An Abundance of Things

WOW, a lot has happened since my last post! I feel bad for falling so far behind. I hope you guys will forgive me! I'll just do my best to make up for it with an intense post. How does that sound? And to get you guys excited, there is going to be some REALLY AWESOME NEWS about a certain sale going on at the end of this post. And maybe a funny picture or two for you. Maybe.

First order of business: New author photos! I got a few pictures taken, that now are on the back cover of The Dreamers Second Edition, and The Nightmarers as well. New author photos on ALL the books!

 Next order of business: This little award! The Idaho Book Extravaganza, a program held every year to help educate and support authors, writers, publishers, readers, and books of Idaho, holds an awards ceremony every year. They award people who produce the best books, covers, interior design, and more in Idaho. These award categories are split into subsections for fiction and nonfiction. This year, The Dreamers Second Edition won an "Honorable Mention" for Idaho's TOP 10 FICTION BOOKS!

Many other extremely talented writers and inspiring people were awarded at the event. Lots of hard work went into the event, and it was a great success. Everybody in and out of this picture is fantastic. 

(And I'm not excluding you, dear reader).

Can you find me in the picture? Where's Waldo Oliver? :)

Earlier, I had the opportunity to speak at my local library for a few minutes on self-publishing, and how I published my books. It was pretty fun, and also inspiring to see young kids interested in how to accomplish something. (Back in June, I taught a week-long publishing course at CSU to kids of the same age group for the second time, which was also a LOT of fun!)

And on to more recent news, (as in, earlier TODAY news...)

I finished NaNoWriMo! 50,000 words in the month of November. This is my second consecutive win, third win overall, and fourth year participating! More information on the book I wrote for NaNo (and am continuing to write!) can be found here.

The moral of this post:

BONUS CONTENT: ("But wait, there's more!)

Do you know what this is? This is the schedule for my Kindle Countdown Deal! (Cyber Monday, Holla!) Next to the date, it has the price that the book will be on that date. This means that on December Second, you can get The Dreamers for just 99 CENTS! Each following day will add a dollar to the price until it's back to its normal price. (So hurry, before the price goes up!) Here's where the SPECIAL part comes in! The Nightmarers will have the same deal going on at the same time. So you could pick up the entire series so far for less than the price of ONE of them normally!

Just like last time, with great power savings, comes great responsibility. Well, not really. But it sure would be nice if you could leave a nice review of both books on Amazon, and share the deal with your friends! This helps lead to more sales later down the road, so I can afford to keep writing and entertaining and stuff. I don't want a deskjob. Or a job at McDonalds. Or Burger King. (Though Wendy's wouldn't be that bad, would it?) This promo helps you get a great deal, and if you help me out a little in return, helps me out a LOT!

Thanks, you guys are awesome! Stay sweet!

Dream on!

Oliver Dahl

&

Sam Kullen

Thank you, Imgur!

Thank you. These two words are the brunt of this entire post. Thank you, Imgur for being awesome and supporting me as a rising author. If you don't know what Imgur is, check it out. www.imgur.com. You're welcome. (I'm also only a little bit sorry for being the cause of you spending days of your time on there. Don't say I didn't warn you).  :)

Watch on YouTube

Check out this latest vlog of mine! I'd love if you subscribed to my YouTube channel, where I vlog about funny, cool, interesting things in my own really weird, quirky, sarcastic way. If you like this, there's more where that came from.


For a post with pictures, (ooh, aah!) visit www.oliverdahl.com/vlogs. Technical difficulties have been making picture uploading difficult. The issue should be fixed within 24 hours.

Thanks to your help, The Dreamers reached above #56 overall free--that's in the top 100 free books on Amazon!

It also became the #1 Bestselling title in both Children's and General Science Fiction Free books!

After the promo, over FOUR THOUSAND copies had been downloaded. To think that The Dreamers is in that many little Kindles (and Kindle apps) is astounding. That's a big number. That'd take a long time to count to.

Now that it's over, and sales have spiraled down again, I'm gonna press my luck and ask for some more help. I can express with words (even as a writer!!) how grateful I would be if you did ANY of these, let alone all of them.

1. WRITE A REVIEW ON AMAZON!
    People don't realize how much of a difference a positive Amazon review can make. Five minutes of your time and some kind words not only mean a LOT to me, they can help influence other potential readers to give it a try. New reviews honestly make my day, and help inspire me to write more. During the free promo, I got a few troll one-star reviews that brought my rating down significantly. Please, if you read "The Dreamers," just write something as short as an Imgur comment or a tweet as a positive Amazon review. That will help me out so much more in the long run. Here's a link to where you can review!

2. SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!
    I want this going viral, folks! Getting onto Bestselling charts is one of the best and most profitable ways to promote the book. But... It's also one of the hardest. A simple tweet, Facebook post or share, YouTube video, blog post... ANYTHING can help a LOT! If any of those results in ONE more download, that's one more satisfied reader, potential review, potential sale of "The Nightmarers," or even an Amazon review! Even just randomly sharing "www.oliverdahl.com" could help out. It might be a little weird to your friends/followers, but.... :)

Add "The Dreamers" to your GoodReads. Share it with your friends, there! It's super easy if you already have an account, and your friends will appreciate a quality free read. (Same goes with Facebook, Twitter... All of those!) Now that it isn't free anymore, now is the time for me to earn some of money that I'm going to need to publish my next book and get the word out about it.

