Alexandra Sokoloff's Blog, page 17
October 1, 2015
Nanowrimo Prep: The Master List
by Alexandra Sokoloff
It's October first, and you know what that means....
It's Nanowrimo PREP month!
As I explained here, I always do a brainstorming and story structure review series in October, and continue throughout November with prompts and encouragement, based on my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbooks and workshops.
Because if you’re going to put a month aside to write 50,000 words, doesn’t it make a little more sense to have worked out the outline, or at least an overall roadmap, before November 1?
So let's get this party started with The Master List.
The first thing I always have my workshop students do is make a Master List of their favorite movies in the genre they're writing in. I know I posted this recently, but how many of you actually did it? :)
And you guys who have done this master list before, remember, it helps to do a new one every time you sit down with a new project, and brainstorm a list of movies and books that are structurally similar to your new project.
It’s very simple: in order to write stories like the ones that move you, you need to look at the specific stories that affect you and figure out what those authors and filmmakers are doing to get the effect they do.
Every genre has its own structural patterns and its own tricks — screenwriter Ryan Rowe says it perfectly: “Every genre has its own game that it’s playing with the audience.”
For example: with a mystery, the game is “Whodunit?” You are going to toy with a reader or audience’s expectations and lead them down all kinds of false paths with red herrings so that they are constantly in the shoes of the hero/ine, trying to figure the puzzle out.
But with a romantic comedy or classic romance, there’s no mystery involved. 99.99% of the time the hero and heroine are going to end up together. The game in that genre is often to show, through the hero and heroine, how we are almost always our own worst enemies in love, and how we throw up all kinds of obstacles in our own paths to keep ourselves from getting what we want.
So if you’re writing a story like It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s not going to help you much to study Apocalypse Now. A story that ends with a fallen hero/ine is not going to have the same story shape as one that ends with a transcended hero/ine (although if both kinds of films end up on your list of favorite stories, you might find one is the other in reverse. That’s why you need to make your own lists!)
Once you start looking at the games that genres play, you will also start to understand the games that you most love, and that you want to play with your readers and audience.
I’m primarily a thriller writer, and my personal favorite game is: “Is it supernatural or is it psychological?” I love to walk the line between the real and unreal, so I am constantly creating story situations in which there are multiple plausible explanations for the weird stuff that’s going on, including mental illness, drug-induced hallucinations, and outright fraud. That’s why my master list for any book or script I write will almost always include The Haunting of Hill House and The Shining, both classic books (and films) that walk the line between the supernatural and the psychological.But what works for me structurally is not necessarily going to do it for you.
If you take the time to study and analyze the books and films that have had the greatest impact on you, personally, or that are structurally similar to the story you’re writing, or both, that’s when you really start to master your craft. Making the lists and analyzing those stories will help you brainstorm your own, unique versions of scenes and mega-structures that work in the stories on your master list; it will help you figure out how your particular story will work. And doing this analysis will embed story structure in your head so that constructing a story becomes a fun and natural process for you.
Another great benefit of making the master list is that it helps you “brand” yourself as an author. Agents, editors, publishing houses, publicists, sales reps, bookstores, reviewers, media interviewers, librarians, and most importantly, your readers — all of these people want to be able to categorize you and your books. You need to be able to tell all of these people exactly what it is you write, what it’s similar to, and why it’s also unique. That’s part of your job as a professional author. So the first order of business is to make your master list.
And I encourage you to splurge on a nice big beautiful notebook to work in. We writers live so much in our heads it’s important to give ourselves toys and rewards to make the work feel less like work, and also to cut down on the drinking.
> ASSIGNMENT: Go to an office or stationery store or shop on line and find yourself a wonderful notebook to work in.
> ASSIGNMENT: List ten books and films that are similar to your own story in structure and/or genre (at least five books and three movies if you’re writing a book, at least five movies if you’re writing a script.).
Or – if you’re trying to decide on the right project for you to work on, then make a list of ten books and films that you wish you had written!
ANALYZING YOUR LIST
Now that you’ve got your list, and a brand-new notebook to keep it in, let’s take a look at what you’ve come up with.
