Edits for The Trouble With Demons

They're heeeere! My editor Anne Sowards sent me her editorial notes for The Trouble With Demons -- editorial notes being her suggestions for "making the book even better." Click on the link to go to Anne's page on Penguin's website. My editor is absolutely adorable and delightfully quirky. ; ) And for a peek into what Anne thought after reading TTWD, she said that "your readers are going to have a ball with this new adventure; I know I did." One of the many great things about Anne is that we have exactly the same vision for my books and characters, so all of her suggestions for improving it were right on target. I'll be working for the next two months to get the edits done and the final manuscript back to her by the end of August. For all of you soon-to-be-published authors, that's the average length of time for an author to get the edits done -- two months. You gotta work fast and work hard. But not to worry, your editor will be there to bounce ideas off of.

Today we start a couple of days (or maybe a week) of playing "Cast My Characters." We did it before with the MLTF characters (see "Fun Stuff to Read" for the links to those posts), now let's have fun with the new characters in A&M. If A&M were made into a movie, what actor do you see playing which character? We had a blast with this last time; join in the fun again! For today's blog, which actors should play Rudra Muralin, Carnades Silvanus, and Banan Ryce?

Now I'll need some help with Rudra Muralin and Banan Ryce, because while I know what they look like, I don't have a specific actor in mind to play them. For Carnades Silvanus, I had him cast the moment I saw Jason Isaacs in The Patriot. His character in that movie was a British officer who took sadistic to a whole new level; he was evil for the fun of it. But I simply love Jason's cold, aloofness for Carnades Silvanus.

So, who do you think should play Rudra Muralin and Banan Ryce? And I am open to other choices for Carnades Silvanus . Let me know what you think.

Lisa

Tomorrow we'll cast Archmagus Justinius Valerian and Sedge Rinker (the chief watcher).

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Joss Weldon (Serenity, Firefly, and of course Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has an amazing new project. It's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion. The link will take you to the official site and just scroll down to the trailer that you just gotta see!

You regular readers of my blog know that in addition to being a wonderful actress, Felicia Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Guild, Monk, and much, much more) is also is a big fan of Magic Lost, Trouble Found and Armed & Magical. Too cool! And this season, she'll be appearing in an episode of House -- I love that show. And should Joss decide to come calling, Felicia would make a fabulous Raine. So if you're reading this, Joss -- all you have to do is call my agent. ; )

And Felicia, Happy Birthday!

Enjoy the trailer, everyone -- and your weekend!
Lisa

And be thinking of who you would choose to play Rudra Muralin, Carnades Silvanus, and Banan Ryce. On Monday we start playing "Cast My Characters!"

Do author cover quotes increase book sales?

**Today is my 300th post -- cool, huh?**

Author cover quotes are a staple of the publishing industry. For newbie authors, a quote/blurb/recommendation (call it what you will) of a famous or well-known author can be like catnip to readers who are fans of that author's work. Though once you've won a major literary award, or made a bestseller list -- these can carry more weight than the author quote. I just love the sound of "New York Times bestselling author Lisa Shearin" -- I ain't there yet; but hey, a girl's gotta have a goal. ; ) Then there's a snippet from a particularly juicy review from a known and respected publication like Publisher's Weekly. That also has clout on the bookshelf.

Do any of these make you pause and pick up a book? And if so, which one is more impressive?

As I mentioned in Wednesday's post on the importance of a good book cover, my agent Kristin Nelson recently did a series of blogs on the buying habits of readers (and did a survey of her own). In her Monday, June 16 post, she referenced an article in which Zogby International, in conjunction with Random House, did a survey on current readership. It includes stats on how and why readers shop, and more importantly what makes them buy.

More than a third (35%) said they have purchased a book because of a quote from another author. That's pretty significant.

When I go into a bookstore, I usually have a particular book (or books) in mind that I want to buy. But as we all do, I scan the shelves, and if something catches my eye, I'll pick it up. One of the things that catches my eye is if I see an endorsement from one of my favorite authors.

For example, a few years ago (back when I was a "pre-published author") I was in my local B&N scanning the shelves, looking for something new. I spotted Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy. The cover was cool, but what snagged my attention was the blurb on the cover from Jim Butcher (as you regular readers know, he's my fav fantasy author). If figure if Jim likes it, I might like it. I picked it up, read the synopsis on the back, scanned the inside -- and boom, bang -- the book came home with me. A cool side story is that Catie Murphy loved Magic Lost, Trouble Found and part of her author quote is on its cover. ; ) Thanks Catie!

So whether it's a cool cover, a quote from a favorite author, an award, or a bestseller list -- anything that gets a potential buyer/reader/future fan to pick up your book is a good thing.

Coming up tomorrow: It's usually a photo, but this week it's a teaser trailer, and it is AWESOME. Drop back by tomorrow to watch it; you'll love it!

Coming up beginning on Monday: We did it before with the MLTF characters, now let's have fun with the A&M cast. If either MLTF or A&M were made into movies, what actor do you see playing which character? We had a blast with this last time; join in the fun again! For Monday's blog, which actors should play Rudra Muralin, Carnades Silvanus, and Banan Ryce?

