First Draft of RESONANCE is Complete

August 26, 2014 -- November 20, 2014

86 days. 300+ hours

126,106 words

250 MS Word pages

RESONANCE is finished.

Now I know those numbers aren't impressive as my 10-day, 140-hour, 151k-word writing sprint back in January 2013 that produced the first draft of Embassy....

....but it's still pretty good.

Now I get to chill for a few weeks. Let my brain unwind. See this with fresh eyes sometime in mid-late December and tackle the beast top-to-bottom. I plan to use a different, more efficient editing method than I used to work on Embassy. Whereas I dug through Embassy front-to-back for multiple drafts, picking out every little thing every time, I'm gonna let some things slide and focus on content for the second and third drafts.

Reason being, I know of a few places where as changed my mind about things a chapter later, or I wasn't satisfied with a section, or I blatantly skimmed through a scene because I couldn't think how to develop it at the time.

But no worries! That's what revisions are for :D

I'm excited to put Resonance out in the world...sometime. I'm planning for an early 2016 release date, (holy cow it's already 2015???), so we'll see how that goes.

So while I'm working on Resonance, you should go ahead and purchase a copy of EMBASSY to prepare for the sequel!

How to Create a Vile Villain

They are some of the most hated characters in stories...and some of the most loved.

They are evil.

They are flawed.

They are plotters.

They are the villains.

As you can see, he has all the makings of a villain.

But what makes a good villain? Who is he? Why is he in the world? What point does he serve?

This post is all about the forces that drive stories forward. As I like to say, "If the antagonist isn't important, then the protagonist isn't, either."


Tip #1. CHOOSE THE FORM OF THE BAD GUY THAT WOULD HURT YOUR HERO THE MOST

Antagonists come in all different forms. Some are a single villain, some are a group of people, and some are abstract ideas that originate in the mind, or circumstances and obstacles the hero must endure.

Villains aren't always people. They don't have to be. An antagonist opposes the hero, so maybe the hero must fight fantastical beasts, or survive a set of physical challenges. Maybe the hero is emotionally suffering with guilt, unrequitted love, or a moral dilemma that tears him or her apart from the inside.

Presentation of the conflict is crucial.

It doesn't have to be another person.

Tip #2. MAKE THE READER CARE THAT THE VILLAIN HURTS THEIR FAVORITE CHARACTER

Readers should connect to somebody in the story. Maybe the hero, maybe the hero's best friend, or teacher, or even the villain. Whoever the reader connects to the most, make them suffer.

Take a look at the last book you read. Notice how the villain might hurt the hero, but it has an effect on everyone else, too. The hero isn't the only one who suffers. Make people care that the villain hurt someone. Maybe readers love the villain and are awed by his power and opposition.

Make that count. Drive it home using emotion. Play the heartstrings of the reader, and they'll love your characters forever.

Tip #3. MAKE THE VILLAIN MEMORABLE

He has to stick in our minds. We have to know WHY he hurts the hero, HOW he hurts him, and WHAT he expects to gain from doing so. Maybe the hero is trying to foil a master plan, so the villain needs to get rid of him in order to rule the world. Maybe the hero is trying to be elected into office, so the villain tries to prevent that from happening so a law doesn't get passed.

Anything. Make it interesting, make it exciting, and make it resonate with the overall story. When it comes to books, we remember characters who gave us butterflies, made us feel sick, or made us angry. Or we felt like they were a close friend and could relate.

If a character can achieve a physical response in our bodies, we will never forget them.

Tip #4. GIVE THE VILLAIN A BACKSTORY

Unless you are making a movie for Marvel Comics, you should know that most villains don't just pop up out of the blue. They have existed elsewhere. You can see how they have shaped the world. There are lasting effects that every character stuffs up in the back of his mind.

Voldemort didn't just come out and attack the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts - he was a major influence in the whole wizarding community for his entire life. From the orphanage, to his years at Hogwarts, to the construction of the Horcruxes and the First War against Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. Voldemort had a presence the entire time, even when he wasn't physically there.

You want most villains to be like that. If nothing else, they should have some relevance to the hero's life and how the hero has shaped himself.