For myself, I am constantly looking at:
Silence of the Lambs (book and film) A Wrinkle in Time (book) The Wizard of Oz (film) The Haunting of Hill House (book and original film) Anything by Ira Levin, especially Rosemary’s Baby (book and film), and The Stepford Wives The Exorcist (book and film) Jaws (film, and it’s interesting to compare the book) Pet Sematery (book, obviously!) The Shining (book and film) It’s A Wonderful Life
That's off the top of my head, just to illustrate the point I'm about to make – and not necessarily specific to the book I’m writing right now. On another day my list could just as easily include Hamlet, The Fountainhead, Apocalypse Now, The Treatment, Alice in Wonderland, Philadelphia Story, and Holiday Inn.
All of those examples are what I would call perfectly structured stories. But that list is not necessarily going to be much help for someone who's writing, you know, romantic comedy. (Although the rom coms of George Cukor, Preston Sturges, and Jane Austen, and Shakespeare are some of my favorite stories on the planet, and my master list for a different story might well have some of those stories on it).
Okay, what does that list say about me?
• It’s heavily weighted toward thrillers, fantasy, horror, and the supernatural. In fact, even the two more realistic stories on the list, Jaws and Silence of the Lambs, are so mythic and archetypal that they might as well be supernatural – they both have such overwhelming forces of nature and evil working in them.
• It’s a very dark list, but it includes two films and a book that are some of the happiest endings in film and literary history. I read and watch stories about the battle between good and evil… but if you’ll notice, except for the Ira Levin books, I do believe in good triumphing.
• The stories are evenly split between male protagonists and female protagonists, but except for Jaws, really, women are strong and crucial characters in all of them.
And guess what? All of the above is exactly what I write.
A lot of the stories on your own list will probably be in one particular genre: thriller, horror, mystery, romance, paranormal, historical, science fiction, fantasy, women’s fiction, YA (Young Adult, which is really more of an umbrella for all genres). And odds are that genre is what you write.
(If you’re not clear on what your genre is, I suggest you take your master list to the library or your local independent bookstore and ask your librarian or bookseller what genre those books and films fall into. These people are a writer’s best friends; please use them, and be grateful!)
But there will also always be a few stories on your list that have nothing to do with your dominant genre, some complete surprises, and those wild cards are sometimes the most useful for you to analyze structurally. Always trust something that pops into your head as belonging on your list. The list tells you who you are as a writer. What you are really listing are your secret thematic preferences. You can learn volumes from these lists if you are willing to go deep.
Every time I teach a story structure class it’s always fantastic for me to hear people’s lists, one after another, because it gives me such an insight into the particular uniqueness of the stories each of those writers is working toward telling.
You need to create your list, and break those stories down to see why they have such an impact on you - because that's the kind of impact that you want to have on your readers. My list isn't going to do that for you. Our tastes and writing and themes and turn-ons are too different - even if they're very similar.
So try it:
ASSIGNMENT: Analyze your master list of stories. What does the list say about the stories, themes and characters that most appeal to you?
- Alex
---------------------------------------------------------------------
All the information on this blog and more, including full story structure breakdowns of various movies, is available in the workbooks.:
STEALING HOLLYWOOD
This new workbook updates all the text in the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and doubles the material of the first book, as well as adding six more full story breakdowns.
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook $3.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print $14.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.
- Smashwords (includes online viewing and pdf file)
- Amazon/Kindle
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
- Amazon UK
- Amazon DE
---------------------
You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here:
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
And finally, I'm always up for suggestions - what would YOU like me to cover in this Nano prep month?
It's October first, and you know what that means....
It's Nanowrimo PREP month!
As I explained here, I always do a brainstorming and story structure review series in October, and continue throughout November with prompts and encouragement, based on my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbooks and workshops.
Because if you’re going to put a month aside to write 50,000 words, doesn’t it make a little more sense to have worked out the outline, or at least an overall roadmap, before November 1?
So let's get this party started with The Master List.
The first thing I always have my workshop students do is make a Master List of their favorite movies in the genre they're writing in. I know I posted this recently, but how many of you actually did it? :)
And you guys who have done this master list before, remember, it helps to do a new one every time you sit down with a new project, and brainstorm a list of movies and books that are structurally similar to your new project.
It’s very simple: in order to write stories like the ones that move you, you need to look at the specific stories that affect you and figure out what those authors and filmmakers are doing to get the effect they do.
Every genre has its own structural patterns and its own tricks — screenwriter Ryan Rowe says it perfectly: “Every genre has its own game that it’s playing with the audience.”
