who don't know, he is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is a 'trilogy' of five books (six if you count Eoin Colfer's novel contribution, And Another Thing).

Not only that, but Douglas Adams also did radio, wrote episodes for Doctor Who, made a few other novels as well, and accomplished many more achievements in his lifetime.

I know that Douglas Adams should also be commemorated for others things rather than just his professional career, but honestly, I don't know Douglas Adams at all. I've never met him; and the only thing I know about him is through his work.

Even so, I still see him as a great man. His death left a hole in the literary world, and all we can do now is to take this day and remember him (and pay tribute to him on Towel Day). So (for those who never met Douglas Adams personally) go out there and read or reread his work. When you do, you'll laugh and smile and sort of feel bad for the robot who is older than the universe itself. And during those moments, you'll remember that all those thoughts and ideas that went into his work, that caused you to feel those emotions; they all came from a brilliant and innovative mind.

We will always remember you.

Douglas Adams

Writer

1952-2001

No Time to Read!

2010-04-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

If you love books like me, you know that reading is fun. And as you have fun reading hundreds and hundreds of books, you'll one day come across a book that'll make you say:

"Wow, I wish I can write a book like this."

or

"This sucks. I can write better than this."

And on that day when you say those words, you take the first step. Reading books suddenly isn't enough for you. You'll start having ideas forming in your head, and this tiny urge to get up and start writing those ideas down. Congratulations! You've taken the first step to becoming a writer.

However, as someone who has started to seriously write his first novel, I've got to warn you. THERE IS NO TIME TO READ!

Writing takes a lot of time and effort. In fact, it takes so much time that reading books is barely an option anymore. If you're like me, just because you want to be a writer doesn't mean you want to stop reading books. I still love to read books, but now I don't have any time to read at all.

I've come to realize that it's a small, yet important sacrifice to make. If you're going to write a lot, you can't use your time to read anymore. There is no time to read. So focus your time and effort on finishing your novel.

Hook in your Readers with the First Pages

2010-04-22T00:51:00.000-07:00

I've just looked over the terrible first eight pages of my novel (but that's okay, because I'll just keep on writing forward, and go back to those pages when I start editing my novel).

So I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you what I've learned so far about writing the first few pages of my novel (and from what I've learned from reading other novels).The first pages of a novel are very important, especially for an unpublished, aspiring writer. These pages are the opening hook for your novel, the purpose of which is to immediately draw the reader into your story.

Now, how do you write a good opening hook for your story.......

umm.......

uhhhhh........

I have absolutely no idea how to do this.

The only thing I do know is what I wouldn't like to read as the opening hook for a story. So, in my opinion, don't put these in your opening pages.

1) It can't be slow paced. The beginning can never be slow.

2) There shouldn't be long descriptions of something, like a mountain or the country, that are several paragraphs long.

3) It shouldn't start out as something happening to the main character, but it turned out to be just a dream

4) There shouldn't be a long narrative that contains a character's backstory.

5) Don't start with "Once upon a time...."

6) Don't talk about the weather.

7) And please, no cliches.

At the moment, these are all I can think of. Though there are probably more things out there that you should avoid when writing your first pages.

JUST DO YOUR BEST AND THINK OF WHAT YOU YOURSELF WOULD LIKE TO READ IN THE FIRST FEW PAGES WHEN YOU START READING A NOVEL. That's the best advice I can give you.

(*There are sometimes exceptions to the rule. A few great novels out there began with terrible first pages and was still a success. I can't think of any of those novels now, but I'm sure there are a few out there).

Blockade Billy

2010-04-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

by Stephen King

This novella comes out on April 20, 2010. Go on and read it!

For more information about this novella, click here.

Stephen King is also the author of various other novels (too many to list all of them), like Carrie, Duma Key, and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Morpheus Road: The Light

2010-04-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

by DJ Machale

This novel comes out on April 20, 2010. You've got to read it.

To find out more about the book and also read an excerpt of it, go here.

DJ Machale is also the author of the Pendragon series (which I highly recommend for fantasy/scifi readers). He also wrote other books... which I haven't read (sorry, DJ Machale). Also, he did a bunch of TV shows too, like Ghostwriter and Are you Afraid of the Dark? (which are great shows that I watched when I was younger).

