Scott Tracey's Blog, page 8

Write it down!

One of the things that I do, or at least that I try to do, is to write an idea down as soon as I have it, even if I'm in the middle of another project.  Because 1) that's when all my best ideas occur (it's the grass is always greener symptom of writing), and 2) most ideas need some time to simmer in your brain anyways.  At least, they do for me.

I have a whole folder entitled 'Other Ideas' on my computer, that contains every half-baked and random snippet that pops into my head.  You never know what random idea you had at 2:51 PM on a Monday is going to turn into a full-fledged novel.  Or when a perfect line drops into your head, but you don't have a book for it.  The important thing is to write it down, because who knows what you'll think of it in a couple of days, weeks, months, or even years.

Another reason this is helpful is because it gives you options.  I never understand people who don't have projects lying on the back burner, only because I have half a dozen at any given time.  Now, obviously not all of those are going to be viable novels, but it's a place to start.  But any idea that has even a little bit of stretch to it goes in the file.  And eventually, at some point, I'll open that file back up and play around with it a little.

The important thing is to record those moments of inspiration, because you never know where they'll lead.  Moonset started from a single line of dialogue that didn't even make it into the final book, but summarized it completely.  I didn't work on it for almost a year after writing down that first line, but as soon as I did the story came rushing out of me.

Rambling about Reviews

This week's vlog introduces you to our garage (which is absolutely fascinating…or something).

Bookanista Review: SUPERNATURALLY by Kiersten White

The Summary (from Goodreads):

Evie finally has the normal life she's always longed for. But she's shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she's given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie's faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there's a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.

What I liked about it:

There's a special place in my heart for "give the character what they want" stories.  I love when someone is given exactly what they think they want, and then as soon as they have it, they realize that the grass ISN'T always greener on the other side, and it forces them to change and grow. Evie gets the locker, the normal life, the boy…and it's not exactly what she thought it would be.  And then wackiness ensues.

The characters.  Evie and Lend have been one of my favorite YA couples ever since I read PARANORMALCY last year.  They're just so cute!  But now there's new (and still some old) complications coming up, which makes everything fresh again.  Reth was my favorite from the last book, but I think that honor might be stolen by Jack, a new character, in this one.  Jack has some of the best lines, and he's just…fantastic.  He's the little brother that makes you wish you were an only child.  In the best way, of course.

Plus there's the fact that Kiersten herself is hilarious.  If you're not already following her on Twitter, you need to rectify that right away.

You mean there's a whole year until the last book?  Bleep.

Check out the other Bookanistas:

Elana Johnson raves about Blood Red Road

LiLa Roecker  shivers over A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie

Christine Fonseca  is wowed by The Near Witch

Beth Revis loves The Last Little Blue Envelope

Carolina Valdez Miller gushes over The Girl of Fire and Thorns – with arc giveaway

Bethany Wiggins cheers for Chime

Rosemary Clement Moore is enraptured by Entwine

Stasia Ward Kehoe applauds The Predicteds

How to Prioritize

So let's say it's an atypical Tuesday, and you have Things To Do.

1.  You can work on that list of guest blogs and interviews that are set to come out closer to your release date, but should probably be finished soon.

2.  You can work on that guest vlog you offered to do, that's due in a few weeks.

3.  There's a Law & Order: SVU marathon on USA today.  ALL DAY TODAY.  That's like 10 hours of horribly deviated killers and villains.

4.  You can read A DANCE WITH DRAGONS since you've been waiting on that since 2005.

5.  You can write on that new WIP you've been–bwahahaha, I can't even keep a straight face on this one.

6.  You can start answering your email since you've been letting it go since May.

7.  You can write pointless blog posts about all the things you could be doing, instead of a blog post about the things you SHOULD be doing.

Happy Tuesday!

You Know You're Spoiled When…

So the undefinable Leah Clifford is holding a BlogTV show tonight, all about the inner workings of A TOUCH MORTAL.  If you've never been to one of Leah's BlogTV shows, it's like a live version of one of her vlogs, except even more rambly and hysterical.

And every time, without fail, someone starts asking questions about ATM that Leah feels like she can't answer, because there's always someone in the room who hasn't read the book yet.  Enter the Spoiled Rotten chat!  Have you read ATM and still have questions?  Are you curious about what's in store for Eden and company in the future? Or maybe which New York cemetery is Kristen's favorite?  Or what brand of guyliner Az wears?  Then this is the chat for you.

And best of all, do you want to win an ARC of WITCH EYES?  That's right, Leah managed to snag herself a copy, and she's giving it away during the show!  The kicker is that there will be a trivia question directly related to A TOUCH MORTAL – so reading the book will go a long way to winning the copy of WITCH EYES.

http://www.blogtv.com/people/LeahClifford

The spoiler chat is TONIGHT at 8 pm EST!  You should swing by and let yourself get spoiled rotten.  You've been good this week, you deserve it!

Once upon a time…

This happened:

So yeah.  Cassie Clare liked my book, and then I died a little.  When I first started writing seriously in 2007, City of Bones was one of the first books that really gave me that "this!  I want to write novels like this!" feeling.  Just knowing that she liked it was such a huge compliment.

Why It's Hard to Be A Writer

One of the best pieces of advice I've ever seen for writers was, "If you can quit, then do it."  The theory is that a writer has to write, it's a compulsion that has to be sated.  And if you're one of those people who could write, but won't, then quitting is far better than putting yourself through the life of the average writer.

Because it's hard to write a novel.  It's hard to revise a novel.  It's hard to read a bad critique, and to give a bad critique.  It's hard to find an agent, and harder still to find a book deal.  It's hard to read negative reviews, it's hard to keep your professional mask in place all the time.  It's hard to learn patience, and adapt to the publishing timeframe.