It's Friday; we made it!
Lisa

My book, the movie

No, Peter Jackson hasn't come calling yet. "My book, the movie" is the name of a cool blog that asks authors if their books were going to be made into movies, who would they cast in the leading roles? Screenwriter Marshal Zeringue runs the blog as well as several others including the Campaign for the American Reader -- a site to encourage people to read more books. Gotta love that!

My first casting choice for Raine is actress Felicia Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Guild, and coming up this season, she has a guest role on House -- I love that show.) Her blog (The Flog) is on my daily visit list.

You may have noticed that Webmaster Todd now has the "Shop for Gear" button/link up on my home page and my blog page. Click on it and you'll be taken to my online Cafepress store -- Raine Gear. T-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, mousepads, pillows, hats, bags, and more. Have fun browsing!

Tomorrow's topic will be on whether author cover quotes increase book sales.

And starting on Monday and probably running through next week will be Round 2 of "Cast that Character." We did it a few months ago with Magic Lost, Trouble Found, now we're going to have fun casting the characters in Armed & Magical. If Peter Jackson did come calling, who would be your suggestions to play my characters? And we'll be covering both books. Think about it this weekend and be ready to play come Monday morning.

For Monday's blog, who would you suggest to play Rudra Muralin, Carnades Silvanus, and Banan Ryce?

Lisa

The importance of book covers

I decided to revisit this topic because my cover artist Aleta Rafton has a brand new website. If you haven't already, go take a look. Fantastic work!

All of us have favorite authors, and when one of their books comes out, we go to the bookstore and buy it. But what about those times when our fav author is "between books" and we're on the prowl for something to read, something new from someone new. Unless you've had some "must read" recommendations from your book buddies, you're on your own.

So what do you look for when you're cruising the shelves? Something that catches your eye, right? And in my opinion, nothing grabs attention like a good cover. In fact, it's critical.

My agent Kristin Nelson recently did a series of blogs on the buying habits of readers (and did a survey of her own). In her Monday, June 16 post, she referenced an article in which Zogby International, in conjunction with Random House, did a survey on current readership. It includes stats on how and why readers shop, and more importantly what makes them buy. What's interesting for my post today is that according to the survey 52% of book purchasers are swayed by cover art. That's a lot of folks.

We all have our cover preferences -- that cover style that tells us "this is your kind of book, buy it now!" Ideally, the cover conveys the type of book it is, the tone and target. The type of book (epic fantasy, urban, paranormal, etc.). Tone -- meaning serious, light & fun or somewhere in between. The target for cover art is its target audience, and a publisher's art department and marketing people work with the cover artist to include elements that people who buy that kind of book will find irresistible. It's an art. Kudos to the designers and artists.

I find my covers irresistible and utterly charming. Aleta rocks! At the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Pittsburgh in April, I took part in the Giant Book Fair. I had 48 copies of my books (24 of MLTF and 24 of A&M). In approximately a two-hour period, I sold all but six copies. I had so much fun. But relating to today's post, a lot of shoppers would walk by my table and stop in their tracks to look at my covers. Whether they loved them or not isn't the point -- they stopped and looked. And I sold a lot of books. Part of that may have been due to my dazzling salesmanship (modest clearing of throat), but the truth is I had a great time. And I'd like to think that my covers catching readers' attention had a lot to do with my good sales. Though two little words in my sales pitch might have had a wee bit of influence: "hot goblins." ; )

If I were a reader cruising a bookstore shelves, my covers would definitely catch my eye. They just say "fun," which is exactly what the books are. They're exactly the kind of books I'd want to read, and if I were a reader and not the author, I'd snatch them off the shelf in a hearbeat. Others find my covers cheesy, but still loved the book. It's all about preference. One person's fabulous is another person's cheesy.

Tomorrow I'll talk about the importance of author quotes on a book's cover.

Lisa

Happy 1st birthday to my blog!

A year ago today, I made my first blog post! To celebrate, I bought my blog a tiny birthday cake (it was delicious!) ; ) It doesn't seem like it's been a year already. I didn't think I'd be able to blog every day. I told my husband that I didn't have that much to say. He laughed. He was right -- get me started talking about books and writing and I just won't shut up. ; ) Thank you to all of you who have made it so much fun for me!

Coming up this week: The importance of book covers and author endorsements.

Have a great one!
Lisa

My cover artist's new website

As many of you know, the cover artist for my books is Aleta Rafton. There's nothing like an eye-catching cover to grab potential readers' attention when they're browsing the bookstore shelves. And Aleta did an awesome job on my covers. Now she has a website to showcase her work. Later this week, I'll have a post on the importance of book covers and author endorsements.

And for those of you who didn't get around to visiting this weekend -- my Cafepress store is now open for business! Webmaster Todd will be putting a button on the home page for ease of access. All profits from the store will go toward website maintenance and keeping the store stocked with cool stuff. In the next month, I hope to have prints and posters of the map of Raine's world in the store for you. And with each new book will come new products.

Drop in tomorrow for a milestone in the life of my blog.

Lisa

The Cafepress store is now open!