For example: with a mystery, the game is “Whodunit?” You are going to toy with a reader or audience’s expectations and lead them down all kinds of false paths with red herrings so that they are constantly in the shoes of the hero/ine, trying to figure the puzzle out.
But with a romantic comedy or classic romance, there’s no mystery involved. 99.99% of the time the hero and heroine are going to end up together. The game in that genre is often to show, through the hero and heroine, how we are almost always our own worst enemies in love, and how we throw up all kinds of obstacles in our own paths to keep ourselves from getting what we want.
So if you’re writing a story like It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s not going to help you much to study Apocalypse Now. A story that ends with a fallen hero/ine is not going to have the same story shape as one that ends with a transcended hero/ine (although if both kinds of films end up on your list of favorite stories, you might find one is the other in reverse. That’s why you need to make your own lists!)
Once you start looking at the games that genres play, you will also start to understand the games that you most love, and that you want to play with your readers and audience.
I’m primarily a thriller writer, and my personal favorite game is: “Is it supernatural or is it psychological?” I love to walk the line between the real and unreal, so I am constantly creating story situations in which there are multiple plausible explanations for the weird stuff that’s going on, including mental illness, drug-induced hallucinations, and outright fraud. That’s why my master list for any book or script I write will almost always include The Haunting of Hill House and The Shining, both classic books (and films) that walk the line between the supernatural and the psychological.But what works for me structurally is not necessarily going to do it for you.
If you take the time to study and analyze the books and films that have had the greatest impact on you, personally, or that are structurally similar to the story you’re writing, or both, that’s when you really start to master your craft. Making the lists and analyzing those stories will help you brainstorm your own, unique versions of scenes and mega-structures that work in the stories on your master list; it will help you figure out how your particular story will work. And doing this analysis will embed story structure in your head so that constructing a story becomes a fun and natural process for you.
Another great benefit of making the master list is that it helps you “brand” yourself as an author. Agents, editors, publishing houses, publicists, sales reps, bookstores, reviewers, media interviewers, librarians, and most importantly, your readers — all of these people want to be able to categorize you and your books. You need to be able to tell all of these people exactly what it is you write, what it’s similar to, and why it’s also unique. That’s part of your job as a professional author. So the first order of business is to make your master list.
And I encourage you to splurge on a nice big beautiful notebook to work in. We writers live so much in our heads it’s important to give ourselves toys and rewards to make the work feel less like work, and also to cut down on the drinking.
> ASSIGNMENT: Go to an office or stationery store or shop on line and find yourself a wonderful notebook to work in.
> ASSIGNMENT: List ten books and films that are similar to your own story in structure and/or genre (at least five books and three movies if you’re writing a book, at least five movies if you’re writing a script.).
Or – if you’re trying to decide on the right project for you to work on, then make a list of ten books and films that you wish you had written!
ANALYZING YOUR LIST
Now that you’ve got your list, and a brand-new notebook to keep it in, let’s take a look at what you’ve come up with.
For myself, I am constantly looking at:
Silence of the Lambs (book and film) A Wrinkle in Time (book) The Wizard of Oz (film) The Haunting of Hill House (book and original film) Anything by Ira Levin, especially Rosemary’s Baby (book and film), and The Stepford Wives The Exorcist (book and film) Jaws (film, and it’s interesting to compare the book) Pet Sematery (book, obviously!) The Shining (book and film) It’s A Wonderful Life
That's off the top of my head, just to illustrate the point I'm about to make – and not necessarily specific to the book I’m writing right now. On another day my list could just as easily include Hamlet, The Fountainhead, Apocalypse Now, The Treatment, Alice in Wonderland, Philadelphia Story, and Holiday Inn.
All of those examples are what I would call perfectly structured stories. But that list is not necessarily going to be much help for someone who's writing, you know, romantic comedy. (Although the rom coms of George Cukor, Preston Sturges, and Jane Austen, and Shakespeare are some of my favorite stories on the planet, and my master list for a different story might well have some of those stories on it).
Okay, what does that list say about me?
• It’s heavily weighted toward thrillers, fantasy, horror, and the supernatural. In fact, even the two more realistic stories on the list, Jaws and Silence of the Lambs, are so mythic and archetypal that they might as well be supernatural – they both have such overwhelming forces of nature and evil working in them.
