writing

Real Talk, Growing As A Writer

/ S.E. Doster / Leave a comment

Okay, real talk here.

After reading over my first draft of the Alliance #3, I went back to book one to fact check a few things for consistency. I cringed when I read parts of Bloodlines. I won’t say it’s terrible, but it’s my first book and will never be my best. I’m still proud. And, hey, the reviews are strong so people are still enjoying the story despite the imperfections!

When I decided to get serious about writing the Alliance, I was straight out of high school with little understanding of sentence structure. Sad and surprising, I know. I had an imagination and could be descriptive, but I never really learned or retained all the rules of writing. I pretty much struggled throughout high school. I scraped by with low grades, and honestly, I copied off a friend’s paper when I got too behind. I cheated myself out of learning because I felt I couldn’t catch up. I absolutely didn’t learn well in classroom environments.

I slowly improved my writing with the help of some grammar savvy friends. Plus, I read a lot and just paid closer attention to the way other authors wrote. I did my research and got critiques were I could. I kept learning. I’m still learning. I think that’s an important thing to remember regardless of what you’re trying to achieve in life. Never stop learning.

Almost every author I’ve ever loved and followed has said that the first book you write will be crap, so I already knew I couldn’t expect Bloodlines to be perfect. Regardless, I was still shocked at weak description and poor structure.

I’ve learned so much since writing my first novel. My structure has improved and my descriptions are stronger. Drakon is much improved, and I think book three will surpass them all. Hell, the first draft of book three is stronger than the final draft of Bloodlines.

It’s amazing what you can achieve if you don’t give up.

If you read Bloodlines I hope you enjoyed and will give Drakon a chance. The Alliance sequels may surprise you. Click here to see what readers are saying about The Alliance: Bloodlines on Amazon.

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The Music That Fueled The Alliance Part 1

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Some writers prefer quiet and solitude while they write, but I enjoy music for added inspiration. I turn on a playlist at various stages of the writing process. For the brainstorming and early drafts, I do enjoy songs I’ve collected which fit the mood of my current WIP. So, as I continue to hammer out the first draft of the third Alliance novel, I thought I would share the music which played while writing the first two novels. Kicking things off with The Alliance: Bloodlines inspirational music, I’m listening to this playlist as I write this post with all the nostalgic feels.

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The Alliance: Bloodlines playlist:

“End of the World” by Cold

“My Letter” by Flaw

“Strong” by Flaw

“I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace

“Never Too Late” by Three Days Grace

“Animal I Have Become” by Three Days Grace

“Hero” by Skillet

“Monster” by Skillet

“Awake and Alive” by Skillet

“Take Me” by Papa Roach

“Scars” by Papa Roach

“Black Clouds” by Papa Roach

“So Far Away” by Staind

“Fade” by Staind

“Forget to Remember” by Mudvanye

“Becoming the Bull” by Atreyu

“Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed

“Bodies” by Drowning Pool

“Somewhere I Belong” by Linkin Park

“Numb” by Linkin Park

“So Cold” by Breaking Benjamin

 

There were probably more songs than what shows on this list, but these tracks are what remains of the original Alliance playlist. The rest of the songs are for the Drakon playlist which i’ll post next week.

 

 

Don’t Be Scared to Change Your Story

/ S.E. Doster / 1 Comment

I decided to re-write the first chapter of Sacrifice because it’s the only section of the book I’ve been unhappy with. I always grimace when I have to provide that section for queries. Every time I submit to an agent I catch myself saying, “Ugh this isn’t the best part.” Well why isn’t it? Why would I keep an opener that isn’t strong enough to be a good selling point? If i’m not fully happy with the first chapter, why would I expect an agent to enjoy it?

Trust your instincts and don’t be stubborn with your drafts.

If something feels wrong or weak, you can always get another opinion or test a different scenario out.

Ask yourself questions. How could this part be more interesting? What is the weakest part? Is it the dialogue? Are the first few lines not catchy enough?

For Sacrifice, I asked myself what I thought was weak about the first chapter. I asked myself what parts worked and what parts weren’t helping the flow of the story. I came to the conclusion that I had all the information I needed to convey, but I needed to change my execution. I brainstormed different ways I could change the first chapter to better introduce my character. I decided to keep important dialogue bits, but i’m completely changing the setting. Instead of a boring phone conversation, my main character will be on the job and battling a supernatural creature. I’m currently testing different creatures and settings for this particular supernatural encounter.