Yep, it's me proudly wearing my new "Raine Gear" from Cafepress. (Yeah, I know it's a hokey name for my online store, but I liked it. ) As always, you can click on the pics to get a better look -- at the shirts, not me. Trust me, there's nothing to see there. ; )

Here's the link to the store: http://www.cafepress.com/lisashearin

It's open and ready for shopping! Webmaster Todd will be putting a button on the home page for ease of access. All profits from the store will go toward website maintenance and keeping the store stocked with cool stuff. In the next month, I hope to have prints and posters of the map of Raine's world in the store for you. And with each new book will come new products.

I am tickled to death with the designs! I owe a huge thank you to Elyse (super spouse of Webmaster Todd) -- you rock! And the folks at Cafepress came through with flying colors: The quality of the products is outstanding. Plus, I ordered on Tuesday, my order was shipped on Wednesday, and I got everything on Friday. Derek took the pics after 6 p.m. on Friday (yep, it's a little too dark to get a good look at the hat, but trust me, it's nice.)

When you go into the store, you can either browse by product, or by design. As far as the shirts go, I went with a regular t-shirt, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a ladies tank top, and a baseball jersey. The designs Elyse did for the shirts will work on any of the adult t-shirts and sweatshirts -- so if you live in Alaska and need a sweatshirt now (Hi, Kimber An!), just email me and I'll make one and stock it in the store for you. Or if you simply must have a pink ladies t-shirt that says "I (heart) Tam!" or "I (heart) Mychael!" I'll make one for you. It's your store and I want you to be happy with it. If one of Elyse's designs will fit an item, I'll put one in the store for you. Just email me.

(Clears throat tactfully) BTW -- None of the designs will fit Cafepress's thongs. ; )

Have fun browsing/shopping and let me know what you think!

Lisa

Writing in first-person vs. third-person

***UPDATE: My Cafepress stuff arrived today, and Derek says it looks great! So tomorrow's Saturday Fun Pic will be a photo of me modeling the goodies I ordered. And I will be opening the store for business. The link will be in tomorrow's blog entry.

I've had a reader ask about the increase in fantasy novels written from the first-person point of view (POV), rather than in third-person. Trend or coincidence? And does one POV have advantages over the other?

I've written five books so far -- two were in third-person (they're in my office closet and are going to stay there), the other three are in first-person (two are in bookstores, one is with my editor.)

Every author has their preference. Though for me it's not preference, it's what I can do and what I can't do. Some writers are fortunate (and talented) enough to do both. I'm not one of them.

In the 80s I read Eddings, Feist, and Brooks -- all big, epic series -- all written in third-person. I loved them; I wanted to write one. I wrote two. They both sucked. They even bored me.

I started reading other genres: mysteries and detective novels. I read Robert Parker, Raymond Chandler and Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. All written in first-person. I particularly loved Archie, who was Nero Wolfe's assistant. He was smart, street-savvy, snarky -- and funny. I got back to the keyboard and started a new book: a quasi-traditional fantasy, but with modern overtones and speech. I liked it; I hoped that eventually I could get an agent and publisher to like it. Raine was born. And I've been writing first-person ever since. I love the intimacy and immediacy of it -- one person, one point of view, right here, right now. Simple, uncluttered and direct. Just like the detective novels I love.

That could by why there seems to be a trend toward first-person: some of the most popular urban fantasies have one main character with a "supporting cast." That main character very often has a "detective-like" job: seeker, bounty hunter, vampire hunter, paranormal investigator, wizard gumshoe. Kind of an updated take on the fantasy quest novel. But those epic fantasies are still out there, they're going strong, and gaining readers.

Urban or epic. First-person detective or a Cecil B. DeMille-cast-of-thousands epic -- it's all a matter of preference.

Interview: There is an interview with me posted today over at Marshal Zeringue's site Author Interviews. Enjoy!

Coming up: For tomorrow's Saturday fun pic, the website of a fabulous fantasy cover artist -- mine. ; ) And next week, the importance of book covers, author endorsements, and more.

Happy Friday,
Lisa

Cool book news and Cafepress store update

First the cool book news. Yep, the photo above is of the map that I drew about 12 years ago and an artist friend of mine, Shari Lambert, embellished. You've seen the map before in my blogs -- and now you'll be seeing it in my books. ; ) (You can click on it to see a larger version.) I sent a JPG of it to Anne Sowards, my editor at Ace Books, and she showed it to their art department. They loved it and want to use it. I have a few updates to make to it (after all I drew it over a decade ago), and then I'll send the map to New York so the art dept. folks can scan it for use in The Trouble With Demons. Also, in the next month or so, I'll have prints and/or posters of the map available for sale in my Cafepress store. (Some of you have expressed interest in getting your hands on a copy.) I have to get my photographer Jimmy Alllen to work his magic before I can upload the map to Cafepress for sale.

Speaking of the Cafepress store (which I've named "Raine Gear"), I finished "building" the store this weekend, it's stocked with over 100 products, and it's almost ready to be opened for your shopping enjoyment -- hopefully within the next few days. I placed a "test order" on Tuesday. The ordering process was amazingly easy. And best of all, I was stunned to get an email yesterday saying that my order had been shipped. A one-day turnaround -- I was impressed. As soon as I get my goodies, and confirm that the product quality is up to my standards, I'll open the store. (I want to make sure that you'll be pleased with whatever you order.)