Review: Knightley Academy

2010-04-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

by Violet Haberdasher (her real name is Robyn Schneider)

Before I go into the review, I have two things to say:

1) The pen name Violet Haberdasher makes me think of a purple rabbit for some reason.
2) I don't understand why she needs a pen name. Her real name, Robyn Schneider, is a fantastic and unique name.

Knightley Academy by Violet Haberdasher is a fantastic novel. I would recommend it to anyone, especially those who love the premise of a young boy going to an amazing school and fighting enemies. Sorry if you're thinking of Harry Potter by JK Rowling, but this book has no magic. However, what it does have is chivalry, sword fighting, characters with strength, a touch of humor, mysteries with red herrings, and many more fantastic elements.

This novel is about a boy named Henry Grim who is a simple commoner with a brilliant mind. However, due to some circumstances, he was able to attend the famous Knightley Academy, which was a school only for noble born students. But because of Henry, that tradition is broken. Together with the help of his friends, Adam, Rohan, Frankie (she's a girl), and his tutor, Professor Stratford, he tries to survive school and stop a war at the same time.

If you love stories of chivalrous knights and tales of strong characters who stands up even when society tries to bring them down, this is the book for you.

Although, I still wish there was some sort of awesome, climatic battle at the end. Despite that, the novel did end in such a way that I wish there was a sequel in my hand now.

For more information about the novel, click on this.

Violet Haberdasher, if you're reading this, thanks for writing a fantastic novel.

Also, thanks to those who read my blog, and especially to those who're going to go read Knightley Academy because of my blog.

John Smith

PS: I discovered Violet Haberdasher from Kaleb Nation. They are both funny people who make great vlogs and write great novels.

How to build a Platform for your Novel

2010-04-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

For any of you who don't know, a novel platform is basically a group of people who want to read your novel.

So how do we find these people who want to read your novel? How do we build a platform to support your novel when it comes out?

First off, before you get started, you have to actually start writing a novel. Even if you manage to build a platform for your novel, it means nothing if you don't actually have a novel for the people to read. So write a novel while you're also building a platform (but you should devote most of your time to the novel).

Now that you're writing your novel, let's begin:

There are many ways to build a platform. However, one of the most common and easiest way is to blog it (which I'm doing). When you blog something, anyone in the world can read it. This allows you to get the word out on your novel so that a lot of people can know about it. Blogging is fast, it's free, and you can do it in the comfort of your own room.

The only problem with blogging is that you have to compete with a bunch of other blogs out there. However, you don't have to fight with those other blogs. Instead, you can combine forces and link with each other, which will get your readers to read their blog and also get their readers to read your blog. You can do this by guest posting on their blog and allowing them to guest post on your blog. So go out there and read other blogs and get to know those blog owners. Leave comments on their blogs and email the blog owners. Let them know that you're there and that you're interested in their blog, and that they also might be interested in yours.

Another way to build a platform is social networking. Get a twitter and/or facebook account (follow me), and tell the people on your account that you have a blog. Your friends, followers, and fans will then read your blog and support you. This will spread the word about your novel through the network and get more and more people in your platform.

Well, that is pretty much all I'm doing to build my platform. It's not much, but it's a start.

However, there are still more ways to help build your platform (which I might do sometime in the future).

You can (after you finish your novel) post the first few chapters of your novel for your readers to enjoy, so then they will want to read the rest of your novel.

You can go to school, and libraries, and etc... and talk about your novel (spread the word without the internet).

You can send ARC (advance reader copies) to some people (like famous authors) so they can read it and then review it (hopefully good reviews) and tell other people about it.

You can make book trailer videos about your novel and then youtube it.

In a nutshell, just do everything you can possibly think of to spread the word about your novel. That is how you build a platform.

PS: If you want help building your own platform, then email me so that you can guest post on my blog, or I can guest post on your blog. In other words, we'll link our blogs together, and our readers can read each other's blogs.

What is a Platform?

2010-04-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

A platform is a group of people that want to read a certain book or go see a specific movie or listen to some music or etc....

