Partly thanks to the new year, I thought I knew what I wanted to (and could) get done in 2019. Yet almost any time I tell you all what I'm planning, the road takes a sharp turn ... and the plans change. I think timing is so important when it comes to writing, but I also think it's not entirely in our hands.
As a writer, timing really is everything. It's both a good and a bad thing that the timing really isn't up to the writer. Though it might sound odd to a non-writer ... there's only so much we can do! If you've ever written an essay, I'm sure you know the feeling. Sometimes writing works. And sometimes it doesn't. Timing is everything.
Case in point: I wanted the sequel to Martin Hospitality published in spring of 2018. As in ... 9 or 10 months ago. As it turned out, I didn't even finish the first draft until December 31, 2018. You see where I'm going here?
The timing was not right when I began the first draft. So I took a break and restarted. Even though that was frustrating (as I really did want the series finished), I've had a lot of insights and breakthroughs that wouldn't have been possible if I'd written the first draft sooner than I did.
God knew what timing I needed.
It's important to note that the sooner I learned to be all right with that, the happier I was. Contentment is always a tricky balancing act, and letting go of a vision and plan can be hard. Especially when that plan is your career's timeline. :)
So I really encourage you all to be willing to figure out what works for you. There are times to press on and times to step back. What that looks like for you will depend. But trusting that God is handling the timing is a huge step.
Your readers will understand, truly. At least mine (that would be you) have really blessed me by being patient and still encouraging. Let's be honest ... having people anticipate your next work is both a tremendous blessing and an odd pressure.
And yet, what's meant to happen will happen ... when it's supposed to happen. I'm not saying you shouldn't make deadlines or goals. But remain flexible and open to what God has for your writing. I think we all know that His plans are infinitely better. It's a little harder to realize that He might be behind a case of writer's block.
Write with all of this in mind, and I hope you'll find a little bit of peace and joy in writing again like I have!
Do you work well under pressure? Have you ever had something work out but on a completely different timetable than you planned?
Due to writing a sequel, I forced myself to read the published version of Martin Hospitality a while back. Even though I'll never enjoy reading my own writing, I found a few fun things to do as I read that I recommend every writer do now!
Yes, this assumes you're fine with writing in books. I find it worth it (kind of liking using notebooks), but you could always do it with sticky notes, too, I suppose. Or in a notebook to the side. But trust me!! You don't want to skip these fun and helpful things.
Editing
We all know there are things we'd go back and change. The hardest part for me is not to change everything in word choice and structure. Try to take minimal notes like factual errors, typos, inconsistencies, etc. Must changes. Thankfully, with Createspace it's not hard to tweak your file and re-upload it.
I think everyone edits better on paper! So if you have time, it might be worth ordering a print copy of your final draft and doing this before you publish it. I may start implementing this because it's so helpful.
Note-taking
This is especially helpful for writing a sequel or any other books with recurring characters. How else are we supposed to remember what color so-and-so's eyes were or what mannerisms we gave the 6-year-old? It makes things easier to find if you highlight, underline . . . something. Who wants to spend their days searching through a digital copy of a manuscript anyway?
I kid you not when I say I couldn't be writing a sequel without having done this! Beyond just reminding myself what I've already written, I also found lots of tiny little details that I mentioned once that could be full-blown threads in Book 2. Let's call it accidental foreshadowing.
If you have found a good note-taking system for details like this, I'd love to hear it! I just used a black pen and purple pen and had different underlining methods.
Annotating
This is so fun!!! I'm so glad I did this. Anytime I remembered what made me write something a particular way as I read (the source of inspiration or how it almost didn't make it in), I'd leave a note. I don't want to forget those things! And I get the feeling that they're the kind of things that readers love to know.
I have to say that the idea to do this came from Nadine Brandes. It's so worth doing, though, if only for your own amusement. If you do want to share them, I think they'd work wonderfully as insider's material for a street team or the like. (Again, Nadine is brilliant.)
Have you ever read your own published book or annotated anything? What are your thoughts on writing in books?