When I open the Cafepress store, I'll announce the link here and on my Yahoo Group, Raine's Rangers. Webmaster Todd will also put a link on my website homepage.

Coming up: Writing in first person versus third person, and the importance of book covers and author endorsements.

Lisa

Doing major rewrites -- Oy vey

Today I'm answering another of your questions. By the way, keep those writing-related questions coming. I love getting them. : )

Revisions and rewrites -- they sort of sound the same, but they're not. Not by a long shot. In my opinion, revisions are a step or two above tweaking. A rewrite is just what it sounds like -- taking the editing chainsaw to your work to fix some serious issues (aka screw ups). If you're a writer, you've experienced that moment when you realize that your precious project is a skanky, stinky pile of tripe. Believe me, I've been there and had to fix that. It ain't pretty, but it's intensely satisfying once the dust settles. So let's put on our haz-mat suits and wade in.

Sometimes your agent or editor will find where your plot train derailed, but it's best if you discover it yourself to avoid the embarrassment of either your agent or editor having to bear witness to your author "duh moment." Your gut will usually tell you if your plot derailed. Big clues are characters behaving uncharacteristically and more than a few chapters that don't propel your story forward. In the past, this was what has clued me in that all was not well. But sometimes that observation comes from a trusted member of your critique group, beta reader, or just a good friend who will give you an honest assessment, even if it's brutal. Those friends are good friends -- keep them.

Once you realize that you've screwed up, don't dive in immediately, even if you're on deadline. Your subconscious needs a few days to work on the problem. I've generally gotten feedback from my editor on a Thursday or Friday. I think they do that on purpose. It gives the author the weekend to absorb and ponder the suggestions -- and to get any freaking out done by Monday morning, so they can respond in a sane and professional manner when they send that email or make that phone call.

Once you're past the freakout stage, it's time for you to do your own brutal assessment. Sometimes having a friend/beta reader/agent/editor point out where the mistakes are is enough to make you immediately see the big picture, know what you have to do to fix it, and generally just smack yourself in the forehead for being so dense as not to have seen it in the first place. Sometimes major surgery isn't necessary; sometimes it is. Regardless, you have to get your emotions out of the way, look at it from a dispassionate point of view (I know it's not easy), and disect the work to find the best way to fix it -- not the easiest way, the best way. The way that is going to give you the best book possible. Then you roll up your sleeves, make a big pot of coffee, and fix the problem.

Coming up tomorrow: Cool book news (it's something a lot of you have been asking for) and a Cafepress store update.

Lisa

Raine's adventures -- enough for prequels or sequels?

As I've said before, Raine's world is big; there's new new characters and situations introduced in each book. So when I complete the Saghred story arc, or at least when the rock ceases to be the center of attention, there's more than enough intrigue and action to keep the series going under full steam. ; ) (And no, I don't know how many books it will take to wrap up the Saghred story line. Though in the next year or so, I should know.)

Here are some projects that are simmering on my brain's "back burner" that take place in Raine's world:

• A Raine Benares novelette (definied as between 7500 and 17,500 words) or maybe a novella (17,500-40,000 words) because I'm long-winded. It would take place when Raine first met Tam. That plotline wouldn't be the main core of the story, but it would be an integral part. It would be Raine at work as a seeker, she'd be on a case, and it would directly involve Tam -- the mysterious new stranger in town. Ideas are starting to come to me and I'm writing them down. I think it'd be a lot of fun.

• Short stories featuring either Raine, Tam, Mychael, Piaras, or Phaelan. Each of these characters have stories of their own (both past and present) that could make fabulous short stories. If the timing was right (aka if I wasn't in the middle of writing a book), I'd love to have a story in an anthology.
  
• As more of a Young Adult novel, I think it could be fun to do a book (or books) with Raine and Phaelan as teenagers growing up in Laerin. Phaelan's getting a start on his career as a pirate, and Raine's magic/seeking skills are beginning to manifest themselves. She signs on as an apprentice with Rami Perrin (who will be mentioned in Armed & Magical). He's one of the best seekers there is--but not exactly what you'd call an upstanding, law-abiding citizen. The young Raine stumbles onto her first case, and naturally gets in over her head.

Of course, all I could do for any of these is take notes at least until I'm finished writing Bewitched & Betrayed (aka Raine Benares Book 4). And I'm hoping that Raine's adventures will be able to continue -- I already have sections written for Books 5 and 6. So if there's someone you know who you haven't told about Magic Lost, Trouble Found or Armed & Magical -- please tell them. The more books I sell means the more books my publisher will want to contract me to write. So if you haven't, spread the word. ; )

Coming up tomorrow: I'll tell you how I do major book revisions. And on Thursday, some cool book news. ; )

Have a great one!
Lisa

A meeting with an editor or agent -- The Movie

I came across this clip again, and it's too hysterical not to share. Nothing like starting a Monday morning with a laugh & snort.

WARNING: If you're drinking coffee/tea/carbonated beverage, swallow it before viewing the clip.