• It’s a very dark list, but it includes two films and a book that are some of the happiest endings in film and literary history. I read and watch stories about the battle between good and evil… but if you’ll notice, except for the Ira Levin books, I do believe in good triumphing.
• The stories are evenly split between male protagonists and female protagonists, but except for Jaws, really, women are strong and crucial characters in all of them.
And guess what? All of the above is exactly what I write.
A lot of the stories on your own list will probably be in one particular genre: thriller, horror, mystery, romance, paranormal, historical, science fiction, fantasy, women’s fiction, YA (Young Adult, which is really more of an umbrella for all genres). And odds are that genre is what you write.
(If you’re not clear on what your genre is, I suggest you take your master list to the library or your local independent bookstore and ask your librarian or bookseller what genre those books and films fall into. These people are a writer’s best friends; please use them, and be grateful!)
But there will also always be a few stories on your list that have nothing to do with your dominant genre, some complete surprises, and those wild cards are sometimes the most useful for you to analyze structurally. Always trust something that pops into your head as belonging on your list. The list tells you who you are as a writer. What you are really listing are your secret thematic preferences. You can learn volumes from these lists if you are willing to go deep.
Every time I teach a story structure class it’s always fantastic for me to hear people’s lists, one after another, because it gives me such an insight into the particular uniqueness of the stories each of those writers is working toward telling.
You need to create your list, and break those stories down to see why they have such an impact on you - because that's the kind of impact that you want to have on your readers. My list isn't going to do that for you. Our tastes and writing and themes and turn-ons are too different - even if they're very similar.
So try it:
ASSIGNMENT: Analyze your master list of stories. What does the list say about the stories, themes and characters that most appeal to you?
- Alex
---------------------------------------------------------------------
All the information on this blog and more, including full story structure breakdowns of various movies, is available in the workbooks.:
STEALING HOLLYWOOD
This new workbook updates all the text in the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and doubles the material of the first book, as well as adding six more full story breakdowns.
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook $3.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print $14.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.
- Smashwords (includes online viewing and pdf file)- Amazon/Kindle
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
- Amazon UK
- Amazon DE
---------------------
You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here:
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
And finally, I'm always up for suggestions - what would YOU like me to cover in this Nano prep month?
September 29, 2015
October is Nanowrimo PREP month!
by Alexandra Sokoloff
Fall really started off with a spectacular sky show, didn't it? Full moon, supermoon, Blood Moon, eclipse - and last night one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen!
Because it’s sort of ingrained in us (whether we like it or not), that fall is the beginning of a new school year, I think fall is a good time for making resolutions. Like, if you're an author, about that new book you’re going to be writing for the next year or so!
I’m sure practically everyone here is aware that November is Nanowrimo – National Novel Writing Month. As explained at the official site here, the goal of Nanowrimo is to bash through 50,000 words of a novel in a single month.
I could not be more supportive of this idea – it gives focus and a nice juicy competitive edge to an endeavor that can seem completely overwhelming when you’re facing it all on your own. Through peer pressure and the truly international focus on the event, Nanowrimo forces people to commit. It’s easy to get caught up in and carried along by the writing frenzy of tens of thousands – or maybe by now hundreds of thousands - of “Wrimos”. And I’ve met and heard of lots of novelists, like Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth) Sara Gruen (Water For Elephants), and Lisa Daily (The Dreamgirl Academy) who started novels during Nanowrimo that went on to sell, sometimes sell big.
Nanowrimo works.
But as everyone who reads this blog knows, I’m not a big fan of sitting down and typing Chapter One at the top of a blank screen and seeing what comes out from there. It may be fine – but it may be a disaster, or something even worse than a disaster – an unfinished book. And it doesn’t have to be.
I’m always asked to do Nanowrimo “pep talks”. These are always in the month of November.
That makes no sense to me.
I mean, I’m happy to do it, but mid-November is way too late for that kind of thing. What people should be asking me, and other authors that they ask to do Nano support, is Nano PREP talks.
If you’re going to put a month aside to write 50,000 words, doesn’t it make a little more sense to have worked out the outline, or at least an overall roadmap, before November 1? I am pretty positive that in most cases far more writing, and far more professional writing, would get done in November if Wrimos took the month of October – at LEAST - to really think out some things about their story and characters, and where the whole book is going. It wouldn’t have to be the full-tilt-every-day frenzy that November will be, but even a half hour per day in October, even fifteen minutes a day, thinking about what you really want to be writing would do your potential novel worlds of good.
