March is Women’s History Month, and it’s given me an opportunity to stop and reflect on those who inspire me the most. I have a list of people, both famous … Continue reading The Women Who Inspire Me —
Tag: inspiration
You’re Great
Let’s face it: 2020 has not been one of our better years. It’s been LOADED with challenges. There have been wicked hurricanes, the Coronavirus, more political chatter than you can … Continue reading You’re Great
Finding My Writing Mojo
Like many people, I’m spending more time at home these days. The Coronavirus changed things for everyone. Some people have been laid-off from their jobs, or are working fewer hours. My hours have been reduced, so while I am still working, I’m spending more time at home than usual. I expected to spend this time getting a lot of writing done. Alas, I have barely written a sentence. Maybe being shut in has killed my writing mojo. At least, that’s what I thought.
Maybe being shut in has killed my writing mojo.
Sometimes you just need to get out of your own way. I decided to just sit in front of my computer, and get some writing done, even if it was only a few lines. A few lines turned into a few pages. So I guess this means I have found my writing mojo again!
This month, I’m sharing the titles of books I’ve read or am currently reading, by working my way through the alphabet. And, as I continue to work on drafts of new books, I’ll post previews, too. If anyone reading this feels like they’ve lost their mojo, never fear: you’ll find it again.
The ‘Boy Goes on an Adventure’ Genre
Something major happens. A boy learns he must go on a quest. Boy goes on quest. Sometimes his friends go with him. Boy must save the world, or a princess, or whatever. Boy succeeds…or he doesn’t.
The Adventure Genre is a popular genre. They’re like RPG’s on paper (Role Playing Games for you non-nerds). In these stories, the protagonist (usually male) goes on some epic journey, where he faces many obstacles which stand between him and his goal. Perfect example: The Lord of the Rings series.
Growing up, I discovered books for elementary and middle school age readers fell into two categories: Girl Books and Boy Books. Girl books seemed to focus on friendship and babysitting (yawn). Boy books focused on camping and exploring, and playing with a dog. So, I surprised myself when the first book I published was a Fantasy/Adventure book, Fortune’s Wing, where the main character is a boy. You would think I would have gone in the opposite direction. But here’s the catch: while the main character is male, it’s his sister who seems to come out on top as the hero.
Fortune may be the one tasked with using a pair of Wings to decide the fate of the world, but it’s his younger sister Haverdy who gets most of the spotlight. In book one of the series, when Fortune makes the decision to go on his journey to find the Right Wing and complete the set, Haverdy doesn’t hesitate to volunteer to go with him. When Fortune and his friends come under attack on multiple occasions, Haverdy has no problem drawing a sword and fighting back. In the end, on of the determining factors behind Fortune’s final decision for the world, is based on Haverdy.
What’s the allure behind the ‘boy goes on an adventure’ story? Maybe it’s idea of overcoming the odds to achieve a goal. Maybe it’s the idea of a regular person doing something extremely great. Or maybe it’s just the adventure itself: an opportunity to do something out of the ordinary. Fortune goes from being a normal teenaged boy who just goes to school and spends time with his friends, to being the person who has to decide what to do with the awesome power of a set of enormous wings. Since he is just a regular person, it’s interesting to see what sort of decisions he makes each time he’s faced with an abnormal situation.
Fortune’s Wing is available via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the online store at Woolaston Entertainment’s site.
Last Lines and Last Impressions
Some writers feel the first line is the most difficult line to write. Personally, I think it’s the last line. The ending. The finale. Once you get started writing a story, sometimes, the flow is so effortless the story seems to write itself. Then, you reach the conclusion, and everything that has occurred has to be tied up nice and neat with a little bow. Or not. You can do that, too.
How should your story end? With a twist? An explosion? A murder? Should it be happy or sad? Idealistic or realistic? Will the story end with a statement, or a line of dialogue? Some writers will say you should never end with dialogue. My suggestion? Do whatever you feel is best for your story. One of my personal favorite ‘last lines’ comes from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
Here’s a few of my ‘last lines’.
The two of them began to laugh, as the morning continued.
The Witch of Fulton Lane seems to have a happy ending, right? I’m not going to give the ending away here, but this last line comes across as a pleasant one.
We will be okay.”
It seems fitting that Fortune Oyama, the main character in the Fortune’s Wing series, gets to have the last line in Fortune’s Wing: Flies Again. I’m including this line because it doesn’t indicate how the story ended. This could be a positive ending or a negative one. Maybe he saved the world, and maybe he didn’t. Or, maybe he changed it. The only way to know, is to read the story!
And as Nick and I harmonized the opening verse to Come For the Wake, Stay for the Funeral, I thought, this is our moment; this is our time, and nothing can stop us now…
Yes, it’s long, but it’s a fitting end to a great story (and I’m not just saying that because I wrote it). There are many elements in Our Lady of Righteous Rage. The story deals with a group of friends growing up and starting a band and a business together. They deal with crossing the line between childhood and adulthood, divorce, uncertainty, self-esteem (and a lack of it). The last line is a reflection of a long struggle to achieve a much desired goal.
As a writer, you don’t want to leave your reader with a disappointing ending. But the ending needs to fit the story. So if it needs to be sad, make it sad. If you want to end with dialogue, do it. Give your story the ending you feel it needs.
First Lines and First Impressions
Ah, the opening line of a book or short story. The attention-getter. It’s the line that sets the tone. It can draw you in, or leave you feeling completely uninterested. Every first line I have ever written, have terrified me. Why? Because I know they will either be good, or awful. I mean, who can top It was the best of times, it was the worst of times? Sheesh.