Disclaimer: The agent/editor in this clip is NOTHING like my simply marvelous agent and editor. ; )

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zo1XFz0kac0

Coming up tomorrow: I'll talk about rewrites, and on Wednesday I'll tell you how I do major book revisions.

Lisa

My office & closet -- clean and organized

Well, my office and closet space is now clean and organized. I didn't post before pics of my closet because I'd already thrown all of the contents out in the floor before I thought to photograph the chaos. The first three pics below are the closet. Before, I had stacks of old cardboard boxes, and a lot of stacked papers and old manuscripts. The old manuscripts/page proofs/galleys are now in the plastic storage bins in the bottom of the closet (organized by book, of course). My collection of computer cases is on top of that, and the shelving is there to give some order to everything else. It works for me, and I'm very pleased with it.

The fourth photo is my office before the cleaning/organizing, the last photo is the splendid aftermath. Now I can work in there. ; )

Have a great weekend!
Lisa

What I'm reading now & cool news

First the really cool news -- Magic Lost, Trouble Found is about to go back on the presses for a third printing! *huge happy grin* Thank you all for buying my books -- you're awesome!

What I'm reading now: As many writers can attest, when you've been writing fantasy (or whatever genre you write in) non-stop for nearly a year, the last thing you want to pick up for your post-book fun reading is more fantasy. Don't get me wrong, I adore fantasy or I wouldn't be writing it, but when I finish writing one, I want to read something else. For me, that something else is usually a mystery, thriller, or crime caper. Kind of like cleansing the literary palette, and giving my muse something different to play with.

Last week I re-read Donald Westlake's Put a Lid On It -- a fun, smart, quick-paced, snappy dialogue crime caper. I love this author's books.

I'm finishing Jayne Ann Krentz's Sizzle and Burn. I've never read one of her books before, and I really like her writing style. This is a romantic paranormal and the third book in her Arcane Society series. I love a good series, it'll keep me in reading material for a while. ; )

I'm about to start Steve Berry's The Venetian Betrayal. Likewise, I'm a first-time reader of his, the story sounds great and I really hope I'm gonna like it.

I'm always open to suggestions of books to read. Let me know some of your favorites.

Coming up: Stop back by tomorrow for the Saturday Fun Pic, and next week I'll talk about doing rewrites, do I have enough backstory for prequels?, and more.

Happy Friday!
Lisa

Happy Birthday to me!

Break out the black balloons, I'm 45 today! : )

At the ad agency where I work, we all get our birthday as an extra vacation day. Cool!

I just got back from the DMV -- it was time to renew my driver's license. Oh, the unspeakable joy. Actually, the people working at the DMV were wonderful -- every last one of them that I dealt with were amazingly cheerful. I guess when you work somewhere with clientele who get cranky standing in long lines, or pissed because they didn't bring the right paperwork, etc., you learn to go with the flow. I had to take the eye/road sign test. I aced them all until I got to those danged yellow signs with no writing on them. I'm expected to know from the shape of the signs what picture/words would be on them. I'm a writer -- I don't do pictures; I need words. There were three signs: the first one was kind of iffy for me, the second one I got right immeditately, and the third one I had no freaking clue. Fortunately the guy behind the desk had a clue, and he graciously gave me one. Signs identified, test passed. Yes! He had a fabulous sense of humor; I guess he's used to dealing with dim people like myself. ; )

Tonight Derek and I are going out to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant, and then we're going to Lowes to spend the rest of my gift cards on more closet/office organizing stuff. Woot!

Today, I'm going to get out in the yard as soon as I finish posting this blog and plant some flowers (before it gets hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk). I need to go find my big hat. Then I have some writing business stuff to take care of, then it's either a nap or reading, or read then nap. I'm sure the dogs won't mind keeping me company while I snooze.

Coming up: Doing rewrites, do I have enough backstory for prequels?, and what I'm reading now.

The birthday girl,
Lisa

Why I love "gray" characters

*** Blogger has been experiencing problems with FTP posting for the past day. This is why I'm posting so much later than usual. ***

To answer another question that one of you sent in: With all the intrigue in my books with complex characters, do I have a soft spot for devious, gray area characters?

Yes.

The world isn't black and white (as much as some people try to tell themselves otherwise), and neither are we. Even the most evil person (or character) has some redeeming quality or at least some quality that is less than pitch black, or has a justifiable reason (even if it only exists in their own mind) for what they do. And the most noble or innocent character probably harbors some not-so-innocent thoughts in the shadowy corners of their mind. This is what makes characters real; it makes them jump off of the page -- it makes us as readers care about them. We want the evil ones to get what's coming to them; and when that happens in a book, we have a sense of satisfaction, feel vindicated; in short, we cared what happened.

The other day I started to read (or tried to read) a thriller. The plot was fresh, sounded really cool, as did the characters -- until I got into it. I waded through the first 40 pages then I had to put it down; I couldn't go any further. I really tried to give this book a chance, but it just wasn't working for me. I even flipped through the rest of the book and read sections in case it got any better. It didn't. Truth is, I put it down because I had no emotional stake in the story -- I didn't care at all what happened to the characters. I wasn't drawn in. I couldn't identify with them.