3. GET THE SEQUEL!
    If you enjoy "The Dreamers," be sure to grab a copy of "The Nightmarers," too! I think, and from what I've heard from the first readers, it is BETTER than The Dreamers! (Can you imagine?? I didn't think that was possible, seeing as The Dreamers is so good! ;)) Oftentimes, sequels can be a let-down after the original book. I was worried this was going to be the case, but as I typed "The End" and heard back from beta readers, I knew that The Nightmarers was a new step in a better direction. Full of more mind-bending dreamstuff, gunfights, prison breaks, new worlds, new people, and new villains, "The Nightmarers" is a whole new kind of epic. Please be sure to check it out.


 For you other authors that may be reading this, look for an upcoming post highlighting the more fine details of how and by what means I accomplished this, along with what other promotion I did. I am proud to say, however, that Imgur was the BIGGEST help of all of the places I submitted by hundreds of times. Thank you guys over there. You guys rock.


Sincerely and thankfully,
Oliver Dahl

"The Dreamers" FREE on Amazon Kindle!!

Hey everybody! It's been a while since I've blogged over here. (Sorry about that/you're welcome, whichever ;))

If you read the title, and I'm assuming you have, or did just now, I hope you're as excited as I am!
This Thursday through Saturday, September 26-28, my first published novel, "The Dreamers" (Second Edition!) is going to be FREE to download on your Kindle, or Kindle reading app. Here's the rundown.

Between September 26-28, click RIGHT HERE and download "The Dreamers."

If you're new to my blog, or don't know anything about "The Dreamers," here's a Summary.

Sam is a Dreamer. This means that he can live inside of his dreams. In them, he must stop the evil Malfix from taking over not just the Dream Realm, but earth as well. Sam's adventures bring him through races, mazes, explosions, battles, and yes, the occasional cheesy knock-knock joke.

"The Dreamers" is Young Adult/Middle Grade Modern Science Fiction/ Fantasy/ Action/ Adventure. It's got a little bit of everything. It's been enjoyed by people from the 3rd grade on up, and currently has a 4 Star Average rating on Amazon.com.

"The Dreamers" was originally written when I was 12 years old back in November of 2011 for NaNoWriMo. Since then, it has been edited time and time again, published, awarded, and enjoyed by hundreds of people. On September 19th, "The Dreamers" got a Second Edition.

This second edition resolves past spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors that slipped through and may have hindered the reading experience.

The existing reviews on the Amazon page for "The Dreamers" are for the First, Original Edition. Any and all points made about grammatical mistakes, formatting errors, etc. are null and corrected!! :D

So why am I giving it away for free?!
I want to get The Dreamers in as many hands as I can. Knowing that my book has been read/downloaded thousands of times is already mind blowing for me to think about. I want as many people to join Sam in his adventures as I can. I want to share what was formerly trapped in my head with other people! Plus, these downloads can hugely impact sales afterward, by showing up on pages' "Readers who bought this book, also bought..." Sections. This will help the entire series out by getting it some further Amazon promotion.

How can I help?
Why, thank you for asking! ;)

1. WRITE A REVIEW ON AMAZON!

People don't realize how much of a difference a positive Amazon review can make. Five minutes of your time and some kind words not only mean a LOT to me, they can help influence other potential readers to give it a try. New reviews honestly make my day, and help inspire me to write more.

2. SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

I want this going viral, folks! Getting onto Bestselling charts is one of the best and most profitable ways to promote the book. But... It's also one of the hardest. A simple tweet, Facebook post or share, YouTube video, blog post... ANYTHING can help a LOT! If any of those results in ONE more download, that's one more satisfied reader, potential review, potential sale of "The Nightmarers," or even an Amazon review! 

Add "The Dreamers" to your GoodReads. Share it with your friends, there! It's super easy if you already have an account, and your friends will appreciate a quality free read. (Same goes with Facebook, Twitter... All of those!)

3. GET THE SEQUEL!

If you enjoy "The Dreamers," be sure to grab a copy of "The Nightmarers," too! I think, and from what I've heard from the first readers, it is BETTER than The Dreamers! (Can you imagine?? I didn't think that was possible, seeing as The Dreamers is so good! ;)) Oftentimes, sequels can be a let-down after the original book. I was worried this was going to be the case, but as I typed "The End" and heard back from beta readers, I knew that The Nightmarers was a new step in a better direction. Full of more mind-bending dreamstuff, gunfights, prison breaks, new worlds, new people, and new villains, "The Nightmarers" is a whole new kind of epic.