Because even if you never look at that prep work again, your brilliant subconscious mind will have been working on it for you for a whole month. Let’s face it – we don’t do this mystical thing called writing all by ourselves, now, do we?
So once again, I'm going to do a Nano prep series and hopefully get some people not just to commit to Nano this year, but to give them a chance to really make something of the month.
I know it's not QUITE October yet, but before we even get started, here's something to consider.
How do you choose the next book you write? (Or the first, if it's your first?)
I know, I know, it chooses you. That’s a good answer, and sometimes it IS the answer, but it’s not the only answer. And let’s face it – just like with, well, men, sometimes the one who chooses you is NOT the one YOU should be choosing. What makes anyone think it’s any different with books?
It’s a huge commitment, to decide on a book to write. That’s a minimum of six months of your life just getting it written, not even factoring in revisions and promotion. You live in that world for a long, long time. Not only that, but if you're a professional writer, you're pretty much always going to be having to work on more than one book at a time. You're writing a minimum of one book while you're editing another and always doing promotion for a third.
So the book you choose to write is not just going to have to hold your attention for six to twelve months or longer with its world and characters, but it's going to have to hold your attention while you're working just as hard on another or two or three other completely different projects at the same time. You're going to have to want to come back to that book after being on the road touring a completely different book and doing something that is both exhausting and almost antithetical to writing (promotion).
That's a lot to ask of a story.
So how does that decision process happen?
When on panels or at events, I have been asked, “How do you decide what book you should write?” I have not so facetiously answered: “I write the book that someone writes me a check for.”
That’s maybe a screenwriter thing to say, and I don’t mean that in a good way, but it’s true, isn’t it?
Anything that you aren’t getting a check for, you’re going to have to scramble to write, steal time for – it’s just harder. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing, or that it doesn’t produce great work, but it’s harder.
As a professional writer, you’re also constricted to a certain degree by your genre, and even more so by your brand. I’m not allowed to turn in a chick lit story, or a flat-out gruesome horrorfest, or probably a spy story, either. Once you’ve published you are a certain commodity. Even now that I'm e publishing, too, and am not so constrained by my publishers' expectations, I have to take my readers into account.
If you are writing a series, you're even more restricted. You have a certain amount of freedom about your situation and plot but – you’re going to have to write the same characters, and if your characters live in a certain place, you’re also constricted by place. Now that I’m doing my Huntress Moon series, I am learning that every decision I make about the books is easier in a way, because so many elements are already defined, but it’s also way more limiting than my standalones and I could see how it would get frustrating.
If you have an agent, then input from her or him is key, of course - you are a team and you are shaping your career together. Your agent will steer you away from projects that are in a genre that is glutted, saving you years of work over the years, and s/he will help you make all kinds of big-pitcure decisions.
But what I’m really interested in right now is not the restrictions but the limitless possibilities. I'll get more specific next post.
For now let's just think about it, and discuss if you feel like it:
- How DO you decide what to write? Do commercial concerns factor into it?
- And, do you know what you're working on for Nano?
Happy Fall, everyone...
- Alex
=====================================================
If you'd like some in-depth help with your prep, here are the writing workbooks based on this blog and my workshops:
STEALING HOLLYWOOD
This new workbook updates all the text in the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and doubles the material of the first book, as well as adding six more full story breakdowns.
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook $3.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print $14.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.
- Smashwords (includes online viewing and pdf file)
- Amazon/Kindle
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
- Amazon UK
- Amazon DE
You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here:
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
Fall really started off with a spectacular sky show, didn't it? Full moon, supermoon, Blood Moon, eclipse - and last night one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen!
Because it’s sort of ingrained in us (whether we like it or not), that fall is the beginning of a new school year, I think fall is a good time for making resolutions. Like, if you're an author, about that new book you’re going to be writing for the next year or so!
I’m sure practically everyone here is aware that November is Nanowrimo – National Novel Writing Month. As explained at the official site here, the goal of Nanowrimo is to bash through 50,000 words of a novel in a single month.
