Ways to Make Your Book Longer: Part 2

This is going to be a short post. I'm going to get straight to the point. Starting now.

Previously in my post about how to make your book longer that if you are desperate enough you can take out the contractions. I was wrong. I was so so so wrong it's embarrassing.

Let me explain why. There is a little voice in your head that reads things. If I put a comma here, you will will pause, where the, comma is. I have just proved my point to, you.

Now read these sentences in your head.

It is fun to dance and we will go dancing a lot.

It's fun to go dancing and we'll go dancing a lot.

Those are fairly bad examples but which one was nicer to read in your head.

There is (there's) my point.

Alysa Tarrant

The Snowflake Method: Part 2

I know that I have posted about the snowflake method before, but that was before I had really used it. Now, as I am preparing for Camp Nanowrimo (which I probably should have prepared for earlier) I have found myself turning to the snowflake method as I sit staring at my computer screen. Let me rephrase that, blank, computer screen.

Let me tell you a story.

You are sitting in a chair one day, pondering life, when suddenly, you could swear that a light bulb went off above your head! You have an idea for a story. This is the one, the idea that will make you as famous as J. K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins. This is the idea that will make you a billionaire and get you a movie series.

You pull out a piece of paper to write down your idea. It's just an idea right now, but you are going to turn it into a book that will be translated into fifty-five different languages.

You start to write an outline. That's when it hits you. You have an idea. That's it. Just an idea. Now, you need a story. That's the hard part.

That's the story. We have all done it. We have all had a fabulous idea and then realized that that's all it was. But I am here to help! Or more, the snowflake method as designed by Randy Ingermanson. I was in the same position as you were in the story above. I decided I might as well go look at that snowflake method since I didn't have a better idea than to just stare at the paper until inspiration struck.

Snowflake method it is! I have found it very helpful in the sense that I discovered things about my characters I didn't know before, it really made me think. So the point of this post is: If you're stuck, try the snow flake method. 

Alysa Tarrant 

The Closet/ The Book Break

I have decided that the book is going into the closet. My book is literally, in my closet, on a shelf, in time out. At least temporarily. I think all books need a time out at least once. Sometimes you just have to step back and not think about it, so when you come back later, whether that's a week, a month, or even a year, you can see your book with fresh eyes. You start to see your characters in a different light.

I shall call this: The Annual Book Break

During the month of April the book I am currently working on (unless I'm really on a roll) will get a month off while I do Camp Nanowrimo, and start another book that will go in the closet during November, Nanorwrimo month and so on and so forth. We will see how this system will go.

Do you give your book a break?

Alysa Tarrant 

Great Authors That Were Turned Down

You have your book all finished and shined up and you finally got your query letter perfect and you send it in to a literary agent and then. . . they turn you down. Wow. Blow to:  the face. But not to be discouraged! Because there are so many authors who are legends, that were first turned down. 

J. K. Rowling: We all know her. She created the world of Harry Potter! Yet she was 12 times and only got published because the little kid of someone wanted to know what happened. She was told she would not have a future in children's book writing. 

Dr. Seuss: I learned to read from this guy but yet he was turned down because he was "too different." He has sold over 300 million copies and his books are still being printed (if I'm not mistaken) today! 

C. S. Lewis: I don't know about you guys but the Chronicles of Narnia were some of the first longer books I read and they have stayed with me for a long time. Yet for years he was rejected.

Beatrix Potter: She had to self publish The Tale of Peter Rabbit because she kept getting turned down! Personally, this has always been a book that is very close to my heart. I feel bad for the people who turned her down because she sold over 45 million copies.

If you want to see more click here.

Writing Tip: No matter how many times you get turned down or how discouraged you get, never, ever give up because if you keep trying, someday your name will go down in history. 

Alysa Tarrant  

Inspriation

The thing about inspiration is that it doesn't come looking for you. You're chances of dreaming up a book one day while lounging on the class are 1:Google (not the search engine, the number), and the odds are not in your favor.

Get out there and look for inspiration. It's just begging to be found but you have to take the initiative to go look for it. So get up off your couch and go walk around outside, go to the library, go grow a garden, go bungee jumping, but whatever you do, look for inspiration. And make sure you write down any idea you have!

I have discovered a phrase that I really love. It is the writing tip of the day.