If you want more info on what it's been like for me to write a sequel, look for my post as a part of Naomi's Inkling to Write writers' conference! It will containa variety of topics on writing, the publishing journey, and marketing. My post just happens to be titled Slaying the Sequel Monster. ;)
I've recently begun branching into some briefer storytelling niches, flash fiction in particular. A huge thanks to Rosalie Valentine and Just B. Jordan for their encouragement, support, and tips. Overall, I'm enjoying the venture. Here are some of the pros and cons I've seen so far.
Flash fiction is typically considered to be a story under 1,000 words. That's short. For those of you (like me) who can't picture what that looks like on paper, it's around 2 pages. As someone who has only ever created stories on a much larger scale (30k, 80k, and 100k), there is an adjustment to trying out this kind of writing. I've found it to be a mostly positive enterprise.
Pros
punchier because every words matters. It tests your true skills as a wordsmith ... hehe
completed quicker because it can only take so long to write 1,000 words. (OK, so I've spent a month stuck on one ... but still.) Checking that "finished draft" box way sooner is worth it!
edited easier. The entire process is pretty much expedited. Three readthroughs just don't take as long. (Yes, please!)
can be published in other venues like in magazines (check out Splickety Publishing Group) or on your blog.
low investment, high return. I consider it to be a pretty decent test of all facets of my writing abilities and it simply way quicker.
easy way to experiment with new things like a different POV, person, or tense and not get stuck with a bad experiment for 200 pages
great for the "half ideas." You know the ones--the story prompts and Pinterst boards that have no details but are so. cool. Maybe they're not meant to be books!
Overall, it's more poignant and speedy. You understand why it's called flash fiction now, right? The fiction part implies that no manual can possibly be that short, but hey? Maybe flash nonfiction needs to be a thing. ;)
Cons
Trust me, these are hardly cons. More like difficulties. And what writing doesn't have difficulties?
characters have to develop quickly. This isn't a bad thing ... it's just way different than a novel in it's pacing. The character arc(s) is on warp-speed
there's only one theme. You quite simply run out of room for much else. If you're like me and come up with a thousand plot bunnies in the first page ... you'll have to ignore them. Or just ... give them their own flash fiction?
forces words to be important. Not bad, just difficult. It tests editing skills in this way, I guess.
the exact opposite of long-form writing. Duh, right? Flash fiction requires a total mental shift for me as it's either summarizing a lot or focusing in on a little.
not typically for profit. You likely won't be making money off the finished product unless you compile a bunch of flash fiction into a book or win a paid contest.
takes as long to plan as to write. I have a super hard time planning flash fiction at all to be honest. I usually have to start writing to get anywhere so beware over-planning!
I'm not sure why I waited so long to give this a shot. It's not a very high-risk attempt (unlike setting out to write an entire novel ... or trilogy *cough*). And it's FUN. There's only so much room to get bogged down.
Have you tried flash fiction? If not, what's stopping you?! For tips on writing it, try this post that kickstarted me.
Speaking of!!! I'm sharing my first flash fiction piece in my newsletter which will be going out in ten-ish days. It may or may not ... be a prequel to Martin Hospitality? I'm very excited to share it with you all, so go sign up for the newsletter if you haven't! (If you have, I love you.)
My firstborn little book baby is one today! *sniff* Cue all the reminiscing, Q+A, giveaway, sneak peeks, and just about everything else!
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY:
I swear I'm not doing this to be vain xD Those of you who are published will understand just how lovely it is to hear people love your book (especially people whose opinion you value), and I am being choosy and sharing only a few tearjerkers, I promise. ;)
You know, the Martins are my newest favorite fictional family :D ~ Lisa on page 200
How can a person switch favorite characters so many times in a single book?! ~ Kaitlyn K on page 365
There is something so wonderful about this book. I can't even put my finger on it- it's just so pleasing and peaceful. I loved it! ~ Rachel's Bookish World
Miss Abigayle’s writing style has an old-fashioned feel to it that absolutely sucks you into the story while giving you the warm fuzzies. ... This is the kind of story that you want to curl up with and forget life’s problems for a few hours. ~ Ivy Rose
This book is so happy. I just felt bright and uplifted after finishing it. ~ Olivia Rollins
I'm so thankful for all of my readers and reviewers *sniff*
Have you reviewed Martin Hospitality yet? I'm just going to remind you that some of you who "reviewed" on Goodreads have actually only gotten as far as "review to come once published." Which is totally fine! Just a little reminder there ;) I'm also going to throw out there that Amazon is the place to post reviews. As in it helps me a LOT. Even more than Goodreads. So if all of you would copy and past your Goodreads reviews, I would get +30 reviews before the day is over. What are you waiting for?!