Thank you for helping my dreams come true!!
Oliver Dahl
&
Sam Kullen

Writing Extravaganza Post 7 - Staying Motivated

Kara Harris, author of "Omni: The Hunted" is visiting on the blog today! This is our 7th Writing Extravaganza Post, so to catch up on all the other great posts that fellow young writers have done, click here! Kara wrote about how to stay motivated while writing. Her tips are great, and should help everyone get through writers' block, and keep writing. My tip for overcoming writer's block is to imagine all of the possible success your work will have if you just press through this one tough spot. That has definitely helped me out, so maybe a few of you will find it helpful as well.

My tip aside, I'll let Kara introduce herself and share her tips!

My name is Kara Harris, I am 18 years old. I am now a self-published author. I have only written one book which is called “Omni: The Hunted”. It took me in total about 6 years to do write the book. A lot of people would say, “wow it took you that long!” I would say “yes” because school took up so much of my time. It can be a hassle for teen authors because writing takes so much time and it’s hard to stay motivated to write. So when Oliver asked me to write an article about staying motivated while writing I was very happy to give my point of view.

I will first start by saying writing isn’t easy and it’s not for everyone. I know many people who like to write, but just aren’t committed to any stories they write. Most have busy schedules or they just don’t like writing long stories. Sometimes you just have to have that one idea, that one simple inspiration to get you started. It’s just staying with it that can be the problem, but that is all you need to find your spark for an idea.

Staying motivated is a hard thing to do no matter how long the novel. For me when I start something I must finish it. Some people have the mind set, but some people don’t. Not every writer is the same. Some writers have a certain schedule to follow. Motivation can come in many shapes and sizes. Some people tend to keep motivated by hearing compliments about their writing, some are motivated by inspiration and some like me just have the love for their story. However, even with the best of writers have one thing they dread above all else, writers blocks. Writer blocks are stressful periods in writing any sort of book that you simply don’t know what to next in your story. Like motivation there are many ways of dealing with writers block. One way of avoiding writers block is making an outline of your story, but an outline won’t stop writers block entirely. I think the best way to handle writers block is to take a deep breath and take a break from writing. The block will only get worse if you keep thinking about it. You just need to step back and stop thinking about your writing. I would also recommend going outside and exploring new places. If you go to new places you may become inspired to write again. The key is not thinking about the story. A new idea will naturally come to you.

In Which We Talk About Bestselling Books

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In Which: You Learn Facts That Will BLOW YOUR MIND

Watch on YouTube

The Dreamers' Second Anniversary and Second Edition Announcement

The Dreamers celebrated its second anniversary yesterday! August 9th, 2013 marks two years since its publication. These two years have been the best of my life. (They've also made up over 13% of my 15 years!) 

So much has happened since I published The Dreamers. I became one of Idaho's 2011 Top 50 Idaho Authors. The Dreamers helped me gain the title of 2012's Idaho Student of the Year. I've met and given copies of my books to some of my favorite bestselling authors, including Brandon Mull, Richard Paul Evans, and Obert Skye. The Dreamers has spent time in the top percentage of books on Amazon.com, ranking above some of my favorite books that inspired me to write at times. (The Pendragon Series by DJ Machale). Hundreds of copies have been sold at book signings alone, and I have been blessed to meet such amazing people at these events. So many incredible individuals have helped support me in so many different ways. These people have become my friends--both online and in real life. :) 

In the span of this time, so many people have joined Sam in his adventures in the Dream Realm. These people turned the pages alongside Flitch and Thep, imagining new places that had originally been pictures confined to my head. It is truly inspiring to me that what I have written lights up each reader's head with their own version of what is on the page. 

Two years. 730 days of The Dreamers being available worldwide. Thank you to everyone who helped me out. Thank you to all of you awesome people who have purchased, read, and reviewed the book. A simple "Thank You" really doesn't capture the magnitude of my thankfulness. 

Today, I am also very pleased to officially make the following announcement. The Dreamers is going to have a second edition. 

The biggest complaint about the book mentioned by reviewers has been the lack of copy editing done in the book. Several grammatical and typographical errors occur in the book. This same complaint is mirrored in all too many reviews of self-published works. 

As a self-published author, I strive to give self-publishing the good name it deserves. Too often, people abuse how awesome self-publishing can be, and publish poor quality material. I aim to publish and release only the highest quality books for my readers. 

This second edition of "The Dreamers" will be completely free of errors, typos, and mistakes in an effort to provide the best for my readers. It will also be more properly formatted to look even more beautiful on the page and eReader than ever before.

No release date has been finalized, but expect it within the next month or so. As soon as a release date is finalized, it will be added to this post. 

Writing Extravaganza Post 6 - Writing A Villain Worth Reading

 On this, the sixth of our Writing Extravaganza Posts, we have Jo M. Coleman, who offered to write about villains. She did a fantastic job, and even included some pictures! (I love pictures!)

Please check out and support Jo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JoMColeman.

As of yet, the villain that I have hated the *most* is "The Swede" in AMC's TV series, "Hell on Wheels." More than Voldemort, more than President Snow. The creators of this TV series definitely knew what they were doing. They know what Joanna is about to tell. Her advice is gonna help you write villains that are AMC quality, detestable people. Hooray!