Writing Tip: BICHOK (Butt in chair, hands on keys)

Alysa Tarrant

The Best Time to Write

Everybody has different times and places they write their best at. The key is to find out where and when yours are. For me, I write best late at night. I also really enjoy writing in a library. There's something about the library and the night that gets my creative juices flowing, not that I sneak into libraries in the dead of night because that would just freak me out. But if you're a horror writer, maybe that's your thing.

I feel like these are some of the most important things about writing, because if you never actually write, you're never going to be a writer.

So here is my question to you: Where and when do you enjoy writing or write you best?

Alysa Tarrant

Bed Rest and Camp Nanowrimo

I have found that being confined to bed has been helpful in the sense that I am actually working on my novel. Just today I had my wisdom teeth pulled out. I'm a bit drowsy from the pain killers but it's actually very nice to be waited on hand and foot. I even have a bell by my bed!

Anyway, between replacing bloody gauze and waiting for videos to load I have been able to work on my novel. I finally made it past 50,000 words! As London Tipton would say, "Yay me!"

Now about camp. If you haven't signed up for Nanowrimo's camp in April, sign up now! You get cabin mates and everything. This will be my first year doing camp but I am honestly very excited. This is more relaxed than Nanowrimo's National Novel Writing Month in November. You get to set your own word count goal and you can write anything from a poem to the world's longest book.

I'm going to actually talk about more writerly things now. If there's one thing that absolutely terrifies me it's when people do stuff in my mouth. I have had two mouth surgeries and I have been lucky because my surgeon does a remarkable job. But nevertheless when I was driving to the surgery place with my mom I got a bit teary eyed. Everybody is afraid of something, including your fictional characters. Take the fear that you feel from something and use it with your character.

Question: What scares you and how does it feel?

Alysa Tarrant 

The Procrastination Stage and the Carrie Diaries

So per my usually weekend habits I was catching up on the Carrie Diaries instead of doing something more productive. On one of the episodes Carrie had to write a paper and she didn't know what to write about. She also decided to procrastinate (and I'm making this show sound much more cliche than it is, I highly recommend this show). Her boyfriend called this the procrastination stage and said that all good writers have one.

It begs an interesting question. Someone famous (I have no idea who) once said that good things come to those who wait. In my opinion that is very untrue. Good things come to those who work their butts off! Hence, I disagree with Carrie's boyfriend. You don't have to procrastinate to be a writer, you do have to take breaks though. But you have to set guidelines for yourself. Say to yourself, "This week I will not work on or think about my writing at all. Next week though I will write another chapter though."

Carrie's boyfriend also said something about writing about what you fear. This advice I do agree with. When you find something that scares you or makes you uncomfortable write about that or use that in your writing. Every character needs a fear that they must overcome. For me this is the hardest part about writing a novel. You have to find their fear and use it against them. Only when you overcome that fear, can they overcome their fear.

And since this post seems to be all over the place I'd like to share a little tip with you. I have found that setting timers really helps me. For example: I want to watch Netflix, edit other people's stories, and work on my own story all at once, but that gets me no where except to my next episode on Netflix. So what I like to do (when I actually have the motivation) is to set a timer for 15 minutes. I tell myself: for this 15 minutes I will watch TV and then for the next 15 minutes I will work on this, and then this and so on an so forth. Sure, you could just look at the clock but a timer (at least for me) makes me work harder, I'm on a schedule.

Question: What scares you? 

The Snowflake Method

I recently discovered a method called the snowflake method. This is a method for writing a book. You start off with a triangle. These are three main conflicts in your story. Once you have these you branch off and get more and more detailed. This is also a great way to help write summaries of your novel in short sentences that cover everything, like you might need for a query letter.

This website is a great resource and goes into more detail about the snowflake method.
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/

Tip: When you have an idea for a novel, no matter how small or insignificant it might be, write it down! The biggest lie you can tell yourself is that you will remember what it was. 

How to Make Your Book Longer

So if you're like me and just can't seem to get to that goal count of words and currently really don't feel like writing a bunch of stuff here are some tricks to help lengthen your book.

• Take out contractions! Instead of saying can't say can not. You can often just do Ctrl + F and then search for the contraction and then do replace all which is nice. Here's a list of common contractions. http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/EnglishContractions.htm
• Use middle names. Instead of just saying, "His name was Bob Fred." Say, "His name was Bob Frank Fred." 
• This one is a bit harder but add another character. If you add another character it will definitely force you to write more. I'm talking major characters here. 
• Give more back story for your minor characters.
• More description! Just read through your novel and add describing words here and there. 