THE AWARDS:
Again, I'm not vain ... just insanely proud of this accomplishment! Mainly because I know for a fact there is no. freaking. way my book would have ever done this one its own. Nope. Not even with my help. Soak it in, my friends. You're looking at a supernatural act of God.
On the note of awards, I've been considering putting the award on the cover of my book. There's space, the color is decent, and I feel like it might help catch people's eye?? But I want your thoughts on this! Vote in the poll for me? Pretty please???
THE STATS:
In case you've forgotten I'm a statistics fanatic queen B)
Goodreads:
How many copies printed: 159
(I'm guessing I easily sold 100 if not more of these)
How many Amazon copies sold: 51
Grand total copies in existence: 210
Gracious, that feels like a lot to me. It'll be a while before I can put "Over 1 million copies in print" on the front but that's okay. Maybe my goal for its second birthday? (Kidding, I kid.) xD
I'm pretty sure I remember telling my brother that I'd be really happy if I sold 100 copies in its first year, and I definitely surpassed that thanks to promoting family and friends and some successful book signings. ^.^
The Martin Hospitality e-book will be FREE for the first time ONLY tomorrow Sunday, February 4 in celebration. Spread the word and grab a copy while you can!!
Sign up for my newsletter in the sidebar before the afternoon of Sunday, February 4 to get an exclusive sneak peek at Martin Crossroads (the sequel)! Hint: it involves Farris's siblings ;)
Okay, so I tried to do a spoiler warning for those who haven't read Martin Hospitality, but if you stop listening when I say to you won't be able to hear me end the spoiler warning haha xD SO. Maybe skip around when I say spoiler warning if you're really that concerned? Sorry xP
These questions were so good. SO GOOD! Think I'm exaggerating?
I hope you all enjoyed that! I still don't know how to edit a video so ... yeah. Instead of a blooper reel at the end you get it sprinkled all throughout lest I bore you with perfection xP Thanks again for the terrific questions; I hope my answers met the challenge.
MERCHANDISE:
To say I'm obsessed with the idea of bookish merchandise would be an ... understatement. To say the least. I'm still greatly brainstorming quality, inexpensive things I can offer, so I'd love to hear what you would like to buy. But for now, I can promise you these:
12 different cardstockbookmark - available NOW on my Etsy shop (why yes I did design all of this week ... o__o)
Themed candle - coming summer 2018, courtesy of BookBurn Candles
Magnetic bookmarks - coming ASAP (I've ordered the supplies for these and just have to make sure my plan to make them actually works)
What else? As I said, ideas are welcome! T-shirts, frameable quotes, mugs, decks of cards ...
SEQUEL TIMELINE:
Initially, my hope was this spring. Due to the amount of planning this novel is taking and the fact that I've devoted some of my time to other writing endeavors ... that's obviously not happening. While I would love to have Martin Crossroads out in 2018, I'm not sure how feasible that is ... I probably won't know until I attempt to draft it yet again (which will be soon). At all costs I would absolutely like it to be out by spring 2019 -- 2 years after Martin Hospitality. I'll keep you all posted! And as I said above, you can get an additional sneak peek if you sign up for my newsletter before tomorrow afternoon!
And now for the parting photo:
Thank you all so much!!! I know this is how I end almost every post and video, but I have no words to express how much you all mean to me. If Martin Hospitality could talk, I'm sure he'd agree ;)
Q: Okay, so how much time do you think I spent preparing this blog post? o.o You'll find my estimate next week.