"In the old days villains had mustaches and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don't want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings." — Alfred Hitchcock 

We all love a good villain. That being who stands in the way of our hero, whose goals directly oppose those that we root for. The man with the scar on his cheek, clad in black. The woman with long fingernails painted red and an evil smirk on her face. The man with a grudge and a weapon. The woman with a memory and an army. What makes a good villain? How can we write better villains; ones that will tear a person's heartstrings, make the reader call for a lynching, do as much damage as possible to our poor heroes? I believe this sort of villain is borne out of understanding. Not necessarily on the reader's part, but very certainly on the writer's part. We must KNOW our villains, the way we know our hero, our best friend, our parents. A good villain needs to be sympathetic on some level. We as readers want to understand them, even if we are horrified at what they do. We want to know that Tom Riddle was unwanted and unloved as a child, and so we understand in part why he chose the path he did.

    We hate his hatred toward the half-bloods, the 'mud-bloods'. We hate who he is, and what he stands for, but as the story unfolds, we begin to understand how he got there. As we begin to understand it, and perhaps in a small way, feel some level of sympathy for him (he cannot love, after all, and that is certainly not his fault), we also see that he was presented with opportunities to do right, to make a positive change in the world, and he chose different. Understanding your villain is the first step to creating a villain worth reading about, worth pitting your hero against. Loki is not very lovable, were we to happen upon him as a self-proclaimed overlord, hardly batting an eyelash at killing any number of (in his eyes) unimportant people. He doesn't think twice about controlling and enslaving them. He is willing even to destroy the entire earth and everyone on it with no remorse on his end.

  And yet... in some way we see that he didn't really want it to be this way. He didn't want to turn out the way he did. Growing up in the shadow of his older brother, he eventually found out he never was part of the family, he could never measure up. And so he decides to make his own mark on the universe.   We understand him. We sympathize because we wonder what we would do in that situation. We understand his motives, though we may not agree with them. He hates humans because his brother loves them. He begrudges his brother the acclamation and acceptance that he feels he will never receive. Not every villain will be as sympathetic as Loki, and not every villain will have a tragic back story attributing to their current evilness... but they will have SOME story, and until you find out what it is, you'll only be writing a cardboard cutout of a character – one few people will want to read about, or force themselves to believe.

    

Some questions to ask yourself about your villain: What motivates him/her? A grudge from the past? Love? A broken heart? Anger? Past hurt? Revenge? Goals based off of a wrong mindset where they truly feel they are doing the right thing? Why has your villain become who they are? Childhood trauma? Family issues? Rejection? What is his/her ultimate goal? Why THAT goal? What will it mean for them personally to achieve that goal? What inspired them to set that goal? A person? A memory? What makes your villain tick? What makes him happy? What makes her sad? So, before diving into your villain's scenes of dastardly wicked deeds, make sure you, as the author, know why he (or she) has become that way. That you understand them. Give us a reason to care about your villain's story, just as we care for the hero's story, and then make us believe it.

In Which: I Discuss Reasons Why I Wish I Could've Been at Comic Con

My newest vlog video is up! I'm going to begin starting my vlog titles with "In Which," much like some of Jules Verne's novels. I think it's a classy thing to do, and it will also help develop my brand as a vlogger. Here's the video! Please enjoy, like, share, and subscribe!

Writing Extravaganza Post 5 - Setting

My giveaway has put off our writing extravaganza adventures for a little while. (There's still time--you can still enter!) Today we have another great post to get us back into the writing mood. Caitria Karis is here to write about settings. We can all learn a new thing or two, and come to look at some things in a new light. Without further ado, I'll let Caitria introduce herself and get started!

 Caitria Karis: historical fiction, dystopian/sci-fi, fantasy novelist; devourer of books; musician; lover of the color lavender; and krazy 19-year-old. She read Catching Fire and Mockingjay in the same day, plunks Disney songs on her piano, and doesn’t care how lame everyone else thinks he is, declares Captain America the best Avenger {ok, he’s not the coolest, or the smartest,  or the strongest…but he’s the best}. She dries dishes by dancing them around the kitchen singing Reflection  {she adores  music} and owns her own business. Writing never had a beginning for her. Even when she could barely scrawl letters she was telling stories on paper. Currently, she is working on editing a historical fiction trilogy {ahem, for the last 6 almost 7 years} and completing the first book of a dystopian/sci-fi trilogy.

A powerful setting is not about time and place. It’s not about fairylands and the great pyramids. It’s about connection.

A reader is transported into your world emotionally by the character. They are transported physically by your setting.

There are many different types of settings. Every genre and style and author has their own, a picture of the world of their novel. A good setting doesn’t necessarily have to be spoken.

The best setting is felt, almost as if it is an emotion. Often, the setting is used to influence or contrast the character’s emotions {i.e. rainclouds during depression, sunshine on an adventurous day… (though, some of these are becoming quite cliché – therealways seems to be a thunderstorm at the emotional climax)}.

In too many cases, writers spill out the entire contents of a room and leave nothing to the reader’s imagination. Imagination is the greatest tool a reader can bring to a book. It captures and helps them become involved in the story, create their own picture of what is going on. Giving them a background and foundation is necessary. But don’t overdo it.