That being said, giving characters dimension beyond their "type" (good & noble hero) quite simply is what makes a character real. Real people are made up of black, white, and gray. A noble character may want to be good, but might be waging an internal struggle (brought on by a conflict with another character or an event that happened to them) that makes them want to do something that they know is not right. But what is wrong in some circumstances is understandable and perhaps even the right thing to do in another situation. As readers, we respond to characters who we can understand and identify with. People who, like us, struggle with decisions and choices. Get that kind of character on your pages and you'll get readers who care and keep coming back for more.

Coming up: Doing rewrites, do I have enough backstory for prequels?, what I'm reading now, and tomorrow I have the day off from my day job. In tomorrow's blog I'll tell you why.

Lisa

Getting through a book's murky middle

I've heard it said that the only part of a novel more difficult than the middle is the beginning and the end. Amen.

Most of us know how our books start, and it's always good if we know how they end, but it's the murky middle that can get us bogged down. To avoid this (or at least to make it less of a pain in the butt than it can be) I do some planning in advance -- namely writing a plot synopsis (see my blog on February 2 on this topic). I know plenty of "seat of the pants" authors who just sit down at their keyboards and have at it, going where their characters take them. And it works -- for them. When you've got a character like Sarad Nukpana, following him down a dark alley is the last thing you want to do. Leading people astray and screwing with their minds are two of his deviant hobbies. Nope, I'm going to be telling him where to go as much as possible -- but remain open to the fact that sometimes my goblin bad boy has some awesome ideas. ; )

To get through the middle, and equally as important -- to confirm in your own mind that your book idea is solid to begin with -- it's good to do a plot synop, especially if this is your first attempt at writing a novel. Know how your book begins, how it ends, and have as many of the plot points in the middle as possible. If you do this and are still excited about your project, you just might be onto a book worth writing. But if you come up with a beginning, middle parts, and an ending and the book idea bores even you, it will bore readers. Either what you've plotted isn't what you should be writing (see yesterday's blog on this), or you have a good idea, but you haven't found the core of your story yet (see my blog for Thursday, May 29 on finding your book's core).

Hope this helps!

Coming up this week: Doing rewrites and why I love "gray" characters.

Lisa

Writing my first novel

These two photos are of my first notebook that I wrote my first book in while in college. In the second one, you can see that like all aspiring authors, I was practicing my autograph. ; )

Today I'm answering another of your questions. By the way, I'd love some more questions from you all. If you have any writing-related questions, either respond to today's blog or send me an email to lisa@lisashearin.com

Today's topic is: Was writing your first full novel hard for you, and when did you write your first novel? I'm still a teenager, but I've been trying to write a full-length novel. I'll start with a spark, an idea, but then I have trouble thinking of more ideas to throw at my characters and ways to keep the plot moving. I usually have a beginning, and an outcome, but no middle. How do you get through a saggy middle? I'm curious about that. And of course, the process of writing your first novel.

Great questions! I have two finished manuscripts in my office closet that I consider practice books for what I'm writing now. I started writing those books way back in my freshman year of college. And the fact that you're a teenager doesn't mean that you can't write a great novel. There are more than a few young, successful authors out there. : )

Yes, writing my first books were difficult, for two reasons: One, I was just learning what I was doing. And two, I didn't write every day -- I just wrote when I felt like it, when my muse was visiting. That does not work. When I got really serious about writing and getting a novel published, I wrote every day, whether I felt like it or not. You have to; there is simply no way around this. And you must read. Reading is critical. Reading feeds your muse. And don't just read the type of books that you're trying to write. What you think you want to write might not be what you really should be writing, and the only way to discover that is through reading.

For example, back when I first started writing, I loved the big epic fantasies -- multiple points of view, third person. So I thought that's what I should write. Those first two books of mine were epic fantasies. The fact that they're still in my closet is testament that they were bad -- really, really bad. That and the fact that every big agent and publishing house turned them down. Thank God. Because they weren't what I should be writing; they weren't where my heart was. It took until about 6-7 years ago when I finally discovered Raine -- and that first-person, single viewpoint was the way to go for me. And the type of books I'm writing now are a combination of all of my fiction loves: fantasy, crime capers, detective novels, thrillers, romantic comedy.

Tomorrow I'll answer the second part of the question: how I get through the middle of a novel, and how I keep the plot moving. For me, doing that takes some planning before I start the book.

Coming up this week: Doing rewrites and why I love "gray" characters.

Have a great Monday!

Lisa

My new promo photos

I recently had some new photos done for my website and promo use. Kristin my agent said that if your appearance changes, so should your headshots. My hair was short, and now I'm growing it out. ; ) The following five are my favorites. Which one do you think should be on my homepage -- Photo 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5?