Due to having company in this week as well, here's another quick post. I hope to be getting back to my more substantive ones soon! If I can ever catch up on this year xD
I realized I didn't put many 2017 stats in my new year post or my newsletter, so I hope you like them as much as I do xP
I just barely hit a total of 50,000 pageviews, 40,000 of which were from the United States. Croatia (??) comes in as the second country with 1,980 all-time views, followed closely by Canada with 1,826. A bit of a head-scratcher, but it's nice to know xD My highest viewed month of all time was January 2017 with 3,694 views ... probably due to the fact that Martin Hospitality was *this close* to be released at that point. ;)
As for general word written, I didn't track it religiously, but I'm thinking I wrote about 40,000 toward Martin Crossroads and 52,821 toward Behind the Act. So with my random little story tidbits I scratch down in a notebook and one short story I wrote, we'll say 100,000 words this year! :D
Blog Posts
A grand total of 81 which averages out to be 6.75 a month xD My biggest month was February due to the release of Martin Hospitality and the celebration of my blog turning one. I think my blog posts average around 600 words, so that's another easy 45,000. I ... had no idea it was that much. Maybe next NaNo I'll write a year's worth of blog posts ... just kidding that would probably be awful D:
Survey
If you would be so kind, I'd love to hear your feedback on the blog so I know where you would like me to take it. I mean, it wouldn't exist without you, so I might as well make you happy. ;)
Thanks, everyone! Did you track anything throughout 2017? I'd love to hear!
This week has been crazy, so I'm running a little behind. I think it's a good time to review my goals in 2017 and make some for this year before January gets away from me.
2017
Memorize 36 Bible verses
Hehe ... if you count individual verses I memorized instead of passages, I may have reached 36. That wasn't quite what I set out to do, though. I memorized Psalm 19 and some individual
Read 50 books
I didn't make this one this year; I only read 40 books. I made it to 50 in 2016, but only by binge reading a few children's books. ;)
Make a 2017 playlist
I did this, but I ... didn't keep up with it throughout the whole year :P I love the idea of a song a week, though to look back on.
Write 2 entire drafts
I updated Andora's Folly twice in 2017 (once for publication and once for the paperback release) so that gets me to my goal right there. ;) I also drafted about 40,000 words on the sequel to Martin Hospitality, but it's on hold for more planning. I was supposed to finish the first all of the Behind the Act before the year was over but ended up taking a break for my wrist. I'm guessing I'm around 50,000 words on that one. So two revision draft and two half-written first drafts is my total :P
Use my journals
I journaled my trip to Washington and Oregon this summer. I almost always try to journal my trips, but I'm so horrible at summing things up, that I rarely finish it out. This time I did finish! And I took notes from the OCW conference. In the same journal, I used a different section to journal dreams. That's turned into keeping a brief running list on my phone because again ... it takes me a long time, I'm longwinded, and my wrist is sensitive right now. Other than that, I don't think I started any new journals. I did collect a few more that need a purpose though :P
Attend a writer's conference
Check! I attended the Oregon Christian Writers summer conference in Portland. It was extremely good, so I encourage you to look into it, even if you have to travel like I did. (They have an under 23 discount!) The keynotes of 2017 were Frank Peretti and Tessa Afshar, both of whom were phenomenal. I'm unlikely to attend again in 2018, but I'm keeping it on my radar.
Publish 2 items
I actually did this ... but it feels like so long ago! Martin Hospitality was released February 4. Andora's Folly had a July 29 Kindle release date and a December 9 paperback release. So that's almost three publications since I went through the process that many times. ;)
Now for the 2018 goals!
2018
Poems, passages ... I want to continue to spend more time on memorization. A handful of new things to recite at the end of the year would be a big accomplishment for me!
I'm not sure what I'll have ready this year. A sequel to something, or maybe Behind the Act. Either way, it will be self-published. Publishing is a lot of work, but since I've got drafts in progress, it should be possible? We'll see. :)
2016 // 50 books ... with cheating :P
2017 // 40 books
2018 // 40 books
This year I want to focus on books I own and have never read. I don't want to have to read children's books to make my goal! Hopefully scaling it back a little, I can fit in some more serious books.