I could not be more supportive of this idea – it gives focus and a nice juicy competitive edge to an endeavor that can seem completely overwhelming when you’re facing it all on your own. Through peer pressure and the truly international focus on the event, Nanowrimo forces people to commit. It’s easy to get caught up in and carried along by the writing frenzy of tens of thousands – or maybe by now hundreds of thousands - of “Wrimos”. And I’ve met and heard of lots of novelists, like Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth) Sara Gruen (Water For Elephants), and Lisa Daily (The Dreamgirl Academy) who started novels during Nanowrimo that went on to sell, sometimes sell big.
Nanowrimo works.
But as everyone who reads this blog knows, I’m not a big fan of sitting down and typing Chapter One at the top of a blank screen and seeing what comes out from there. It may be fine – but it may be a disaster, or something even worse than a disaster – an unfinished book. And it doesn’t have to be.
I’m always asked to do Nanowrimo “pep talks”. These are always in the month of November.
That makes no sense to me.
I mean, I’m happy to do it, but mid-November is way too late for that kind of thing. What people should be asking me, and other authors that they ask to do Nano support, is Nano PREP talks.
If you’re going to put a month aside to write 50,000 words, doesn’t it make a little more sense to have worked out the outline, or at least an overall roadmap, before November 1? I am pretty positive that in most cases far more writing, and far more professional writing, would get done in November if Wrimos took the month of October – at LEAST - to really think out some things about their story and characters, and where the whole book is going. It wouldn’t have to be the full-tilt-every-day frenzy that November will be, but even a half hour per day in October, even fifteen minutes a day, thinking about what you really want to be writing would do your potential novel worlds of good.
Because even if you never look at that prep work again, your brilliant subconscious mind will have been working on it for you for a whole month. Let’s face it – we don’t do this mystical thing called writing all by ourselves, now, do we?
So once again, I'm going to do a Nano prep series and hopefully get some people not just to commit to Nano this year, but to give them a chance to really make something of the month.
I know it's not QUITE October yet, but before we even get started, here's something to consider.
How do you choose the next book you write? (Or the first, if it's your first?)
I know, I know, it chooses you. That’s a good answer, and sometimes it IS the answer, but it’s not the only answer. And let’s face it – just like with, well, men, sometimes the one who chooses you is NOT the one YOU should be choosing. What makes anyone think it’s any different with books?
It’s a huge commitment, to decide on a book to write. That’s a minimum of six months of your life just getting it written, not even factoring in revisions and promotion. You live in that world for a long, long time. Not only that, but if you're a professional writer, you're pretty much always going to be having to work on more than one book at a time. You're writing a minimum of one book while you're editing another and always doing promotion for a third.
So the book you choose to write is not just going to have to hold your attention for six to twelve months or longer with its world and characters, but it's going to have to hold your attention while you're working just as hard on another or two or three other completely different projects at the same time. You're going to have to want to come back to that book after being on the road touring a completely different book and doing something that is both exhausting and almost antithetical to writing (promotion).
That's a lot to ask of a story.
So how does that decision process happen?
When on panels or at events, I have been asked, “How do you decide what book you should write?” I have not so facetiously answered: “I write the book that someone writes me a check for.”
That’s maybe a screenwriter thing to say, and I don’t mean that in a good way, but it’s true, isn’t it?
Anything that you aren’t getting a check for, you’re going to have to scramble to write, steal time for – it’s just harder. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing, or that it doesn’t produce great work, but it’s harder.
As a professional writer, you’re also constricted to a certain degree by your genre, and even more so by your brand. I’m not allowed to turn in a chick lit story, or a flat-out gruesome horrorfest, or probably a spy story, either. Once you’ve published you are a certain commodity. Even now that I'm e publishing, too, and am not so constrained by my publishers' expectations, I have to take my readers into account.
If you are writing a series, you're even more restricted. You have a certain amount of freedom about your situation and plot but – you’re going to have to write the same characters, and if your characters live in a certain place, you’re also constricted by place. Now that I’m doing my Huntress Moon series, I am learning that every decision I make about the books is easier in a way, because so many elements are already defined, but it’s also way more limiting than my standalones and I could see how it would get frustrating.
If you have an agent, then input from her or him is key, of course - you are a team and you are shaping your career together. Your agent will steer you away from projects that are in a genre that is glutted, saving you years of work over the years, and s/he will help you make all kinds of big-pitcure decisions.
But what I’m really interested in right now is not the restrictions but the limitless possibilities. I'll get more specific next post.