For a historical fiction, setting vehicles you to the past. It is important to be aware of the cultural and social customs of the time, the likelihood of your storyline actually taking place, and the building of your domain. Historical fiction is probably one of the hardest genre’s to write, because you are so limited by the knowledge of the past. Creating a realistic picture of an age not one reader has ever belonged to is challenging, because it must still appear realistic. Analogies are very important, because they fill the reader’s mind with comparisons given by the protagonist. If we are in Medieval England, likening a character’s hesitation to a lurching car is going to convey confusion and disjoint the way the story flows.

Fantasy is fun. You can create your own world. And while you get to call the shots for what your world is like, it is better to stay within boundaries of your creation and introduce the reader to your civilizations traditions and customs. Don’t randomly pull from times of history to pool your world’s society. Everything still needs to be easily associated. If one person is using a sword and the next a machine gun, I would have a hard time picturing the culture and science of the book.

Creating your own unique, rich flavor to a setting is what will draw in your readers. Give them a voice, a picture, that will capture them and make them want more, imagine this really happening. Some books spend pages {some even chapters}developing the setting. Others can establish a setting in a few short words that will stand for the rest of the book. I won’t pretend either is better or worse, there are pros and cons for both. What I will say is your setting is powerful. It develops an angle and depth to your protagonist, the storyline, and the difficulty they must surmount that cannot be fashioned any other way.

5,000 Twitter Followers Giveaway!

140 characters. More than 3,000 tweets so far. Funny thoughts, quirky ideas, puns, pictures of food I wish I could have, and links to the funniest, weirdest, most interesting things on the Internet. But most importantly... 5,000 awesome people that are in this adventure with me. It means a lot.

And now, I'm going to give a little something back. Now is your chance to win "The Dreamers!" And not just any copies, either. These eBooks I send to the winners will be personalized and signed by me! To learn more about this incredible testament of modern technology and the evolution of authors, check out this post all about autographed eBooks and see how it works. In addition, the two grand prizes will also include a copy of "The Nightmarers" signed to them! These grand prize winners will have the entire series, signed! Check it out and enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Twitter followers get an automatic 10 entries. They'll get an additional 5 entries every time they tweet about it! Another five entries can be gained by liking my Facebook page, and an additional two can be given when you join my email list. Because there are 5 autographed copies of The Dreamers ready to be won, and two complete series packages available, there are quite a few opportunities to win!

I feel like this giveaway only scratches the surface on how grateful I am that I have reached this milestone. It means so much to me that I have 5,000 people supporting me in their various, awesome ways. That's a small town's worth!

Thank you all, and good luck!
Oliver Dahl

Writing Extravaganza Post 4 - Guess you'll have to read and find out...

Today, I am happy to present to you the fourth guest poster for our Writing Extravaganza "series," if you will. Oksana Carlier is here to write about something. I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out what...

I have extremely limited time to write this post. If I don't finish it in time, you can decide what you think I was trying to say because it will not be complete.

Half-posts aren't really my style so I am going to do my best to finish this.

My topic is...well, it's not essential knowledge at this point in time. You don't need that information (although if you are a true follower of Dahl's blog, you might know from one of his recent posts).

What I'm talking about today can be created in many ways. It often shows up in action, crime, and mystery novels but is certainly not limited to one of the three.

It is something that keeps a reader reading not only while they are lounging, but also when they go to get a snack or walk downstairs or empty the dishwasher.

What is my topic, you ask?

Are you sure you want to know? Really quite sure?

My topic is suspense! Although, you probably won't truly comprehend my secrets of suspense until you finish reading my post.

Suspense can be created in a few ways.

A. Dialogue. One character might have a question they want answered but the other character is decidedly trying to avoid answering. The reasons behind the question and lack of answer can get quite complicated but the reader will want to know the answer right along with the character and will keep on reading.

B. Action. I can describe a form of this in one short line. Who will win the war and who will die for their cause?

C. Hints. Let your character be nervous or excited for an upcoming camping trip, but don't explain why they are so excited or nervous. Hint around the edges of your sentences about how something will be different this time but don't say exactly what. For example, tell the reader that an old friend will be camping with them but don't say how your character knows them but rather show how emotional your character gets about them.

While I think dialogue, action, and hints are a great way to generate suspense, I would humbly say that suspense really does come down to one main idea: letting the reader know that something exciting is going to happen but not telling them what.

Whew! I managed to finish my post on time!

Oksana Carlier has been writing stories, blogs and to-do lists for too many years. She enjoys putting her mind to work to capture truths about the world in her writing. She blogs over at livetidbits.wordpress.com.

Writing Extravaganza Post 3 - Community & Critiques

Today, I am pleased to introduce you to Carilyn Anne, who offered to write a post for you guys about writing and critiquing communities. I think we can all learn a thing a two that will definitely help our writing grow down the road. So, anyway... Dreamers, meet Carilyn. Carilyn, meet the Dreamers.