I didn't pay enough attention, but I want to make sure I rate and review everything I read this year on Goodreads and Amazon (at least if it's someone with few reviews or someone I know). I know I didn't use Amazon hardly at all this past year. Now I have my own account to review through, but I'll have to see if I can actually get it to let me. You can keep up with what I'm reading and my reviews here.
Okay. This is huge. xD I don't know how many books I've bought over the last two years. It will be good for my budget and my TBR if I don't buy any more for now. So one of my goals is to buy no more than five books this year. No. more. We'll see if I have the resolve to stick to that. Another thing to help me limit myself is that the books I do buy have to be on sale, bought with a gift card, etc. Even Kindle books count toward the five. Pray for my strength of will. This means I should make some good progress on the books I've bought and not read!
I haven't really researched writers conferences for this year or made any solid plans. But I'd like to go somewhere and do something again this year! I don't know if it will be for writing, though. I might take a road trip with the family or do something like that. We shall see!
I really want to play around with my writing some more. Try different POVs and tenses, new locations, and find some things that really work for me. I'm reading DIY MFA right now, and it has a good system for tracking iteration. Wish me luck with that. ;)
I have three sets of Great Courses on writing topics. They're video college lectures, more or less, and I've learned a lot from the one I've nearly finished. I'd like to keep up with them this year with some notetaking so that I can progress and keep up my education. Since I'm not having to do college or anything, I figure it's the least I can do.
Overall, 2017 was a very different year for me, but not a bad one. I'm looking forward to seeing what all 2018 holds. Thus far I'm guessing it will continue to surprise me. Thank goodness it's all in God's hands! What is one of your goals for 2018?
This is a quick update post to give you all the consensus for Matinee Regular's new title and a Black Friday sale for Martin Hospitality!
First up is the title reveal (is that a thing?)! I ran this intricate poll to see what you guys wanted for the title. I got some really awesome feedback ... but it's all a little irrelevant now that I've made my decision xD Because 1) I forgot to ask for names, 2) feedback actually conflicted quite a bit, and 3) some epic person suggested the title I chose. Whoever you are, I am in your debt. So speak up!! :D
I really did value all the feedback I got, though, so thank you to everyone who took time to give me their thoughts. This decision would not have come to be without you all. The new title for Matinee Regulars is ...
Behind the Act
No, this was not one of the poll options. Someone suggested it, and I fell in love with it. Tell me if you suggested it!! It fits so well! You have no idea how good it feels to have this named unless you also have a really hard time titling things xD
For all of you who are still attached to the title Matinee Regulars, that's okay. This is still my matinee book. :) But for hashtagging and all other glorious purposes, Behind the Act is the new official title. And you can all help me smooth the wrinkle over as people learn that it's one in the same. ;)
NOW!I'm running an e-book sale for Martin Hospitality to cover Black Friday. So if you're not a huge shopper on that day (like me), no worries! You don't even have to leave your house!
Martin Hospitalityin e-book format is usually $4.99, but I've got an incremental special running that goes like this:
That's right! On Black Friday, MH is only $0.99. The price increases a dollar a day, jumping back up to full price on Monday.
We all know the cover is pretty enough that everyone deserves to have my firstborn in a paperback. ;) BUT, if you want the chance to make sure the content meets your standards and have a fun read over the holidays, now's your chance! And while you're at it, convince one of your friends to get an electronic copy as well. You can read it on any device with the Kindle app.
As always, thank you guys so much for your support!
Thoughts on the new title? Are you going to share news of the MH sale far and wide?!
As a quick update, I have received FOUR ENTRIES for the signature contest! I'll be posting another character this week, but please remember that all characters are open for the rest of the year! The more the merrier!