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Photo #4

Photo #5
Coming up next week: Doing rewrites; how to push through and complete a novel; why I love "gray" characters; writing my first novel way back when, complete with photos of my first notebook -- a handwritten mess. ; )

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Cleaning & organizing my office

This is my office in dire and desperate need of organization. (And the photo only shows a small portion of the disaster area.) Click on it to make it an even bigger mess. ; )

But before I get to the official topic of today's blog, I want to share something extremely cool that happened yesterday. As most of you know, Magic Lost, Trouble Found was one of five finalists for the Compton Crook Award for best debut Fantasy/SciFi book of the year. Mark Van Name won for One Jump Ahead. (I gotta get that book and read it!) After I went to Mark's blog to congratulate him on his win, I did some browsing around his site and discovered that our day job offices are five minutes from each other! How cool is that? I immediately emailed him and offered to take him out to lunch to celebrate his win. Mark graciously replied that he wanted to treat me to lunch as a small way of sharing the award. We had lunch together yesterday and hit it off, and had a wonderful time. : ) In his blog for today, Mark talks about some of the things we discussed. Pop over to his site, read, and enjoy!

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog -- Derek & I moved into the house that we're in a little over a year ago. I was in the final frenzy of writing Armed & Magical at that time. I told Derek, "Just tell me when the movers have to put my desk on the truck." Mere words cannot express the joy of packing (16 years worth of stuff), moving, and unpacking while finishing a book. Now, over a year later, my bookshelves are still unorganized. Derek (bless him) unpacked all of my books and put them on the shelves in the new house. I have yet to organize them according to genre, author, and series. (Yeah, I'm one of those kind of people.) I hope to get that done in the next week before the edits for The Trouble With Demons arrives from my editor.

The closet in my office is a disaster; my filing system is non-existent; and stacks of stuff that should have been filed long ago are everywhere. Needless to say, since I'm one of those kind of people, it's been driving me nuts. Or it would have driven me nuts, if I'd had time to even notice it. My sister is coming to visit this weekend, and she's going to help me organize my office and turn the closet into a wonder of organizational efficiency. In addition to being a spectacular interior decorator, my sister is an organizer guru. My work life is finally about to become organized -- I'm so excited! : ) I'll be sure and post pics when the job is done.

And for tomorrow's Saturday Fun Pics, I need your help. I recently had a photo shoot to have new headshots done for my website and promotional stuff. I've picked several photos, but I need your help deciding which one I should put on my home page. Pop in Saturday, take a look, and let me know what you think.

Coming up next week: Doing rewrites; how to push through and complete a novel; why I love "gray" characters; writing my first novel way back when, complete with photos of my first notebook -- a handwritten mess. ; )

Happy Friday!
Lisa

Cool things I found while cleaning my office

I've been cleaning my office and organizing all of my book notes by title, so that I can box them up for easy access later (should I ever need them). I came across a notebook that I carried everywhere years ago. In the front of the notebook were some post-it notes. Apparentely I had deemed the words of wisdom written on these so valuable that I put them on the inside cover of my notebook. I know that they came from one writing book or another, but since I just wrote down what it said, not where it came from, I can't attribute it. If I knew where it came from, I'd tell you. Here's what's on the post-it notes. Perhaps they'll be helpful to you, too.

Five Basic Plot Elements
1. Sympathetic character
2. Complex conflict
3. Complicate (grow) the conflict
4. Climax
5. Resolution

First drafts are for learning what your novel is about. Revisions are for working with that knowledge to enlarge or enhance an idea, or reform it.

First draft = Free and flowing writing.
Second draft = Fill in the holes, clarify things that don't make sense, things you forgot to include, character development, story movement, time, etc.
Third draft = Edit for tone and language.

Conflict that holds our attention for long periods of time is meaningful, immediate, large scale, surprising, not easily resolved and happens to people for whom we feel sympathy.

The best outlines relate the story in miniature, and include scraps of setting detail, characterization and dialogue, which nicely highlight the story's turning points. Outlines are most effective when they are in the present tense.

And I had the following quote clipping from The Writer magazine:

Start with broad strokes
Beginners often feel that they must fully catalogue a character's appearance as soon as he steps into their story. This is a mistake. A more successful method is to borrow the technique of the cartoonist or impressionistic painter and give the reader a swift, bold picutre of the character. Get the character's general outline into the reader's mind and he will fill in from his own experience. Then later, as the story progresses, you can add deft touches to the portrait. In other words, first present your character as a type. That gives the reader something to get his teeth into. Then individualize later.
-- From an article by Thomas W. Duncan in the Octorber 1941 issue of The Writer.

Coming up tomorrow: Photos of my office gutted for cleaning and reorganization before I start writing Bewitched & Betrayed.

And for this week's Saturday Fun Pics, I need your help. I recently had a photo shoot to have new headshots done for my website and promotional stuff. I've picked several photos, but I need your help deciding which one I should put on my home page. Pop in Saturday, take a look, and let me know what you think.

Coming up next week: Doing rewrites; how to push through and complete a novel; why I love "gray" characters; writing my first novel way back when, complete with photos of my first notebook -- a handwritten mess. ; )

Lisa

Notes and outlines and getting a book started

Today I'm answering another one of your questions. And BTW, any time you have a writing or book-related question, just respond to that day's blog with your question or email me. If it's something that you want to know, chances are someone else wants to know it, too.

Marie wants to know how I accumulated the massive notes file that I have to pull scenes/dialogue/etc. from for each book. Did I begin with the first book and just keep adding ideas as time passed? How detailed of an outline do I have before I launch into the writing portion?