Carilyn Anne is a writer, follower of Jesus, and homeschool graduate. She’s been writing from a young age, and has participated in NaNoWriMo since 2010. She spends time housecleaning, babysitting, chatting on the Go Teen Writers Facebook group, and occasionally watching TV shows (like Doctor Who, MasterChef, Top Shot, and Once Upon a Time) with her siblings and parents. She blogs over at The Writing Maiden. Her two main WIPs are “Flicker in the Night”, a historical fiction set during the Great Awakening, and “The Last Farm” which is a futuristic fiction.

To start off with, I’d like to make a statement of the obvious: Writing is hard. Say it with me. Writing. Is. Hard.

Sure, there are times when you’re high on inspiration, and your fingers can’t keep up with your brain. Or you may go for days on end thinking about your WIP and gaining inspiration for it from… everywhere. You incorporate little tidbits of dialogue that you overhear, or you change a character to incorporate a trait that you saw in a random stranger yesterday. Maybe you’re in the editing stage, and you’re molding the story to fit the one in your imagination better.

Whatever the case may be, at some point, you will most likely hit a speed bump that will slow you down or throw you off. During these times, it’s nice to have somebody to discuss things with, or feedback from someone else who has a fresher perspective on your story. You could have a ‘writing buddy’, but I don’t do that officially. What I do is kind of the same, but a little different. Let me explain.

There are two ways to get feedback or help, or encouragement, or whatever it is that you need.

Community

Join a writer’s group. Just do it. Do it now. Preferably join Go Teen Writers, if you’re young (and you don’t HAVE to be a teenager – I’m 20). Also, you could join YA Writers Alumni, if you’ve graduated from highschool.

If you join a community of writers, and it’s an active enough community, then when you hit a speedbump or you run into a brick wall with your WIP, there will be someone there to listen to the problem you’re having and encourage you or give you advice. If you pick a good group (like GTW), they’ll be polite and sincere, and they’ll also be helpful. In this way, you can also get a sort-of-critique on your story idea. Would it work to have your MC do such-and-such? Is this realistic? How does this subplot sound? Get feedback on if your story idea even sounds like something people would want to read.

When you join a writers group, you may also find it fun and even beneficial to your own writing life, to join other conversations or reply to other people’s questions. If others help you, why not help them? In this way, writers can band together over a common way of life and help each other on a difficult journey. Writing isn’t easy, but especially if you have supporters, it can be very fun and rewarding. You may even make a few friends along the way (I have!).

Critiques

Another way to get feedback on your story is by sending it out for critiques. Get a couple of people who are willing to take a look at your novel and tell you exactly what’s wrong with it. A fresh pair of eyes always helps (unless the critiquer is too vague).

This is different from a beta reader. A beta reader (in my mind) should read through your story and tell you their perspective on the storyline and characters. Depending on how in-depth they go, they should mention the character development and plot progression.

A critique can cover all of that, but also grammar, punctuation, and style. A good critiquer will not try to change your writing style, but they will try to help you grow as a writer by pointing out where sentences do not flow or descriptions are too vague.

I’ll give you a little tip – go all out. Ask them to point out every little thing they can find, both good and bad. A good critiquer will point out the good things too. But if they don’t mention anything good, take the hit and learn from what they said. Maybe your story just needs a lot of improvement.

Critiques are invaluable to the editing process. I recommend sending your novel a chapter at a time after you’ve edited at least once. Do not send out your first draft unless you need a very basic overall idea of if the storyline will work. If you do that, it’s more of the beta reader side of things. Don’t ever send your first draft out for an in-depth critique. Work on it first. Invest in editing it yourself.

Having even one chapter of your WIP critiqued by another writer will help you find errors in your other chapters. We tend to make the same mistakes over and over. A mistake that you make in Chapter 1 will likely pop up again later on, and you’ll know to look for it.

Your critiquers don’t have to be published authors. They can be unpublished authors like you, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be good at critiquing. Critiquing your novel will help them grow in their own writing, because they’ll see the mistakes you’re making, and they’ll start automatically looking for those mistakes and correcting them in their own writing. It’s a win-win situation.

If you want to be published, or even if you’re just curious as to if you write well or not, join a writer’s group, and get some people to read at least a chapter of your book. You won’t regret it.

Writing Extravaganza Post 2: Characters (of the Dynamic Variety)

Today we have another special treat! Elle Rose is visiting from her blog Rebel, Reading. I have asked her to write a little bit about how to write and create three dimensional, realistic, believable characters. She did an excellent job. I know for sure that I learned quite a bit. She gave me some thoughts and ideas that definitely helped me, and can help every one of you write about more dynamic characters from the time you finish the post. Without any further blabbing from me, [obligatory request for drum roll...] Elle Rose!

How to Make Dynamic Characters

If the novel you’re currently working on (or you just like this kind of thing) is in first-person – and that’s very often the case in YA – your whole story hinges on dynamic characters. They can be quite tricky to create, but ironically the most important thing of all is not to exercise too much control over them.

Take Kyla from Slated, by Teri Terry (my review here) – she’s intriguing and she’s intelligent. She lets the reader view the word through her eyes. That’s a very important thing about a character. They have to take the reader on a journey. Sure, you can have an unreliable narrator, but they should still tell the reader a story even if that story is not the truth. Readers want to be let in.