P. S. Ivy Rose has surgery today. Scheduled and expected, but keep her in your prayers. Recovery is no fun, especially over a holiday! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
It costs money to enter book awards, so I've only entered a few. Is it bad to say I don't even really remember which ones? Entering Readers' Favorite in April was definitely a spur-of-the-moment decision. But, oh my goodness!!! It was SO worth it ^.^
I decided it was worth the $100 entry fee when Martin Hospitality received a 5-star review from Readers' Favorite that I didn't know was complimentary for entering. Needless to say that review made me very happy! You can read it here. And I thought no more about it.
Then on October 1, an e-mail announcing the winners of the 2017 Readers' Favorite Awards hit my inbox about the same time crazy-excited Hangouts messages appeared from Ivy Rose. She sent me this screenshot:
Martin Hospitalitywon Honorable Mention in the Christian Fiction category!! Yes, there are 140+ categories and therefore a lot of winners. But that made it really hard for me to choose a category! And this is a worldwide competition. One of the most popular there is. So I am beyond thrilled that I made the cut!!
Here's another picture of the announcement ... it's so surreal. You can view all the official winners here.
My primary reward is that I now have two shiny badges that I can share and even put on my gorgeous firstborn book if I feel like it :)
Another perk is that I'm invited to mail them 3 of my books for them to display and potentially sell at their booth at the ginormous Miami Book Fair International ... the largest book fair in the nation. So that's super exciting and I'm mailing them today! I'll take all the exposure I can get. Which means I want to figure out how much press release is complimentary and how much is part of their services for a small fee. At a minimum, my Google rankings should go up!
So I want to thank you all for your tremendous support and excitement. Between Martin Hospitality winning this award, and the drafting of Matinee Regulars going unbelievably well, I feel like my writing career has taken a huge leap lately! And you guys are one of my greatest resources. Please know that I do not take you for granted ;)
Honestly, I don't even know what else to say except ... celebrate with me?!Besides all the loving words you guys will put in the comments (because you're awesome like that), if you feel led to share about this on your social media accounts, please tag me @abitheauthor so I can enjoy them and share them with my followers!!! You guys are the best. It's literally enough that you're just here for me to share this news with because otherwise, I would've exploded! ^.^
Before anything else, Gemma Ebworthy from Martin Hospitality is a mother. With everyone else celebrating Mother's Day by sharing their favorite mothers in literature, I thought I would share something more personal from my own stories. Consider this a little preview into book 2 :)
Farris is only a little baby bean in Martin Hospitality. But I'm enjoying exploring his character in the sequel at the moment. Here's a letter from his teenage self to his mom, Gemma:
Mom,
Happy Mother's Day! You're a really amazing mother, and I mean that. I know you've gotten so much more than you bargained for on the motherhood front, but you've done splendid.
I'm so glad that God stirred your heart so that I am here today, appreciating the fact that you're my mom. You've been putting us first ever since.
I love that you still read us books aloud, kiss us all goodnight, and think of every possible dangerous situation so that we stay safe.
I'm sorry for all the times I was a horrible, obstinate child. However, without my many arguments with you when I was little, I may never have discovered my love for debate and public speaking. So it wasn't all for nothing!
Thank you for shielding me so I could be a child, and for learning to let me go so that I can be an adult. I appreciate your honesty about our past and your confidence in who I am despite all of that.
I know we haven't always seen eye to eye on things, but I love you. You're strong and beautiful and I hope to find someone just like you.
And thanks for the big brown eyes. I hear they're my best feature.
Love from your son,
Farris
~~~~~
I think he turns out pretty well, don't you? :) My own mom and Gemma have several things in common. I hope you all had a lovely Sunday with your mothers!
With Camp NaNoWriMo just around the corner, everyone's scrambling to plot their stories. Maybe you don't ... need to.
I can already hear the cheers from the pantsers and the gasps from the plotters.
While I've always considered myself more of a plotter, my to-do lists began to look like this:
from Dreamstime
I would add things to my lists just so I could have the pleasure of checking them off (especially when I didn't finish some of the larger items).
At that point, planning things is no longer helpful; it was just a tool to make me feel productive, when in fact I was wasting my time and energy. In Michael Hyatt's webinar on productivity, he called "tracking obsessively" a "deadly sin."