Let's use a movie as an example. You've just finished making a movie, and you want a lot of people to go watch it. To get all these people to watch it, you have to market the movie. You do this by putting trailers of your movie on the internet and on TV. You can also invite some critics to watch your movie so that they can review it (hopefully good reviews). There are many ways to market your movie so that these people will want to watch it. These people, who all want to watch this specific movie, are your platform.

Because of the marketing you've done to build your platform, these people are all excited about going to watch the movie even before its released. They tell there friends, they twitter and facebook it, they make plans to go see it, etc... The movie has a platform of people that want to see it.

This can also apply to novels as well... if you know how to build a platform for your novel.

PS: If you want help building your own platform, then email me so that you can guest post on my blog, or I can guest post on your blog. In other words, we'll link our blogs together, and our readers can read each other's blogs.

Plan: Write My Novel

2010-04-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, thanks to this blog, I'm able to put my thoughts down and plan out how I'm going to write my novel.

Here is my plan:

(*at this point, I've already outlined my ideas for a novel, so all I need to do now is plan out how to write it).

1) Write a rough draft. At this point, I should already know enough to try writing a novel of my own. I should just stop wasting time reading books and articles on how to improve my writing (let's face it, I was just reading those articles as an excuse for procrastinating). So, I'm going to write a novel straight through without stopping. I'm not going to do anything to edit it yet, or try to fix any mistakes I make. I'm just going to write, and write, and write... until I finish.

2) Building my platform. While I'm writing my novel, I'm going to blog as well. That's because posting on my blog, and doing various other things, can help build my platform. Building a platform takes time, and I've got to start now if I want to get a large enough platform of people to support me when I send out my novel to an agent and a publisher (which can increase my chances of getting published).

3) Research agents, writing tips, etc... Once I finish writing my novel, I'm going to hide it somewhere for a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks. This way, after those weeks are up, I can look at my novel again with fresh eyes (which will help me edit it better when I look at it again). Anyway, during those 6 to 8 weeks, I'm going to research writing tips/techniques that I can learn to improve my novel when I'm editing it. Also, I'm going to look for agents that fit my novel's genre and style, so I can submit it to the agent when I'm done.

4) Edit my novel. Once those 6 to 8 weeks are up, and I've done all my research, I'm going to look over my novel again. I'm going to use all I know and edit, edit, edit. I will fix every mistake, make sure the plot is consistent, and make the characters come to life. I'm also going to get rid of the adverbs. Everything is going to be done to improve my novel.

5) Sending it off... After editing my novel, I will send it off to the agent that I chose. I will submit my novel with a proper query letter and also mention that I already have a platform of people that already wants to read my novel. If the agent accepts my novel, I will work with my agent to further improve on my novel until it shines like a diamond. Once the novel is finished, my agent will send it off to various publishers and hope for the best.

So that is my plan to work on my novel. I'm hoping that this plan will only take a year to complete. And as I work on my plan, I will mention every step I take on my blog, so all of you can support me. Please wish me luck.

Thank you everyone who reads my blog!

PS: I'm going to try not to procrastinate.

The 2 Reasons why I started this blog... Part 2

2010-04-14T14:34:00.001-07:00

Why did I start this blog?

Obviously from the title, there are two reasons. The second reason is Kaleb Nation.

Kaleb Nation, writer of the Bran Hambric series. He is also known as TwilightGuy and ShiverGuy. He is addicted to Twitter and he vlogs alot... I'm starting to wonder if he spends anytime writing his series at all.

Anyway, Kaleb has this amazing website:
http://kalebnation.com/

On his website, he blogs... alot, whether it's about his novels, or his pet chinchilla, or his interviews with other writers, or going on Blogtv, or about Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight series, or etc.... Seriously, when does he ever write his own novels.

Kaleb Nation is the author of Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse and Bran Hambric: The Specter Key and also whatever comes next after that...

However, these books are not what got me reading about Kaleb Nation. Don't get me wrong, his books are great, but what really got me into following Kaleb's blog is that he sometimes talk about his journey as a writer. He often mentions that he had this idea in 2003, and then five years later in 2008, that idea became a novel that was accepted for publication with Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. Then in late 2009, the novel came out and I read it.

Reading about his journey as a writer appeals to me because Kaleb Nation is around my age, and he's publishing a novel, which gives me hope that I can publish a novel as well. So then someday, I'll be able to shout on my blog that my novel got accepted for publication. Someday I'll be able to sign a book deal, and tell people I'll be going on tour, and etc....