Relationships. This part is really important. Everyone in the world has hundreds, thousands of relationships. They can be fleeting ones – nodding hello to someone walking down the street – or lasting ones, like familial relationships. But just remember that no character should be entirely isolated. Even if they’re in solitary confinement in a prison cell they’re still going to be thinking about other people.

Also, this is not confined to the main character – otherwise you’re going to have a very flat story. Other characters all have to have their own motivations and desires. These will all act on each other to create a multi-dimensional, colourful story.Remember, if the story is first-person, everything is being seen through the eyes of the narrator. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the action is about that character. Presumably the protagonist is going to be very involved, but other people would see the story as being about themselves, so take note of that.

Give your character an arc. You can have the most interesting character in the world but if they don’t develop through the story, if they don’t experience the story, then they’re not going to be of any great import. You r characters have to be shaped by the experiences and then go on to shape the plot right back.

Here’s a point that I’ve struggled with a lot in the past. Voice.My current WIP has two rotating first-person narrators, and they’re siblings of a similar age. They’re also best friends and extremely closely bonded. So it was hard to separate their voices, because they sound so similar. And they should. These characters have differences which develop throughout the book as they meet new people and have new experiences, but they are still very similar in voice. And you know what? That’s okay. The other characters (who don’t narrate), we see through dialogue, and they have a different way of speaking. I don’t have strong accents in my world, so I don’t have to deal with those except in one character (because readers usually hate accents when reading – I know I do), but I make the other characters different in their own ways. My female main character’s best friend is superficial but has her heart in the right place. My male protagonist’s girlfriend is a sassy spitfire, probably the wittiest and funniest character in the book, and I love writing her scenes because she’s completely irreverent.

I see a lot of advice saying that you have to give your main characters particular hobbies. But it isn’t always as clear-cut as that. Not everyone likes basketball, or piano playing, or sailing exclusively. Most people have varying levels of interest in lots of different things and some don’t ever find their true passion. I think it’s great to have your protagonist find her*(or his) passion because of her growth throughout the story, because she’s found herself in the triumph. That’s what I did in my WIP. Her brother, the other main character, loves books and Magno racing. But she’s less defined. They’re both extremely intelligent, but she’s not as specifically interested in books as he is. And that’s alright. She finds her potential during the story arc. So don’t go in with a list of check boxes. I started out with just her full name, her date of birth, physical features and five words describing her personality. Not all of the words I had in my original formulating of ideas still stick, but the ones that do are the best ones. Believe me, the rest will come as you write.

Give them some priorities. One burning purpose each. You won’t have to go into the details of this purpose for anyone who’s not a main character, but it’s worth doing. For example, my female protagonist is quite aimless at the beginning of the story. Then a certain cataclysmic event occurs, and catapults her into action and a long journey where she has a strong purpose to fight for what’s right. Once she leaves, her brother, the male protagonist who is very close to her, starts a quest to find her. That’s his single-minded focus for the first full half of the book, until the spirited girl he meets spurs him into action of his own. His passion only intensifies, but he has strong priorities all along.

Here’s a point that’ll do wonders for the sanity of your readers: don’t have characters there (especially not your main character!) just to prove a point. I don’t care if you’re Christian/Scientologist/Rastafarian, unless I buy that book specifically from the religious writing genre I don’t want to hear about why you think your god is great.  It’s not just religion. Please don’t make your characters a thinly veiled shield for your personal agendas. Sure, you can use them to prove a point, but it has to come from them, not you. At some point your characters must leap off the page and be people. Not caricatures, not campaigns, people. And they will have wildly differing agendas themselves, if you’re writing them well. Also, they may not always behave as you expect them to. But if they become a little rebellious and aren’t fitting in with Your Divine Plan, since a writer is God of their own universe, be proud. You’ve created real, dynamic characters.  

  

Elle Rose is a ukulele-playing, word-loving bookworm who packs a ridiculous amount of things into her free time. She’s currently working on a science-fiction dystopian novel and maintaining two blogs: 

Rebel, Reading, where she reviews books and blogs about all things literary.
&                                                            

Student Bright Side, a fledgling blog where she talks about making the most of student life.

Follow her on her main blog’s official Twitter @rebelreading and/or her personal account, @ElleRoseRyan.

Writing Extravaganza Post 1 - Inspiration

Inspiration is something that all creators need in order to get ideas, stay motivated, and keep going. The wise words of Dory, in Finding Nemo come to mind. "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming..." Inspiration can help us both start "swimming," and to keep "swimming."

To answer your questions of "How do I get inspiration?" or "Where do ideas come from?" and even "How do I stay inspired?" is Zara Hoffman, fellow teen author. Take it away.


Zara Hoffman is a teen author. She spends most of her time doing homework and writing new stories. When she isn't wrapped up in projects, Zara can be found relaxing with friends and family, listening to music, reading and writing, or playing with her dog, Riley.
Connect with Zara online at www.zarahoffman.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorZaraHoffman
Twitter: @AuthZH

Inspiration… it's what all creative people thrive on, but when you can't find any, it can become the bane of your existence.