I couldn't help thinking as I listened to him that this applies to writing. I have tried to excessively plot my stories and even when I succeed, it's not helpful in the end. I've learned all of this the hard way, and while it's bound to be somewhat subjective, perhaps it will help you weed out some unnecessary plotting.
1 // Characters
Characters are the foundation to any story, so it's very important to have these nailed down. A plot hole dims in comparison to a character with no backstory and depth. My favorite character chart I've found so far is from Jill Williamson of Go Teen Writers. If you need something a little in-depth try this and this from Pinterest.
2 // Trajectory
Especially since I don't plot my entire story in detail anymore, I think it's important to at least know where I'm headed. That's enough for me to get started writing and see where the process of actually writing takes me. This usually takes the form of a chronological sequence of scenes that have popped into my head.
3 // Game-Changing Element
It's nice to know what your plot twist and the climax of your story are before you start writing. That way, you can do foreshadowing and properly build the story around those elements from the beginning. Writing this down longhand in a notebook is usually the best thing for me. Revise it as you come up with developments.
4 // Setting
If it's in this world, this shouldn't take a whole lot of time. Decide what era, and at least what country/state. Do some research on that environment if you need to before you get started. The goal is not to be switching things around too much in the middle of a draft because that makes editing a real pain.
1 // Minor Characters
While you should definitely nail down your protagonist, antagonist, and anyone else you're going to use for POV ... that's about it. The pet dog, mother-in-law, and siblings #4, 5, & 6 have to be vital to the story. As long as you know what makes them vital, there's no reason you have to plan them out any more than that from the beginning.
2 // The Entire Plot
Trust me, I've tried this. I thoroughly outlined the first half of a novel by chapter. It was a stiff and boring outline, but it helped me think through a few little details. After I got past the first chapter, I wrote without ever looking at that outline again. A bunch of bullet point scenes and conversations is enough for me now. You have to be willing to let your mind and story take their own path once you actually sit down to write.
3 // Dialogue
Again, some bullet points of issues you want to be verbally discussed in your book is probably a good idea. That way you don't forget anything. But there's no reason to form a diagram of conversations, because you're not going to follow it. It's a waste of time. You just have to be careful not to give every reply as you instead of as your character.
4 // Themes
This is kind of a halfway one. It'd probably be good to know what one of your themes is going to be. In Martin Hospitality hospitality (generosity, kindness, etc) was a decided theme before drafting. I added stronger threads of grace, forgiveness, fear, finite-ness, trust, & courage than I thought I would once I began writing.
In short, don't overdo it. It's a waste of time if you do. Just make sure you watch for the things you didn't plan, so that you can find them and continue to use them in your story as you write.
~~~~~
What are some things you don't plot? Are you a plotter, plantser, or pantser?? (Obviously I'm a plantser).
Also! The Martin Hospitality Kindle e-book is on sale for $0.99 HERE through March 19th!
Hey everyone! I'm participating in Kendra's Indie E-Con which means the Martin Hospitality e-book is on sale!
Martin Hospitality is usually $14.99 paperback and $4.99 ebook. The e-book is on sale for just $0.99 all the way through March 19th here, so be sure to grab a copy while you can! The voting for the awards it's been nominated for begins March 20th, so give it a read and I'll direct you to the voting location once it's open.
You can find the other awesome books on sale right now on Kendra's blog.
Thank you! I can't wait to hear what you think :)
~~~~~
If you've already read my book, definitely stick around for voting and write me a review on Amazon and Goodreads! What do you want to see in book 2, Martin Crossings? I've begun writing it!
Welcome to the extravaganza celebration! I have been planning this and taking notes on how people celebrate their blog anniversaries since I started a blog. Ignore that I'm still late to my own party nevertheless. This is going to be so much fun.
Before you get started, make sure you play my Spotify playlist in the sidebar for some nice ambiance music ;) Now you may continue.
Before we really get started I want to say a huge thank you to Jesus for laying this on my heart just over a year ago. I always despised the thought of blogging--so much time and having to be nice to people I don't even get to meet! Hehe ... well, here I stand corrected. This has been very fun, so sorry for being a stick-in-the-mud!