Not only that, but I realized that one of the reasons I read his first novel was because I've been following his blog and getting all excited when it finally came out. So maybe, if I start my own blog, I'll be able to connect with people who also loves to read books. In other words, I'm trying to build a platform.

Let's face it; today with facebook, and twitter, etc..., publishers have gotten lazy when it comes to marketing their client's books. Publishers want authors who already have a platform of people who want to read their novels. They have realized that with blogs and stuff on the internet, they can get their authors to help market themselves in a more efficient way that won't hurt their budget (remember: publishing companies are a business too).

That is why Kaleb Nation is one of the reasons I started this blog. I want to follow in his footsteps so that one day I'll be able to publish my first novel. So, please read my first novel when it comes out someday; I promise you won't be disappointed. Also, read the Bran Hambric series by Kaleb Nation. It is a really good fantasy series.

To find out more about the Bran Hambric series, go to this website:
http://www.branhambric.com/

The 2 Reasons why I started this blog... Part 1

2010-04-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Why did I start this blog?

Obviously from the title, there are two reasons. The first reason is Stephen King.

In 2000, Stephen King published an autobiography/writing guide, called On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. After reading this book, I've only got one thing to say about it.... If you ever decide to become a writer but know nothing about writing, then READ THIS BOOK!!! Out of all the self-help writing guides I've ever read, this was one of the most useful books of them all.

This book has three parts in it. The first part is just an autobiography of Stephen King's childhood and his early attempts at trying to get published (his first successful novel was Carrie, which is also a great novel and movie that I highly recommend). The third part of the book is also autobiographical, but this time it's about how Stephen King got injured in an automobile accident, and how he struggled through his injuries and tried to write again. Parts 1 and 3 of the book does not really give any practical writing advice. However, I find it to be very motivational for anyone who is lazy when it comes to writing (like me). When I look at the problems in my life, I realize that they are nothing compared to what Stephen King had to go through when he tried to write. Compared to him, I'm just a big blob of procrastination that can't turn off the TV and sit down and write. So, I'm going to face my small problems and also start writing seriously (hopefully, this blog will motivate me).

The second part of this book is a practical writing guide. This is VERY useful. It teaches you about the essentials of writing a novel; everything from developing your characters, coming up with plots, and fixing your grammer. Most of all, it tells you how to edit out the unnecessary details in your novel. In other words, get rid of those annoying adverbs. Seriously, kill the adverbs.

Writer: Die adverbs! Die! {stab}, {stab}, {delete}, {stab}

Adverbs: No! Stop killing me continuously!

But I bet that many of you are wondering why this writing guide is better than most of the others out there. Well, there are many reasons, but these three are the biggest of them all.

1) This writing guide was written by Stephen King, who is one of the best horror writers in history. He can be compared to other famous writers, like Poe and Lovecraft. So, after all the years of experience and success, Stephen King must know something about writing.

2) Along with his advice, Stephen King also included a rough draft and then an edited draft of his short story, 1408 (which also became a great horror movie). In other words, he doesn't just give us advice on how to write better, he also shows how he does it too.

3) This writing guide only gives us necessary and practical advice. Most other writing guides out there just fills up its page with unnecessary pieces of manure that is just a waste of time. They give out useless information that is not needed, and then give us exercises that most will probably ignore.

In conclusion, read On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King! It's a great book for the aspiring writer.

For more information about Stephen King, go to his website:
http://www.stephenking.com/index.html

PS: If you haven't noticed it yet, at the top of my blog page, it says 'John Smith: On Writing'. I hope that this blog will record all I know about writing, and then one day, like twenty years after I publish my first novel, I will be able to write my own 'On Writing' autobiography/writing guide, which will hold all I know about writing.

First Post

2010-04-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog!

My first post! Hi, my name is John Smith (which is just a pen name, not my real name). If you're a fan of Doctor Who, just like me, you'll understand why I chose 'John Smith' as my pen name. Anyway, welcome to my blog! I hope that you guys will check out this site daily and spread the word about my blog to everyone you know. Follow me as I work towards publishing my first novel.

Thanks to all who love to read and other aspiring writers,

John Smith