The nice thing for me is that I don't normally have to search for inspiration due to my over-active, hyper subconscious that is always planning new stories. It's great–except when I'm trying to fall asleep, but that's another story.

When I can catch some z's, my dreams are almost always about my stories, ones I'm already working on and new ideas, too. My issue most of the time is that I'll get distracted by shiny new ideas while writing a WIP, and have to take a break to write it down, or else I'll forget. I now have 6 stories going. One is waiting to be edited, I'm writing the sequel (or trying to, but I really want to work on a different story), the third in the trilogy isn't started, I have one story that's half-finished, and two that are waiting in the wings. Ah, the pitfalls of being an easily-distracted author.

Anyway, where does my inspiration come from? My emotions. Most of my story ideas are born from an overwhelming feeling or situation that have really happened to me. That's my starting point. Well, most of the time. Other times it's just me rambling in my thoughts and I stumble across an interesting idea and start asking a million "what if" questions until I've formed a coherent plot sketch.

For those who have a hard time finding inspiration, don't worry too much about it. Try taking a break and doing another hobby that makes you happy, or at least relaxed. If it's not writing related, that may be best, but even writing a different WIP (if you have multiple going simultaneously), can help get your creative juices flowing, and in the process, a new idea may hit you. When I'm stuck, I read, sing, dance, and watch a lot of movies. By the time my break is over (which may take a few days), I feel renewed and ready to tackle writing again–even if it's gibberish just to get me going.

What's your creative process for finding ideas?

Online Writing Extravaganza!

All of you awesome, amazing people are in for an equally awesome and amazing surprise. Well, I guess it isn't as much of a surprise as I had hoped, since, y'know... the title.

Regardless, the "surprise" remains awesome. For the next two or three weeks, I have had six incredible other teen(ish) writers from the Facebook page, Go Teen Writers volunteer to write guest posts to you guys about different aspects of the writing process. From characters to editing groups and settings to plot, we're going to have an awesome next couple weeks. These posts can help you out with Camp NaNoWriMo, if you're participating in that, or just your writing in general.

Look for the following posts soon, or subscribe to my blog to be notified when they're up! (The subject of the post is a link to their post, their name links to their various respective websites/blogs)

Zara Hoffman - Inspiration

Kara Harris - Motivation

Adriana Lister - Plotting vs. Pantsing

Caitria Karis Cymbaluk - Setting

Elle Loughran - Characters

Carilyn Anne - Community Critiques

Oksana Carlier - Suspense
Jo M Coleman - Villains

I like how somehow Oksana, writing about suspense, ended up being last. I guess we'll all have to experience some suspense for ourselves waiting for her post to be up!

Anyway, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that we have quite the line up. I hope you are all as excited for these as I am! It's gonna be great!

Meanwhile, I have traded guest posts with these awesome people. I'm posting on their blogs as they post on mine. Here's a link to all of my posts on their blogs. Be sure to check them out, learn a thing or two, (or three or four...) and get these people some blog traffic. They all deserve it.
 

Blog Posts I Wrote in Return: 

(Be sure to check them out and give these fabulous blogs some comments!)

 Self-Publishing Difficulties

The Short Story Revolution
From Reading to Writing
How I Started Writing

Dream on!
Oliver Dahl

Vlogging

Hey, all! I have decided to embark on a new sort of journey as I roam the internet. I have decided to take up vlogging.

"What the heck is that?" I can sense you say through the computer screen.

"Well, you awesome human being," I begin, "Vlogging is a mixture of the words 'video,' and 'blogging' (or logging, if you prefer). It is blogging, but, instead of posts like the one you are currently reading, it would be a video instead."

"Ah, that makes sense," You think. Or maybe you already knew that. Or maybe you're still confused.

Anyway, I have done two different "vlogs" already. (Three if you count my Questions and Answers video).

They are posted on my YouTube channel. You should totally subscribe and like my videos. I can see every time someone does that and it truly makes me happy when people do! Can you help make me happy? Please...?

However, for your ease, I have considerately posted my two vlogs so far below for your enjoyment, entertainment, and laughing-at-somebody needs. I try my best to be funny in these videos. I have gotten reports of people crying, so go on at your own discretion.Oh--crying of laughter, that is. Carry on. Enjoy!

This first video also happens to be my first vlog. It is entitled "On Writing," where I talk more about my own WIPs, and general writing tips. It gets funny towards the end, trust me.

This last one is where I unsuccessfully try to attempt to persuade people to purchase and read my books. It basically ends up turning into one of the strangest comedy routines you'll ever watch. Maybe. Kind of.

I hope to only vlog at most once a week. (The difficulty and stressfulness of uploading a YouTube video from my iPad can get infuriating!) From now on, I will post a separate blog post on here for every new vlog I post on YouTube. So you don't need to subscribe, you would just have to check here every once in a while. But if you do subscribe, you don't need to check here. You'll get a little notification whenever I upload something when you check YouTube. Easy as that. Plus, I'll give you doughnuts. 

Psych, the box is empty! (Like my soul).

Soullessly yours,

Oliver Dahl