Quote: Just a sentence here and a sentence there can add up to make a story. -Me! 

Alysa Tarrant

Use Your Emotions

We all have emotional days. Sometimes it's extremely happy, and sometime's it extremely sad. Or maybe you're feeling betrayed. Whatever you're feeling use that in your writing. Not only will it increase the emotional aspect of your writing but it will also help you release the current emotion in a healthy manner.

Write first, edit later.

First get all of your ideas and emotions out. Then, go back when you are in a more calm mood and edit your writing.

Question: What emotion are you feeling right now and how can you use it in your writing?

Alysa Tarrant 

Editing

In my opinion one of the best ways to improve yourself as a writer is to edit other people's writing. Sometimes it can be tedious but at other times you just can't wait to read the next chapter. I actually prefer editing other people's books instead of reading books that have already been published. This is because I can make comments and suggest changes. Not only is it a way to stay in control but it also is a great way to improve your creativity and your grammar. Sometimes reading just one paragraph of someone else's writing can make your mind go crazy with ideas.

If you haven't seen the site NanoWrimo I highly recommend checking it out. If you have finished your novel or even just want someone to read one chapter of your novel check out their forums. You can beta read (which is basically just reading someone's novel and making edits) or have someone beta read your novel. It's a great way to get yourself out into the writing community and make friends.

Question: Have you ever participated in NanoWrimo and if so what do you enjoy about it?

Alysa Tarrant

Ranting: Only You Can Make You Happy

Ranting is not a good thing to do when you're writing, unless it's a really good rant and you're really good at writing rants. So instead rant on your blog like I am about to do!

It is up to you, to make you happy. We all face our own battles, and most battles are with yourself. There's an old tale that goes something like this. "In each of us there are two wolves. These wolves are fighting a constant battle. One wolf fights for goodness and happiness. The other wolf fights for evil and cruelty. But who will win? The one you feed." It's easier to feed the bad wolf. We've all been there and we have all fed the bad wolf. It's because that wolf will eat anything, while the good wolf will only eat things that are actually good for you. For example: the bad wolf eats self harm, self doubt, and mean thoughts. The good wolf eats things like happiness and friendship and compliments.

Let me try making another point. Every single person out there has a little voice in their head. That voice says mean things about you and other people. He says things like, "You're fat! You're ugly. You're stupid! That person smells. That person is an idiot." Shut that voice up. Flick him off of your shoulder because he is wrong. He will always be wrong. Don't let him tell you what's what.

Back around to my main point. You are the only person in this world that can truly make you happy. If you have ever read Catcher in the Rye you might know what I mean. I hated this book. Plain and simple, I did not like it. I didn't like this book because of the main character. He spends most of the book moping around about his bad life. If you don't like your life it is up to you to change it! Don't be like that main character.

Now that most of the rant is out of my system I just have one more thing to say.

If you ever consider cutting I would like you to remember this. No one is worth cutting for. Not one person, animal, or thing in this world is worth harming yourself for. I don't care if you love them or are doing this for them.

Picture your body as a baby. Would you cut a baby? Burn a baby? Hit a babies head against a wall? Would you ever harm a baby? No. You wouldn't because that baby is beautiful. Even if it's chubby or if it's a bit smelly or it has trouble with something. You would never do that to a baby.

If you are ever struggling with something please comment and I will do my best to help you. Emotionalbaggagecheck.com is also a great resource. Another great thing to do is to draw a butterfly wherever you cut. Don't cut that butterfly.

If you've made it this far I applaud you. But you are probably wondering why I wrote this. I in fact have never self harmed or thought about self harming and I realize now how extremely lucky I am. I'm writing this because I have friends and people I love that have admitted that they have cut themselves or self harmed. You are so loved. Please don't forget that.

I love you.

Alysa Tarrant

100 Ways to Say "Good"

Good is one overly used word. So, just to make your day a little brighter, here are 100 ways to say good.



Tip: Thesauruses are your best friend! But don't go crazy with huge words. No one wants to read a book that they have to look up words every other sentence. (Unless you are Lemony Snicket. Then and only then is it ok.)