I have to blame the amazing Katie Grace, my first online friend, first blogger to follow, and first critique partner. God has forged such an awesome relationship with us. Your blog inspired me to have one, and your help is what got me here! I really have to thank you in person some day ...
And thanks to all of you. What's a blog if there are no readers? A journal. And I really really stink at journaling consistently. You people are the reason I keep coming back. :)
Lots of bloggers give their blog a fresh design for a new year. I wanted to change mine up a little, but not by much. So note the new header and the change of red to an army green. Still not 100% but it's new and I like it for now :) I imagine I will change to a fresh downloadable template at some point. Nevertheless, something fun for the one year mark!
I asked for celebratory photos and my favorite would be awarded a Martin Hospitality e-book! I received several submissions, all of which were awesome (!!!!). I'll list them below before revealing the winner.
How oh how I can I be expected to choose from just two people?! The cruelty. I love that Laura used my cover for her background and my original typewriterly blog font, but I love that Victoria used stats and made it all official. Gr. An e-book for the both of you I say for participating and being so different for one another! Congrats to Laura and Victoria!!
There is still a Goodreads giveaway going on where you could win 1 of 5 signed, first edition paperback copies of Martin Hospitality. It ends in 3 days, so be sure to enter! It is selectively international, but you must 18 or older to enter.
Never fear! I didn't know about the age restriction on Goodreads so I have another giveaway in honor of The Left-Handed Typist's birthday/blog anniversary ... whatever you want to call it. These are 3 separate giveaways and are not international (sorry):
1 // one signed, first edition paperback of Martin Hospitality
2 // two typewriter coasters & three bottlecap world map magnets
3 // one green watercolor notebook (unlined) & one blue watercolor world map postcard
I love stats!! So I'm going to include them all hehe
Number of posts: this makes #89 ........ o.o
Number of followers: 70 GFC, 35 Feedburner, & 23 newsletter ... although I'm sure there's overlap in there ;)
Number of comments: 2,021. Isn't that a beautiful number?! About half of those are my replies
Number of views: 26,256 although that number has already changed. Still. That's a lot. While over 75% of those are from the USA, the next country up is Croatia with 8% followed by Russia with 2.5%. Not what I was expecting.
Your favorite to read: A Vlog and Ramblings with where I shared my first vlog and a few random updates / announcements. Although it only has Jonathan's guest post beat by like ... 6 views I'm not sweating that at all But in all honesty I did suggest the topic of his post to him. He's just good at making things epic. Moving on >.>
My favorite to write: Ehm. The Art of Book Journaling probably. Which reminds me I need to do more of that.
I wanted to introduce something new for this year. While I tried this once before, I didn't really promote it or ever add to it. What better time than now?!
Introducing: writing prompts! Or as my own special line of them will be called #typewriterprompts.
I have 12 I'm introducing here (all free for media sharing and using in writing etc) and I will introduce a new one every month. So I'm revealing a year's supply ;) I'm really excited to give this a shot. Hopefully it will encourage me to write down interesting ideas and give you guys some surges of creativity as well!
I'm also hoping to begin a post series soon on self-publication. I want to know all the specific questions you have for that series right here so that I can tailor this to you.
Aaand as one final announcement, I now blog over at Teen Authors Journal as well. I'm aiming for weekly on Thursdays, so wish me luck and leave me a comment over there!
Hopefully this has been a fun post thus far! Before you go and even if you have participated in nothing so far please, please, pleasepleaseplease take this survey and let me know what changes you would like to see me bring to my blog and the writing world in general. I do this for you guys. Your experience is important to me ;)
Also, post requests and how we met and any other fun facts because I love getting to know you all better!
Sadly I neither created, photographed, or consumed this. But what's stopping us? (Thanks to my sis and myself for all the other pics.) Do take a slice of lemon cake on your way out.
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Thanks so much for partying with me!! I wouldn't still be posting here, loving it despite all odds, and meeting new people with their own awesome dreams if it weren't for you.