So remember, don’t be scared to go back and make further revisions to your story. If something isn’t working, it’s best to improve the areas before making the plunge into queries. Sometimes I think we mentally tell ourselves the manuscript is done because we want the story to be finished, but not always when it’s actually a polished final draft. I wish I had thought to fix my “final draft” sooner. Lesson learned. (;

Writing Tip: Play 21 Questions with Characters

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I like to play a little game when new characters pop into my head for a story. Maybe you’ve done something similar with a new friend or romantic interest. I play a game of 21 Questions, but the game doesn’t always require a total of twenty-one. Using more or less questions, you can get to know the characters living inside your head.

Here are 15 fun questions I’ve used, and hopefully you can use these suggestions to inspire even more.

1. How old is he/she and what’s the maturity level?

2. Where did he/she grow up? (Is your character a city loving NYC native? Or from a military family and relocated a lot?)

3. What kind of childhood did he/she experience?

4. What words would you use to describe him/her? (loud, fun, sloppy, clumsy, hermit?)

5. If this was a love interest, what kind of emotional baggage would he/she confess?

6. Biggest fear? (Zombies? Commitment? Heights?)

7. What are his/her strengths and weaknesses?

8. What secrets would he/she keep from friends and family?

9. What are his/her passions? (Art lover? Looking to save the environment?)

10. Favorite food?

11. Optimist or pessimist?

12. Preferred style of clothing? (Casual dresser, dapper suits, or high maintenance always in heels?)

13. If your character could have lunch with one celebrity dead or alive, who might they choose?

14. If your character showed up at a party, how would he/she act? (Would they be the life of the party? Looking for a hook up? Sitting in a corner hiding?)

15. If he/she could travel anywhere in the world, (or perhaps even out of this world) where would he/she choose?

Hopefully these questions helped someone further develop their characters, and feel free to share other questions which might be fitting. I would also recommend keeping character Q&As on file with any other bios or notes you might use.

Hands-On with Dragon NaturallySpeaking Home 13.0

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I’ve always wanted to try the Dragon NaturallyRecognition software, but never had the extra money to invest in the software. I caught the home version on sale for $35 (a normally $99 purchase), so I decided to test out the program. I type really slow and way more dyslexic than I would like, so I thought the software would help me get novels finished faster.

I had the choice of buying the download or having a physical CD shipped to me. I chose the CD option because it came bundled with a headset to use, and I knew the software might not be compatible with my mic. Once the package arrived, I eagerly installed the Dragon program with the simple step by step instructions.

I knew I would have to train the software, and it wouldn’t be perfect and ready to use right away. I prepared myself for that fact. What I wasn’t prepared for was the hours spent raging at my PC while I tried to sync the headset. That’s right, I couldn’t get the program to sync with the headset that came bundled with the software. I spent hours trying to get any mic to sync up with the program, even though the software said that it works with the bundled headset as well as most built in PC mics and many USB connected headsets.

I checked the website for support, but found a forum with lots of similar issues that seemed to be unresolved. Headsets worked with my laptop, but wouldn’t sync with the software. I finally got a gaming headset to work via USB and mix-amp, but then I couldn’t be mobile with my laptop.

I used some time to try out the program, and I attempted to train the software to my voice. The tutorial was pretty in-depth as they walk you through most of the features. Dragon allows voice recognition to turn the mic off, navigate web browsers, and of course creating and formatting documents in word processors. It accepted my voice commands well, but some words it refused to understand even if I spelled them out verbally. However, you could type out and say the words to help the program recognize those words in the future.

In addition to the mic issue, I also experienced a bad lag issue. My laptop was close to Dragon’s minimum requirements, but there was a huge typing delay. I don’t experience any lag with bigger programs like Photoshop, but had major lag with Dragon.

Now I’ve spoken to several authors who tried Dragon, and the census seems to be pretty split. Some swear the program has done wonders for their daily word count and very convenient, and others complain of issues with the software similar to my experience. I returned my copy because the issues kept the program from being convenient for me. My recommendation? If you are still interested in trying the software in hopes of a better experience than I had, I would recommend getting the physical copy instead of the digital download.