Alysa Tarrant

Your Main Character

Who is your main character? Every story has one, but who is yours? Not just their name or their age or their hair color, but what is their favorite food or book? What are their pet peeves? These are things that you want to know about your main character in order to write a successful story. 

My main characters always seem to end up being an idea form of me. The main character I am currently working with is named Lena. If I could edit myself I would end up being like Lena. But of course I can't just make her the idea person, because that's not what readers like. Readers like people they can relate to, people with faults. So if you're like me and you base your character off of yourself, use your own habits within your character. For example, if you bite your nails when you're nervous, have your character do that to. Find something within your character that you relate to and write with that. 

Question: How are you and your main character similar? 

Alysa Tarrant

Inspiration

Inspiration is one of those things that everyone thinks will just pop out of no where. I hate to break it to you but odds are not in your favor that an entire book will pop into your head while you're in the shower. Don't wait for that book to write itself. Sit down and write!

Sure, a lot of my posts are about just sitting down and writing, but to me, that is the most important part of writing. In fact, I'm going back and writing an outline for my book to help add things in and give it some bulk.

While trying to write this outline I was having trouble finding things to add. So I talked to a few of my friends. A shout out to them for letting me ruin the series for them but they did give me some great ideas which will definitely be helpful. So if you're looking for inspiration try your friends or go to my writers block page.

Comment below if you're stuck and I'll do my best to help you out!

Writing Tip: If you give your book to people to edit, don't be discouraged if they don't like it or they have a lot of corrections. Not liking it means that your book is controversial which will make it more interesting to read and a lot of corrections just means it's getting better.

Alysa Tarrant

Word Count

The word count is intimidating. That's a fact. For a fiction novel your book should probably be a minimum of 60,000 words. Wow. That's a lot. Write now my novel is 45,000 words so I'm going back through and I'm thickening the plot and adding more words. I think this will actually improve my novel.

Here are the recommended word counts for various genres.
These are taken from http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/word-count.html

• Short story: any fictional work under 7,500 words
• Novelette: between 7,500 and 17,500 words
• Novella: between 17,500 and 40,000 words
• Novel: anything over 40,000 words

Though a novel is anything about 40,000 words you're going to have much better luck if you make it longer. If you can get your word count up to 70 or 80 thousand without just dragging your story then you're golden!

Writing Tip: It's always easy to take away some of your story than it is to try and write more. When you write your first draft put in everything you can think of, then go back through and take it out later.

Alysa Tarrant

Literary Agents

Now I love to be organized. If things aren't organized it bothers me with end. So as I am now getting to the point in writing where I am researching literary agents and writing query letters I have made a chart. This chart has an unlimited number of rows and has seven columns. These columns are as follows:

• Agent
• Email
• Agency 
• Submission requirements
• Sent (When the query letter was sent)
• Replied (When and if the agent replies)
• Comments (any comments that the agent might have left that are important)

This is really helpful for me because that way I can see who I intend to send out query letters to and who has responded. 

Writing Tip: When you write don't have anything open except your writing and possibly research. Also, always have a glass of water close at hand.

Alysa Tarrant

Computers for Writers

Of the late I have been researching computers for writers. A writer's computer is their life. It's where we write our stories, do our research, and contact agents and publishers. Here are some of my requirements for a new computer, which I have not found yet but would love suggestions!

• Light
• Under 16 inches
• Easily accessible documents
• Can play music
• Access internet
• Fast
• Over 200 GB
• Good battery light

As of right now I am leaning toward a Chromebook. The only thing I don't like is that I will have to use Google Docs all the time and that I would have to transfer all of my music. As for the Google Docs that's not too much of a problem except for the fact that there is limited space on Google Docs. The price is also fairly good. It's just below $300. 

I am also considering a Mac. Macs seem to be great in every sense except that they're usually over $1000, which let's be honest, most of us teen writers can't afford. 

Question: What kind of computer do you use and what do you like about it?

Alysa Tarrant

Writing is Like Debating

For me, writing is like debating. I take a debate class in school and there are some debates that I get very passionate about, so passionate that you can not shut me up. When you write you need to be passionate about it. There should be times when you get so excited about writing that you just can't stop.

You should also find your "brand" of writing. For instance I enjoy writing mainstream fiction. Maybe you like writing about magic or maybe historical fiction. Either way you should also enjoy the research for your book. Researching is actually one of my favorite parts of writing a novel, assuming it's something I want to research.