For now let's just think about it, and discuss if you feel like it:
- How DO you decide what to write? Do commercial concerns factor into it?
- And, do you know what you're working on for Nano?
Happy Fall, everyone...
- Alex
=====================================================
If you'd like some in-depth help with your prep, here are the writing workbooks based on this blog and my workshops:
STEALING HOLLYWOOD
This new workbook updates all the text in the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and doubles the material of the first book, as well as adding six more full story breakdowns.
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook $3.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print $14.99
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.
- Smashwords (includes online viewing and pdf file)- Amazon/Kindle
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
- Amazon UK
- Amazon DE
You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here:
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
September 18, 2015
STEALING HOLLYWOOD, available now in print and ebook!
Yes, the long-awaited PRINT textbook of my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshop is now available. Just in time for you to start prepping for Nanowrimo!
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
And I must say this book turned out beautifully – it’s a nice big 8 x 10 workbook, so well laid out! And it even lies flat for easy highlighting and scribbling in margins.
This book updates all the text in the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and doubles the material of the first book, as well as adding six more full story breakdowns.
There’s also a companion ebook that you can buy separately – or can get for just $1.99 as a Kindle Matchbook if you buy the print workbook. But let’s face it–I know print is what people have been waiting for.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with my writing workshops, workbooks and blog, here’s a bit about what I teach.<
br />Many of you know I was a screenwriter for ten years before I wrote my first novel (and despite all my complaining about it, I am back into it now that my Huntress Moon series has been optioned for television!).
But in between that and my full time – more than full time – job as a mystery and thriller novelist, I also teach my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshop all over the US and internationally (last week as a master class for the Bloody Scotland Crime Festival) as well as to film students in Los Angeles.
The key to the story structuring technique I write about and that everyone's always asking me to teach is the Three-Act, Eight-Sequence structure.
Most writers are at least vaguely familiar with the concept of the Three Act structure (but it never hurts to review – and this post may give you a better idea of why it’s so important!).
But the real secret of film writing and filmmaking, that I teach authors to steal for their novel writing, is that movies are written in a Three-Act, Eight-Sequence structure. Yes, most movies can be broken up into eight discrete 12-15-minute sequences, each of which has a beginning, middle and end.
I swear.
The eight-sequence structure evolved from the early days of film when movies were divided into reels (physical film reels), each holding about ten to fifteen minutes of film (movies were also shorter, proportionately). The projectionist had to manually change each reel as it finished. Early screenwriters (who by the way, were mostly playwrights, well-schooled in the three-act structure) incorporated this rhythm into their writing, developing individual sequences that lasted exactly the length of a reel, so that as the reel ended, the sequence also ended, on a cliffhanger climax – so that as the projectionist was scrambling to change reels, the audience was in a state of high anticipation about WHAT HAPPENS NEXT – instead of being frustrated and pissed off about having their moviegoing experience interrupted in the middle of a key scene. Nobody likes having a climax interrupted, right?
Obviously these days we have digital projection and no one is up in that projection booth scrambling to change reels, but modern films still follow that same climax-every-15-minutes storytelling rhythm. Because - what storytelling form came along mid-twentieth century that really locked that cliffhanger rhythm into place?
Right! Television! Network TV writers always end a sequence on a cliffhanger before the station cuts away to a commercial break. It’s just too easy to change channels, otherwise.
And the eight-sequence structure actually translates beautifully to novel structuring, although we have much more flexibility with a novel and you might end up with a few more sequences in a book. But watching movies with the eight-sequence structure in mind is an excellent way to get familiar with this storytelling rhythm, and once you’re able to spot the sequence and act climaxes in movies, they’ll start becoming very apparent in the novels you read as well (you’ll be seeing these climaxes about every fifty pages in a 400-page novel.)
If you’re a writer, you are probably already unconsciously following this structure – that’s what most people in my workshops discover! They just needed someone to point it out to them and show them how to make the most of their climaxes (sorry, it’s impossible to talk about this without sounding like the non-fiction version of 50 Shades…).
Think about it. How many movies and TV shows have you seen in your lifetime? I’m willing to bet it’s thousands. You knowthis rhythm. Your readers know this rhythm. And here’s the thing: your readers unconsciously EXPECT this rhythm, and if you’re not giving it to them, they’re going to get worried that you’re doing something wrong.
So it’s very, very useful to get conscious about the eight-sequence structure yourself, so you can use it most effectively.