Tip #5. READERS LIKE LOGIC....AND SO SHOULD YOU

I have read one too many stories where a character suddenly becomes the bad guy because his friend accidentally killed another friend, or the girl he loves doesn't like him, so he turns into a supervillain with a vengeance against her boyfriend...who just so happens to be a superhero.

Come on people. Really? No, seriously, really? Was it so devastating that he just had to go off on a murderous streak?

No, and readers know this. They don't want to read some cheesy inciting incident - they want to see the villain develop, or at least understand how he developed. This builds a mutual trust between reader and author, makes characters more believable, and thus makes readers LIKE the story.

If villains like the Green Goblin, Doc Oc, Whiplash (Iron Man 2), and Sandman popped up all the time, NYC would be screwed. At least Loki had a plan. Unfortunately, it included the fatal flaw of many villains these days....

Tip #6. IF YOUR VILLAIN WAGES WAR, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T LET THEM HAVE A "REMOTE CONTROL" ARMY

What does this mean? Let me tell you. In "The Avengers," the fatal flaw was that the whole army turned out to be robotic and by destroying the mothership, the army shut down and the six people fighting aliens miraculously won. Or like in "Battle: Los Angeles," (a movie I personally loved), the drones were powered by the control beacons and LA was saved when Harvey Dent shot a missile at the retreating mothership.

I'm just saying, while these make for cool action sequences, please try not to include that unless robots are literally taking over the world. We as readers don't like seeing something end so easily (if you've read "Inheritance," by Christopher Paolini, you'll agree that King Galbatorix TOTALLY would have won that fight instead of acting like a little girl. Shruikan didn't even try to help).

What am I trying to say? MAKE YOUR VILLAIN STRONG!!! But not invincible.

Tip #7. GIVE YOUR VILLAIN A FATAL FLAW THAT THE HERO MUST DISCOVER

Why are Voldemort's horcruxes so awesome? Because nobody knew they existed. Not even the readers, until the sixth book. Then we found out that three had already been destroyed, one of which we watched get destroyed and had no idea the significance until later.

GENIUS!!! Do that. Surprise the reader. Surprise the characters. Force them to discover the villain's weakness, or a way to fight him.

Everybody is different. Be creative! And if your antagonist is inside the hero's head, have him fight himself. Show us his torture and how he affects everything around him until he is able to reconcile with himself. Self-discovery and inner-conflicts make excellent storylines. Just be sure to wrap it up inside something else, and you're well on your way.

The villain of the story should fascinate us. Make readers fear, admire, or be shocked by him. Give readers a reason to care that the villain is hurting the hero. Give the readers a story why the villain is hurting the hero. People don't want the cheesy stuff. Show them that this guy could hurt them. Create that feeling and people will ask for the sequel.

Check out the follow-up post: How to Create a Magnificent Main Character

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest.

Enjoy this post? Check out these others:

5 Ways to Engage Readers...with Style

10 Effective Writing Rules

How to Create a Magnificent Main Character

5 Query Letter Mistakes You Should Avoid

5 Awkward Things Writers Do (That We Can't Help)

6 Tips to Hook Readers in the First Chapter

Weird Al Yankovic's "Word Crimes"

This should be adopted as the Writer's Anthem. This music video is fantastic and displays nearly every complaint writers and grammar nazis have. Give it a watch!

Why I Don't Plot My Novels

Q: "How can you write without knowing what will happen?"

A: I have a broad plan...sorta.

Everyone approaches writing stories differently. I happen to be someone who can come up with stories better on-the-spot, rather than saying, "Okay, first this, then this, then this..." etc, etc. When I sat down to write Embassy, I already knew the ending. I eventually scrapped that ending and wrote a new one because the overall story changed, but the point is, I had an ending I was working toward.

#1. I CREATE ON-THE-SPOT MUCH MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN PLANNING STUFF OUT.

The first draft was the hardest part because even though I had an end, I still needed to get there. So what did I do? I didn't go to the drawing board and line up events. I didn’t decide what emotions and lessons should pop up where, or what the character arcs would do to the story. No, I took my laptop and wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote and let the story evolve.

Basically, Embassy is a product of whims.

#2. IMAGINATION FIRST, STRUCTURE SECOND.

