Patrick Rutigliano's Blog, page 11

New Article Up (Writing Protagonists)

A solid protagonist provides readers the ride through a story. Make sure they want to stay in the car:

http://patrickrutigliano.wordpress.com/articles/writing-protagonists/

Surviving the Crash Giveaway!

Ha! I told you I’d be getting to this. So, here’s the deal: I’m giving away an electronic copy of Surviving the Crash to the first five people who leave a comment on this post. If you’re one of the lucky few, just shoot me an e-mail at prutigli@gmail.com with “Free Copy” in the subject line and let me know whether you want a mobi or epub copy of the book. After that, I’ll send it out to you ASAP. There’s no requirement to review. This is just for fun.    

And here’s a link to the book’s Amazon page should you want to know a little more about it:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KWPO5CC

New Article Up (“ly” Adverb Overuse)

Because adverbs ending in “ly” deserve their reputation for a reason:

http://patrickrutigliano.wordpress.com/articles/ly-adverb-overuse/

Sorry for the Delay!

Alas, I forgot what day it was yesterday until the evening … and then my internet decided to cut out for the night before I could make my normally scheduled post.

Argh.

In any case, there’s not a whole lot happening here at the moment, anyway. Progress on the new novella is rolling along (it’s a little over 11k), and I may have some more freelance work soon. After finishing up my fortieth article last Sunday, I’m also starting to struggle to find new topics to cover, so if you’d like me to expound on a subject I haven’t gone over, feel free to leave a recommendation in the comments section.

Beyond that, I’m considering some additional promotions for Surviving the Crash and The Untimely Deaths of Daryl Handy. Despite good reviews, both books are selling pretty poorly, and I’m committed to finding ways to get them in the hands of more readers. I’d like to do a giveaway on Goodreads, but they don’t permit ebooks. So, perhaps a direct giveaway via this blog and/or social media will be in order soon. I’ll keep you posted.

New Article Up (Writing Action)

Some advice on writing action for you all today:

http://patrickrutigliano.wordpress.com/articles/writing-action/

My Writing Process Blog Tour

I was recently tagged by fellow author Ben Eads to take part in this writing process blog tour. In addition to being my chief beta-reader and a cool guy, Ben has been hard at work on his own book, Cracked Sky, which will be released by Omnium Gatherum Media in January of 2015.

Now, let’s get to it, shall we?

What am I currently working on?

I’m currently in the middle of my newest novella, Wind Chill. Following the murder of her mother, a teenage girl’s father becomes increasingly paranoid and obsessed with the idea of disaster “prepping.” Finally believing the end of society is at hand a year later, he whisks his daughter away to a secluded shelter in the dead of winter. Bad stuff goes down from there.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I think I tend to avoid some of the traditional tropes a bit more than the average horror writer. I have no interest in using one the “traditional” monsters unless I can put a truly unique spin on them. I always prefer to create something as original as possible. I’ve also been told my books tend to be very fast paced, so there’s little meandering and/or overindulgent exposition in my work.

Why do I write what I do?

The honest truth is that I don’t like the real world very much. I find everyday life fairly mundane and confining, and I’d have very little interest in exploring it in fiction. Horror lets me bend and break natural laws enough to make the worlds I write far more interesting places, and I get to explore how my characters react to such insanity. I also harbor a pretty deep misanthropic streak, so it’s nice to pretend that there are forces at work more insidious than humanity for a little while.

How does my writing process work?

There’s not a lot to it, really. An idea may come to me abruptly or from reading/watching something interesting. My mind chews on the concept for a bit and lets it foment, slowly forming characters and the major beats of the story. After that, it’s a matter of sitting down and writing at least 1,000 words per day on my laptop until the job is done. This is followed up by a minimum of three rounds of self-editing before I hit up my beta-readers and editor, followed by formatting the book and securing a cover artist.

–And that’s enough out of me for now. But if anybody has any additional questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

New Article Up (Book Series)

Book series are usually a good thing … usually:

http://patrickrutigliano.wordpress.com/articles/book-series/

New Article Up (Books Series)

Book series are usually a good thing … usually:

http://patrickrutigliano.wordpress.com/articles/book-series/

Advice on Self-Promotion

No, not from me. I stumbled upon this excellent article from Chuck Wendig the other day: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/08/10/how-to-promote-yourself-and-your-books-without-feeling-like-a-soul-selling-sleaze-sucking-slime-glob/

A lot of the advice he offers syncs up with what I’ve heard from other people, and I can tell you firsthand how irritating it is when a writer you’re following on social media does nothing but spam his or her wares. I can also tell you that self-promotion is probably the single most difficult and confusing part of being a modern writer. Introverted as I am, I’m still trying to get a handle on how to do it effectively.

New Article Up (Pacing a Story)

Because pacing a story well is the difference between a reader finishing the first page and finishing the book:

http://patrickrutigliano.wordpress.com/articles/pacing-a-story/