Christopher Stocking's Blog, page 23
August 10, 2012
The Excitement Of An Author Event
I’m not counting my last post as today’s actual blog post. So, on to today’s topic!
There are quite a few exciting things that can happen to a writer. #1 – You can be published! Whether you self-publish, publish through a small indie press, or go through a big publisher, it’s all still very exciting. Your work is out there for the masses, and there’s a chance that you hard work can–quite literally–pay off! Exciting, right?
Well, there’s another exciting thing, that I happen to enjoy a lot more...
I’ve Been Interviewed!
Stephen Ormsby was kind enough to interview me about general writing stuff! Stephen also just recently published his first novel, so head on over to his blog!
August 7, 2012
Excerpt: Bone Digger: Chapter 1
I try not to post twice in one day, but I was so excited to finally give you a preview of “Bone Digger,” Book #1 in the Bone Digger novella trilogy. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1
Bell
As nightfall approached, a thin layer of fog descended over the silent cemetery. A lone man heaved dirt onto a casket six feet into the ground. As the dirt masked the mahogany box containing some wealthy man he had never heard of, he began to think. Wonder what happened to this poor fella’. Wonder if they left any...
Let’s Talk Tuesday: Does That Name Come With Phonetics?
Photo Credit: Sgris89 via WANA Commons
Names play an important role in stories. They can help define a character’s personality, and can make them unique. If the name is unique enough, it can be branded in the reader’s head, leaving them with a constantremembranceof your book.
However, some names–especially in science-fiction and fantasy–can get to be a bit complicated. They can be so complicated in that they slow down the book entirely. I find it slightly annoying when I’m reading, and all the...
August 6, 2012
My Three Stages Of Dealing With A Bad Review
A less-than-stellar review of “Fifty Shades of Grey”
Every book gets a bad review. Even books that sell millions of copies and are widely acknowledged as amazing. Example 1: the Fifty Shades Trilogy. I once read somewhere that if you’re upset about getting a bad review, all you need to do is look up your favorite book on Amazon and Goodreads and look at all the 1 star reviews. Definitely a good trick. I, however, have stages I go through.
Stage #1: “1 star? You’ve clearly been living under a ro...
August 5, 2012
Is It Really A Matter Of Convenience?
A short post today. But I believe it handles an issue of decent-sized importance for writers.
I received a review that said the only flaw with my book was “an abundance of convenient tools and events to drive the story along.”
Certainly not a terrible review.
However, this has me slightly confused. I can understand the convenient tools, but convenient events? Events are what drives a story along; so, how can they be convenient? How else does one write a story without having events that trigger...
August 3, 2012
What/Who Influences Your Voice?
Photo Credit: WANA Commons
When we begin as writers, we spend a lot of time searching for our voice. Searching for the writing style that makes us unique and recognizable. This, of course, comes with practice. We have to figure out in which way to string our words together that is most comfortable for us, while still providing a good flow for the reader. At times it can drive a writer crazy. After all, writers want to have their own voice that a reader can immediately identify. If a writer has...
August 1, 2012
Hidden Treasures
As many of you may already know, I’m getting married at the end of next month. The centerpieces for the tables are going to have two stacked books on them. The book on top will have the center cut out and have plants in them. Well, of course, we needed to find some books.
A few months ago, my local library had a super book sale, and the maid of honor picked up forvery cheap. So, we lucked out there.
When we began looking through the books a few days ago, we discovered that there were some that...
July 31, 2012
Let’s Talk Tuesday: POV
Sorry about the late post, and the lack of posts. My wedding is less than two months away and things are getting crazy. Plus, I gave myself last weekend off. A weekend to myself to relax and not stress about anything. Unfortunately, no writing occurred during those two days; but, I’m not worried about it. Anyway, it’s Tuesday, and that means it’s Let’s Talk Tuesday.
POV
I’ve heard other writers say how choosing the point of view (POV) of a story is one of the most important things you can do. W...
July 24, 2012
Let’s Talk Tuesday: !
I’m sure that many of you have read the blog post that went around about how youcan be sued for using pictures from Google, even if you give credit to its owner. (For those of you who haven’t read it, it can be foundhere.)Therefore, I have decided to discontinue Tuesday Transparency, and delete the two posts about it, just in case. However, yet again Kristen Lambhas saved the day by creating a Flickr account for people to upload any pictures they own to be used to free! Cool, right? Check it...