From where I stand, plotting looks like a cage. I like being free. I don't want to see every mile marker and have foresight of detail. I want to go for a stroll and have a bird poop on my head. I want to trip on a rock, bang my head on a branch, and get my shoe lost in the mud.

My point is, I want the story to surprise me as I write it. Okay, I understand plotting doesn’t show you every…little…detail, but it still shows a lot. You usually know what situations your characters will be in before they get into them. I like to just have things happen.

Quoth the Joker: 'Do I look like a guy with a plan?'

#3. THINGS. WILL. CHANGE.

Remember how I said I knew the beginning and the end of Embassy, and that I just needed to fill in the middle? Well, guess what? I got through the first draft. I got through the second draft. I got through the third draft.

Then something happened as I started working on the fourth draft. THE ENDING CHANGED. And not only the ending, but some characters and even the setting. Four drafts in and the story started rewriting itself. By the fifth draft, Embassy was a totally different book from the one I had written only five months earlier.

But who would have known that all these changes were for the better? Now the ending resonates with the beginning of the book. The settings feel more realistic. The characters are real people. The more I revised Embassy, the more I discovered the story I wanted to tell.

#4. I CAN REVISE AND EDIT ON-THE-SPOT.

Similar to writing on the spot, I can edit on the spot. I don't have pages of notes to look through, or guides to follow. I treat everything independently, then connect them. Maybe that's why I scrapped Part 2 and completely rewrote it. It just didn't fit with the new Part 1 anymore. And don’t even get me started on how much I shredded Part 3.

Sure, outlining stories doesn't set it in concrete. However, many people are afraid to deviate from their original plots, even if the original plot isn’t the strongest plot the story could have. Mine certainly wasn't. So think about how you can change your plot to make your story stronger.

#5. I WANT MY CHARACTERS TO BE IN CONTROL OF THE STORY.

The first and second drafts of Embassy were terrible. Heck, even the third draft. At the time, they seemed great. Looking back…noooooope.

Drafts four and five, however, were a different story in every regard. The characters became their own people. The plot flowed to its own current. My characters asked for freedom, and I granted it to them. Of course, I had to tweak things here and there, but for the most part, their identities were their own.

In the end, the characters formed the story. They wanted something different than I originally did. The ending changed because they showed me what would be effective. Their lives influence the flow and depth of the novel. The characters are in control. (Embassy is a heavily character-driven novel.) This doesn't mean bad things won't happen to them, it means their lives and emotions drive the story forward.

I'm 20,000 words into Embassy's sequel!

I admit: I plotted a bit of the book, but only so I know what dots I needed to connect.

I throw the rest of the story on the page as it comes to me.

What are your thoughts on outlining? Pantser or Plotter?

Enjoy this post? Check out these others:

5 Query Letter Mistakes You Should Avoid

(Most) Self-Published Authors are a Bunch of Whiners

5 Awkward Things Writers Do (That We Can't Help)

6 Tips to Hook Readers in the First Chapter

8 Myths About Writing (And the Truths, Too)

Video Chat Q&A with high schoolers!

On Friday afternoon I had the chance to speak with some of the students in Kansas who read Embassy for their classes! It was a nice Q&A session. Great questions and a bit of discussion about the book! Looking forward to speaking with more classes in the future :D

Wild Giveaway Weekend 1/31 -- 2/2

It's a Wild Giveaway Weekend! I will give a FREE Kindle (MOBI file) or PDF copy of Embassy to ANYONE that likes my Facebook Page or subscribes to this blog and messages me about the Giveaway.

All I ask in return is a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or anywhere else you'd like to share.

More info? Watch my Live TV Interview HERE.

Attacking Myself with Seagulls

It's just like the title says. I did this last spring while in St. Petersbug, FL.

Basically, this is 90 seconds of me coaxing 30 seagulls to swarm around me. They were literally flying right on top of my head, less than six inches away.

And they said writers couldn't be crazy. Heck, if I ever got a professional publishing contract for Embassy, I'd go to the most seagull-infested place in the United States and swarm myself with as many as possible. THAT would be fun.

Does anyone have a fear of birds? This is not for you!

I was interviewed on Live TV last Tuesday! (January 28) I talked briefly about my YA novel Embassy and a bit of the process of writing it.