First of all, where I am now with Bewitched & Betrayed (aka B&B). I'm still working on fine-tuning my plot, expanding on some ideas, and doing some general "what if?" brainstorming. Maybe 1/3 of my entire "note file" will be used in some way in B&B; the rest will carry over into Books 5 and 6. BTW -- Read up, everyone! So that this time next year, I'll have a contract for Books 5 and 6. If you buy my books that are on the shelves, my publisher will buy the books that are in my head. Okay, commercial over. We now return to our regularly scheduled blog. ; )

In my story arc, I know the beginning, the end, and a few "big moments" in the middle. But, at least for me, that's not enough to get a book started. What I'm doing now is turning some of the scenes and dialogue chunks in my notes into what connects those big elements: the subplots, machinations, manipulations, but most importantly, the thread that runs through the story from beginning to end, the vital element that everything else connects to and branches out from.

I already have a lot that I want to include in B&B (probably too much, but you know how much I love a complex plot). What I'm doing now is wading through all of the information I have and looking for (or creating) the pieces that will connect those big moments and come together into the action-packed story I want to write for you.

As to how long I've had some of these notes, I'd say that some are probably at least ten years old. Never throw a dialogue snippet away; you never know when you'll use it -- or when the snippet will spawn a completely new idea.

As to how detailed of an outline I like to have before I start writing -- I need the beginning, the end, and as many of the middle elements in the plot arc as possible. That way, I have a pretty clear roadmap of where I'm going and how I'm going to get there. That said, I've learned to be open to change. While I'm writing, the story will grow and change (this happens through every draft, not just the first one). I'm learning to trust my instincts and just go along for the ride.

And how do I know when I'm ready to start the book? When I find myself opening a new Word document and typing "Chapter 1." ; )

Coming up: Doing rewrites; cleaning my office and the cool things I found; how to push through and complete a novel; why I love "gray" characters; writing my first novel way back when, complete with photos of my first notebook -- a handwritten mess. ; ) And for Saturday's Fun Pic, another mess -- my office gutted for cleaning and reorganization before I start writing B&B.

Lisa

My favorite writing books

Over the years, I've read tons of writing how-to books. Four books left a real impression, either for their usefulness, their inspiration, or both.

For the nuts & bolts of getting your novel to work, there are two written by Donald Maass, literary agent extraordinaire: The Career Novelist, and Writing the Breakout Novel. The Career Novelist is a thin, quick read but packed with insight on the dream versus the reality of being a published author. Writing the Breakout Novel is Don's insider advice for taking your fiction to the next level. He gives seminars based on this book around the country. If he's offering one near you, go. It's worth it. This is the most useful and helpful writing book I've ever read for how to get the job done. The lightbulb went off in my head while reading this one -- I wrote MLTF after soaking up this book. I could see so clearly what I wasn't doing and what I needed to do to get my words and story to jump off the page. He covers things such as: finding the premise of your book, raising the stakes, forging advanced character relationships, digging for the depth in your characters, building a compelling and page-turing plot, and the importance of putting tension on every page.

For writerly inspiration, and for just making you feel that being a writer doesn't mean that you're a freak of nature -- or if we are freaks of nature, that we're not alone ; ) there is On Writing by Stephen King, and Sometimes the Magic Works by Terry Brooks. Stephen King's book is an inside look at the creative process of a master. An utterly fabulous book. He starts from his childhood, the beginnings of his journey as a writer, and how those experiences shaped him and his work. He continues through his career with life altering events (and his near death experience) that would have stopped most writers. It's a testament to his perserverance, his awe-inspiring talent, and his love of the craft.

Terry Brooks goes more with his experiences as a writer starting at the beginning of his career up until the present. Great and fun reading for those of us just now dipping our toes in the publishing industry pool. Some of my favorites: Terry's first book signing (let's just say he didn't have a happy experience), and some tough love from his editor. Terry thought that he was just having problems with the ending of his second Shannara novel. Lester del Rey was there to inform him that the entire book was a mess and he needed to ditch it and start from scratch. If things like this happened to a fantasy master, kinda makes me either feel good about my own experiences, or completely identify with his pain and suffering. ; )

I'm sure there are more great writing books out there, but these are my four favorites -- great for reading again and again for fresh inspiration.

Coming up: Doing rewrites; how to push through and complete a novel; why I love "gray" characters; writing my first novel way back when, complete with photos of my first notebook -- a handwritten mess. ; )

Lisa

An ad, a review, and an update on the CafePress store

Here's the ad for Armed & Magical in the issue of Realms of Fantasy that's on newstands and in bookstores now. You can click on it to see a larger version.

And as promised, here's a link to a really fun review of Armed & Magical by Gina over at A Bookaholic's Review. Thank you, Gina!

As to the CafePress store -- whew! I spend the majority of yesterday loading products into the store. Elyse (my amazing graphic designer) is tweaking the designs for a couple of the items. Once everything is to our liking, I'll order some of the items, make sure the final products are up to our standards, and then I'll open the store for business. It shouldn't be more than another few weeks.

Coming up this week: Doing rewrites, how to push through and complete a novel, my favorite writing books, and more.

Try to have yourselves a good Monday.
Lisa