Question: What is your "brand"?

Alysa Tarrant

Plan it Out

So I know that in my last post I said that I write to find out what happens. That's only partially true. I don't fill out a plot chart or anything but I have found it very helpful to just write out bullet points of what is going to happen. This way if you get stuck when you start writing you can look at your bullet points and see that you were going to add a cat in the next scene.

The point is it's going to be easier to sit down and write if you know what you're writing about.

Writing Tip: If you get an idea for a story write it down because it could be the next bestseller.

Alysa Tarrant

The Start of a Book

I decided today was the day that I would start my second novel. This second novel is a sequel to The Opals, my first novel which has yet to be published or even sent to a literary agent.

For the past few weeks ideas had been floating around in my head about what would happen in this second novel. In my first novel I left the end so it was obvious that there would be a second novel, I just wasn't sure what that novel would be. I was hoping that the book would just come dancing into my thoughts and my fingers would just type that 100,000 word best seller onto a document, because writing a book is easy right? Wrong. So, so wrong. The ideas in my head were not a well organized flash mob. These ideas were instead, a group of middle schoolers at a dance, awkwardly swaying to a fro, not even on beat. These middle schoolers had the potential to be this amazing flash mob but they lacked the discipline. Same with ideas. My first writing tip was about sitting down and starting your book. I decided it was time to take my own advice and make those awkward middle schoolers into a professional flash mob that would take the world by storm. So I sat down, opened up a document, typed a few words, and decided to blog about it. 

Sit down and write your book. You don't even have to start at the beginning. If you have a scene in your head write it and go from there!

I'm one of those people that writes to see what happens. I don't even know the end of the story until I've written it, and I'm the one who came up with it. So if you're having trouble just sitting down and writing, plan your novel out. Make a plot chart (Google image it) and go from there. 

Now before I take my own advice and I close everything except my document I'm going to pose you a question, and please my readers which as of write (I'm feeling punny!) now are few but appreciated, answer this question in the comments and I will love you forever. 

Question: How do you write? Are you a planner or do you write to see what happens?

Alysa Tarrant

Sherlock the TV Show

Ever since I started writing as I watch TV shows I have a new appreciation for the writing. Just yesterday I started watching Sherlock, something I wish I had done a long time ago. The show is amazing for anyone who hasn't seen it or thinks they will not like it. The episodes are each about an hour and twenty minutes, so about the length of a short movie.
The way these episodes are written are what really intrigues me. Though I have only seen two episodes so far I can tell that there is an overlaying plot (one that arches over all of the the episodes) as well as a smaller plot in each episode. Now I'm not sure but I would think that all of the episodes would have to be written out in advance, so that this overlaying plot can flow smoothly.
If you have ever seen Sherlock than you know what I mean when I talk about Sherlock deducing things. So far I have seen it the most in Season 1 Episode 1 but just by looking at something he can see pretty much the whole life story of the person or the situation he is looking at. It would be quite an honor to meet Sherlock Holmes but I'm not sure if I'd want him deducing me. :) Either way this brings me back to the writers of the show. They seem to write so as the show goes along it seems like nothing fits together but then towards the end we begin to see how it all works out. Unless you've seen the show you can't understand what I mean but if you're a writer than you definitely want this show on your radar!

Writing Tip: If you're experiencing writer's block write out a few pages of your favorite book.

 

Alysa Tarrant

Hello From Me

Hey everyone! My name is Alysa and I'm an aspiring author. I'm in my teens and have written one book so far, two if you count a children's book. I am currently in the process of editing my novel, which I hope to publish this year. I have started this blog to to be a platform for when I send my novel to literary agents but also because I think it's just a good thing in general to have a blog. Now about me.

As I have said my name is Alysa. I love writing and horse back riding. Last year was the first year that I did something called NanoWrimo, which is the only reason I finished my novel. I would definitely recommend it to aspiring writers. I will also be heading to France this summer as a foreign exchange student. I will only be allowed to speak French and will only be able to contact my family and friends through email once a week. I'm also a huge environment nerd. I am the president of the green club at my school. I'm also the type of person who will picks the recyclables out of the garbage and yells at people who don't recycle. I'll be taking an environmental science class next year and I'm super excited.

Writing Tip: The hardest part of writing a novel is starting, so even when you don't want to write just push through and it will soon get easier.

Alysa Tarrant