Check out that video HERE.

10 Creative Writing Tips

#1.  DON'T WAIT FOR INSPIRATION

Yes, I'm only 21 years old, but until last year I was always one to wait for inspiration because I couldn't think of anything to write. But at the end of December, I told myself:  "Write this novel next month."

And that's what I did. I started writing and writing and writing.  The more I wrote, the easier it got.  The easier it got, the more I wanted to write.  Granted, when I say "easy,"  I mean I spent less time thinking in front of a screen, and more time typing and thinking at the same time.  At first it took me about 8-9 hours to write 4,000 words a day, but I increased to a whopping 11,000 words a day!

Because I don't wait for inspiration.  I sit and WRITE until I meet my goal.  Sometimes I blow right on by and keep going.

#2.  DON'T GET DISTRACTED

Easy enough to say...practically impossible to follow.  But by all that is good on this earth, please, please, pleeeaaase avoid distractions at all costs.  Maybe warm up by looking at some writing quotes for motivation, but get off the internet as soon as possible. Hit the "internet connection key" on your laptop (yes, you can turn Wifi off on laptops), and open your book, short story, poem...whatever.

Your brain will feel this one in the morning.

If you are writing a blog, either write it on a word processor first, or force yourself to stay away from other websites.  If you have to be on the internet, take SHORT breaks.

But preferably, don't get online.  Go for a walk, drink some coffee, make a phone call.  Anything.  Distractions are bad unless they're good.  And for most writers, the latter isn't the case.

#3.  DON'T WRITE AT HOME, IN YOUR ROOM, ETC

Why?  Because you do everything else there.  You eat, sleep, clean, use the bathroom, watch TV, cook, socialize...everything.

When I'm at my house, or in my dorm room at school, I cannot concentrate.  I get nothing done.  Ever.  I'm too distracted and end up on Youtube or Pinterest or Facebook, or watching TV, playing games, all that.  So I go to Starbucks.  And what do I do?

Write.

It has a nice view, doesn't it?

99% of the time I spend in Starbucks I spend writing. Write somewhere you can ONLY write.  Make it YOUR WRITING PLACE.  You will be so productive.  I guarantee it.  Make it routine.

Not your house, unless you lock yourself in a dusty attic.

#4.  MAKE A ROUTINE

The only way to get better at writing is to write every day.  No matter if it's a paragraph or 10 pages, GET IT DONE.

Every little bit is progress.  It's a step further than you were the day before...a.k.a. a step closer to your goal.  If it helps you reach your goal, why wouldn't you want it?

So write at the same time, every day.  Avoid switching it up.  You will train your body to settle into this and you will be every bit more productive because of it.  I promise.

Why did I go to Starbucks at the same time every day?  Because that was my routine.  That was my designated writing time. What do you do for classes?  Go to them at the same time every scheduled day.  What about work?  You go to work every day at the same time.  What about breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  They might vary, but still, almost the same time every day.

If everything else fits in so well, why should writing be any different?

#5.  WRITE SOMETHING BESIDES YOUR MAIN PROJECT

Writing in a different style and genre helps you exercise your skills.  Developing this craft is not just learning how to write your book.  It's about learning how to write several.  Blogging, classwork, communication with followers, short stories, and poetry on the side.

Do it.

Create something besides what you are primarily focused on.  Not only will you gain new skills and learn new styles that could help you with different projects, but who knows?  Maybe you'll gain a fanbase.  Followers.  People who WANT to read what you write because you put yourself out there for them.

I think you took my advice too seriously.

Put your dignity aside.  Let people read that chapter, or that poem.  Let them enjoy it and criticize it.  It will help.  You will become better because they will catch things you didn't.  The only thing that is truly impossible is editing a whole book by yourself.  You will miss something.  Guaranteed, 100%.  But other people WILL catch mistakes, and your writing will benefit.

#6.  FORGET YOUR DIGNITY

Yeah, exactly what I just said in the last tip.  Let people read your work.  Let them see your style.  Let them help.  Grow some thick skin.

Come on.  Get used to it.  If you want people to read your work later, why not start now.  Some might scoff, especially if it's a first draft (I cannot emphasize that enough).  IT'S A FIRST DRAFT FOR A REASON.  There are mistakes.  It's not pretty.  At all.  Don't even TRY to tell yourself it is.