As a writer, you want your first line to have enough impact so your reader will not only be drawn into the story, but have an idea of what kind of story they’re about to get into. But you don’t want to give away too much. It’s like watching a movie you’ve never seen before, and being able to guess what’s going to happen from the very beginning. It’s not easy to do, but sometimes, you get it right. Below are the first lines of some of my books.
Was it a dream or was it reality?
Fortune’s Wing begins with a reoccurring dream it’s protagonist Fortune Oyama has been haunted by. He has visions of a ruined world; a world he couldn’t save. The heart of the story concerns the fate of the world: will it be destroyed or will it be saved? Will things carry on the way they always have or will there be dramatic changes? All of these questions can only be answered by the one who possesses The Wings.
It was early; around six in the morning.
Not my strongest line. But the rest of the paragraph makes up for it: Veronica Entienne watches her cousin Val pack a few last minute items into her bag. This much is clear: she’s going somewhere. And that’s the most important factor in Valentine: Va’s road trip to L.A. to save her father.
When I was twelve years old, I fell in love with rock n roll.
There are a few things you can take away from the first line in Our Lady of Righteous Rage. One, this is going to be a story with musical elements. Two, it’s a coming-of-age tale (the narrator makes a statement about something that happened when she was twelve, giving the impression she’s older now). Three, music is very important to this person, especially rock n roll.
“If you take this much, you’ll feel better, but if you take this much, you’ll see God.”
This is the opening line to a book I’m working on, titled Barrin Heights. I’m not one hundred percent sure of where this story is headed, but I can tell you it’s going to be supernatural.
First lines: as writers, we don’t always nail them. But you can’t expect success every time. You can’t learn from success; you can only learn from failure.
Bildungsroman
Bil·dungs·ro·man
/ˈbildo͝oNGzrōˌmän,ˈbēldo͝oNGks-/
noun
a novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education.
One of my books was recently added to the catalog at the Hampton Public Library: a copy of Our Lady of Righteous Rage. When I read the list of related subjects and search terms in the description, an interesting word caught my eye. Bildungsroman. Of course, I had to Google it: in literature, this is a genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist of a story, from youth to adulthood, in which the character undergoes a change. In other words, a coming-of-age story. I had always thought of OLORR as a sort of coming-of-age story, but I hadn’t given enough thought to the true meaning behind the genre.
The protagonist of OLORR is a cat-girl named Amy. The story follows Amy from her twelfth birthday into adulthood, from middle school to her career in music. She starts out the way most twelve-year-olds do: spirited, a bit naive, and eager to try new things. Friends, music and guitars–that’s her world. As she grows older and matures, she begins to learn there’s more to life than these three things. Sometimes, things don’t go the way we want them to. Sometimes, you meet Prince Charming, and later, he turns into a jerk. A series of life experiences shape Amy into a mature adult; one who can not only have a great career, but be a fantastic wife and mother.
Bildungsroman is such a wonderful and appropriate term.
If you’re interested in this genre, here are some other titles you may want to check out:
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Octavia Butler
February is celebrated as Black History Month. During my younger days as a student in elementary, middle and high school, each year I found myself learning about the same historical … Continue reading Octavia Butler
KDP Tutorial, Anyone?
It’s a new year: 2020. 2019 has finally died. People around me are busy making resolutions, and I generally don’t make any. My usual goal is simply to finish whatever I start. But this year, I do have one resolution, and this is it: I’m going to do more of the things that scare me; I’m going to challenge myself more.
Working in a public library has introduced me to many new people, some of whom are interested in writing and publishing (two of my favorite things!). During NaNoWriMo, I was fortunate to lead a workshop for creative nonfiction. I had no idea how much people enjoyed it, and it’s slowly turning into something I’m going to run all year ’round. Lately, I’ve had a few library patrons ask about publishing books through Amazon, so I’d like to integrate self-publishing information into my 2020 workshops. There’s something else I’m planning, too.
I’m going to do more of the things that scare me; I’m going to challenge myself more.
A few years ago, an offer was made to me to teach a class on Skillshare, but I never went through with it because I was too nervous. Several people have suggested that I post videos online to promote my writing. Again, I was too nervous and never went through with it. So this year, I’m going to get over my fear, and post a few videos. I’m planning to release a series of tutorials on how to navigate Amazon’s publishing service, KDP. Am I an expert on the subject? Maybe not an expert, but after working with an overpriced self-publisher, a publisher who closed for business, and publishing 32 books with KDP, I think I have a lot of knowledge to share.
I’m currently nursing a cold (more like the flu), so I’ll have to wait until my voice sounds normal to make these videos. I’ll keep you posted.
PS: I’ve update the refund policy on the Online Store, to make things easier for my customers/readers 🙂
Woolaston Entertainment Presents 25
Imagine putting together a book to celebrate the 25th anniversary of something you created. Sounds like it shouldn’t be too difficult, right? Now imagine most of your material is in storage…in another state. All I can say is, thank goodness for flash drives and Google Drive!
I’m not sure how I did it, but in nineteen days, I combed through my books and whatever images I have saved on my flash drive and in my Google Drive, and put a 112 page book together, containing the best 25 things about W.E. Plus, it’s in COLOR! This is a first for me. Not only is it in color, it’s my first nonfiction book, and it’s a bit larger than the paperbacks I’ve published in the past (this one is 7×9). This one put me through the ringer, but its finished and soon it will be available for purchase on Amazon, and then the Woolaston Entertainment website.
If you’ve never read my other books, there will be a few spoilers, but I think I did a pretty good job keeping them to a minimum. There are a ton of facts about W.E.’s creation, and info about the books and characters I’ve never shared before. The book should be ready by this weekend, and I hope everyone enjoys it.
Woolaston Entertainment Presents 25 retails for $14.49 UPDATE 12/13/19: Available now on Amazon
ISBN: 978-1-6724-7820-5
woolastonentertainment.com 