And one of the hardest parts about being a writer is that no one can ever fully prepare you for what you're going to go through.  Because everyone's journey is different, and everyone hits different stops along the way.  And no one really prepares you when your critique partner sails through the process while you struggle, or vice versa.

No one can teach you how to let go of bad reviews, or how to deal with the negative things you hear about yourself.  No one can tell you what, exactly, you want/need in an Agent (assuming you are looking for one). No one can tell you, with any certainty, how much promotion is too much, or what promotion works (and what doesn't).  These are all things that are different for every single person, and what may work for your friends may not work for you.

It's hard to be a writer, because there's something of a steep learning curve.  Sometimes, you make mistakes and you have to learn from them so you don't do it again.  A lot of the time, the only way to prepare yourself for something is by going through it.  You may think you can handle something, but when it's right in front of you, sometimes you're surprised.

And it's a give and take, too.  The things that get under your skin may not bother your friends.  I know there's definitely situations where I get upset about things that don't bother my writer friends in the slightest.  And they get upset about things that I brush off easily.

It's hard to be a writer, because you never know what to expect.  And even when you do expect things, the end result is almost never what you started out thinking it would be.

A positive attitude helps more than anything else, as does a life and hobbies outside of the computer screen.  The more you can fill your life with things that aren't Writing and All the Myriad Ways You Can Be Disappointed (which might be my autobiography title someday) , the less of a hold the dark side of writing can get on you.

The best that any of us can hope for is to keep our head up.   Because there's nothing we'd rather do than write.  And writing is the easy part.

 

Christopher Pike Raised Me

So in the midst of the #yalitchat last night about men who write YA, I ended up in the most hysterical conversation with (who else) but Lisa Roecker, Saundra Mitchell, and others.  All about dear Mr. Pike, and the way that he traumatized raised me.

Don't believe me?  Here's a few of the things I learned from Christopher Pike.

Whisper of Death:

If you have sex, you will die.

If you have sex, and get pregnant, you will die.

If you have sex and get pregnant with some sort of demon baby, she will kill you with a pitchfork after killing all your friends.

Life lesson: Abstinence is better than a pitchfork through the chest.

Bury Me Deep

Scuba diving will kill you. Horribly.

The bends are the worst thing ever.

Don't go scuba diving.  Ever.

EVER.

Life lesson: You were born on land for a reason.

 

 

The Immortal:

If you ever eat a hamburger you didn't prepare yourself, you will die.

You would never know if someone put ground up glass in your hamburger.

Eating ground up glass is terrible for you.  Almost as bad as eating fruit.

Life lesson: Girls who used to be immortal  may look like a great choice for a BFF, but they aren't immortal anymore for a reason.

 

Scavenger Hunt:

Scavenger hunts are deadly serious business.

If you ever take part in a scavenger hunt, someone is probably going to die.

It's probably going to be you.

Also, avoid girls who are possessed by animals.

Life lesson: if your choices on a Friday night are a scavenger hunt, or LIVING, go play solitaire on your computer.

 

Last Act:

Never, ever join the school play.  Never steal an actress's spotlight.

If you join a group of friends and they already have in-jokes that you don't get, chances are they have horrible, nightmare-inducing secrets about things that happened last summer, and if you find out the truth they will have to kill you.

On stage.  Probably in your underwear.

Life Lesson: Do not talk to drama kids.  Do not risk their ire.

The winner of WITCH EYES!

Thank you guys SO MUCH for all your entries, and for spreading the word.  Even though I accidentally posted the contest in the middle of the night, the response was immediate.

So without further ado, the winner of the ARC of WITCH EYES:

Congrats, Liz!  Email me at scottshouldbewriting (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address.

Also a note, I still haven't heard from the winner for the ARC of BLOODLINES.  You have until next Wednesday, otherwise I'll have to pick a new name (or hold a new contest, who knows?).

Thanks again, everyone.

And since I'm done with contests for right now, I guess that means I'm going to have to start writing up real blog posts again.  Oy.

 

 

Win a copy of WITCH EYES!

Alright, so this is the third and final giveaway that I'm doing this week.  And it's for an ARC of WITCH EYES. This is the ONLY ARC I have, which means it's all yours!

Braden's witch eyes give him an enormous power. A mere look causes a kaleidoscopic explosion that lets him read the remnants of emotions, memories, darkness, and magic. But this rare gift is also his biggest curse, killing him a little more each time he uses it.

 Compelled to learn about his shadowed past and the family he never knew, Braden is drawn to the city of Belle Dam, where he is soon caught between two feuding witch dynasties. Sworn rivals Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe will use anything—lies, manipulation, illusion, and even murder—to seize control of Braden's powers. To stop an ancient evil from destroying the town, Braden must master his gift, while vowing to never become their sacrificial pawn.  But everything changes when Braden learns that Jason is his father–and Trey, the enigmatic guy he's falling for, is Catherine's son.

Rules:

1.  There are two steps to the contest this time.  First, you must tweet about it, and then you must include that link in the comment below.    If you don't have Twitter, then blog about it.  Don't have a blog?  Vlog.  You get the idea.

2.  Contest is open to US/Canada only.

3.  The contest will run from now (Thursday) until Saturday, June 25th at noon.  Winner will be announced on Saturday.

In the meantime, you can check out more about WITCH EYES by clicking the tab at the top of the page, joining the WITCH EYES Facebook page, or by checking out it out on Goodreads.  You can also look me up on Twitter.

Good luck!