Your first draft sucks, but you don't.  You're a writer.  Who put those words on that paper?  YOU.  Not the person who talks about writing a book one day.  They didn't write one.

YOU DID.

So give it to a lot of people who want to read your work.  Different opinions are pure gold.  Here's a trick:  ask people to read for content.  What they think of the plot and events and characters.  They'll give you an honest opinion.

#7.  DON'T EDIT LONG PORTIONS IF YOU'RE STILL WRITING THE MANUSCRIPT

Some people like editing while in progress, and some wait till they are completely finished.  It's a personal choice.  But what I've found to work best for me is this:  If I repeatedly catch myself making an error, I fix it, then go back to random points in the story and fix it.  FIVE MAXIMUM.  Then I continue with the story.

Fixing in pieces lets your mind recuperate. Keep focused on one problem at a time and you'll keep moving along at the same pace.  Sometimes I discover a plot hole, or forget some part of the story's history, and have to search for it.  When I find what I'm looking for, I edit that paragraph, then return to the bottom of the story.

Try to wait a week (or more) after you write the last word before you delve into serious editing.  Your mind will be fresh and mistakes will pop out at you.

#8.  DON'T FORGET TO SLEEP

The worst thing you can do is lose sleep to writing.  Fatigue KILLS creativity.  You'll keep daydreaming.  Yes, daydreaming is good for writers, but not when you should be writing and your mind keeps going blank because you're so tired.

Get some sleep, THEN write.  Maybe write when you first wake up.  Write your dream.  Remember how I said writing in as many different genres and mediums is beneficial?  Writing dreams is the exact same thing.  Besides, our minds tend to come up with some pretty crazy stuff.  Maybe your next novel is hidden in them?

So sleep. You'll feel better, stay productive, and your brain might decide to give you a bestseller as an act of gratitude.

#9.  OBSERVE EVERYTHING AND KEEP NOTES, AND NOT IN YOUR HEAD

Every person you see, every animal walking across the road, every leaf in the wind, dent in the car, and cut on the knee has a story.  Find it.  No, don't go up and ask someone how they got into a car accident unless you really want to, but create a story for everything.  It's there.  Find it.  Make it.  Writers create anyways, so this can help develop more stories.

Don't stalk people.  That's creepy.

Just sit down and watch society function.  Watch workers deliver supplies, or students get their coffee before heading to class.  Write it down.  Your memory doesn't count.  WRITE IT DOWN.  Put your observations in a notebook or iPod or something.  Anything that you can hold in your hands.

"Oh God, what is it like in your funny little brains.
It must be so boring."

Do you want to cut open your head and hold your brain?  No.  So stick the observations somewhere else, because no matter how good your memory is, YOU WILL FORGET someday.  And if you don't, ASSUME YOU WILL.  Got it?

Good.

#10.  DO WHAT YOU DO, AND DON'T LISTEN TO ANYONE ELSE

People will think you're crazy for writing every day.  They'll ask how you have soooo much time on your hands, or that you don't have a life, or any of the other million offensive things they don't realize they're saying (Click here to read 20 Annoying Things People Say to Writers).

Don't pay attention to them.  What do they do?  They have their own set of interests which they make time in their day for, yet they think they can dictate what we do with ours?

I know people who go to the gym at the same time every day.  Cool.  That's what they do.  We take the time to write.  We write books, and those same people might read those books.  If we didn't take the time to WRITE that book, they wouldn't have read it.  Make sense?

So do what you do.  If you enjoy writing, nobody can stop you. Even if the world stripped us bare, we could still close our eyes and think about the same exact things we were writing about.  We would still live our lives...minus the luxury.  We can still tell stories with our minds and voices.  What would other people be?  Lost, or listening to us talk.

Hmm, maybe writers can rule the world!

What else can you do to stay productive as a writer? Comment below!

Enjoy this post? Check out these others:

Why I Don't Plot My Novels

5 Awkward Things Writers Do (That We Can't Help)

6 Tips to Hook Readers in the First Chapter

8 Myths About Writing (And the Truths, Too)