If you’re new to story breakdowns and analysis, then you'll probably want to check out my sample breakdowns (full breakdowns of different movies are included in the workbooks) and watch several, or all, of those movies, following along with my notes, before you try to analyze a movie on your own. You can also sign up for my Story Structure Extras list and get free sample movie breakdowns.
But if you want to jump right in with your own breakdowns and analyses, this is how it works:
-- Take a film that is similar in structure to your own WIP (work in progress), and screen it, watching the time clock on your DVD player (or your watch, or phone). At about 15 minutes into the film, there will be some sort of climax: an action scene, a revelation, a twist, a big SETPIECE. It won’t be as big as the climax that comes 30 minutes into the film, which would be the Act One climax, but it will be an identifiable climax that will spin the action into the next sequence.)
Proceed through the movie, stopping to identify the beginning, middle, and end of each sequence, approximately every 15 minutes. Also make note of the bigger climaxes or turning points – Act One at 30 minutes, the Midpoint at 60 minutes, Act Two at 90 minutes, and Act Three at whenever the movie ends.
NOTE: You can also, and probably should, say that a movie is really four acts, breaking the long Act Two into two separate acts. Hollywood continues to use "Three Acts." Whichever works best for you!
So how do you recognize a sequence?
It's generally a series of related scenes, tied together by location and/or time and/or action and/or the overall intent of the hero/ine.
In many movies a sequence will take place all in the same location, then move to another location at the climax of the sequence. The protagonist will generally be following just one line of action in a sequence, and then when s/he gets that vital bit of information in the climax of a sequence, s/he’ll move on to a completely different line of action, based on the new information. A good exercise is to title each sequence as you watch and analyze a movie – that gives you a great overall picture of the progression of action.
But the biggest clue to an Act or Sequence climax is a SETPIECE SCENE: there’s a dazzling, thematic location, an action or suspense sequence, an intricate set, a crowd scene, even a musical number (as in The Wizard of Oz and, more surprisingly, Jaws. And Casablanca, too.).
The setpiece is a fabulous lesson to take from filmmaking, one of the most valuable lessons for novelists, and possibly the most crucial for screenwriters, and I talk much more about them throughout the Screenwriting Tricks workbooks.
But me talking about it is not going to get you anywhere. You need to DO this. Watch the movies yourself. Do the breakdowns yourself. Identify setpieces yourself.
Screening one movie looking for this structure one will get you far, three will lock it in, and as you continue to practice looking out for it, this new awareness will open new worlds in your writing.
Eventually, it will be as natural to you as breathing, and you will find yourself incorporating this rhythm into your storytelling without even having to think about it.
So go, go, watch some movies. It's WORK (don't you love this job?)
And here’s where you can learn more:
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
And remember – I always do a month of prep for Nanowrimo here on this blog in October. Come join me for brainstorming and feedback on your story before you launch into your Nano writing frenzy!
Happy Fall….
- Alex
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
And I must say this book turned out beautifully – it’s a nice big 8 x 10 workbook, so well laid out! And it even lies flat for easy highlighting and scribbling in margins.
This book updates all the text in the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and doubles the material of the first book, as well as adding six more full story breakdowns.
There’s also a companion ebook that you can buy separately – or can get for just $1.99 as a Kindle Matchbook if you buy the print workbook. But let’s face it–I know print is what people have been waiting for.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with my writing workshops, workbooks and blog, here’s a bit about what I teach.<
br />Many of you know I was a screenwriter for ten years before I wrote my first novel (and despite all my complaining about it, I am back into it now that my Huntress Moon series has been optioned for television!).
But in between that and my full time – more than full time – job as a mystery and thriller novelist, I also teach my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshop all over the US and internationally (last week as a master class for the Bloody Scotland Crime Festival) as well as to film students in Los Angeles.
The key to the story structuring technique I write about and that everyone's always asking me to teach is the Three-Act, Eight-Sequence structure.
Most writers are at least vaguely familiar with the concept of the Three Act structure (but it never hurts to review – and this post may give you a better idea of why it’s so important!).
But the real secret of film writing and filmmaking, that I teach authors to steal for their novel writing, is that movies are written in a Three-Act, Eight-Sequence structure. Yes, most movies can be broken up into eight discrete 12-15-minute sequences, each of which has a beginning, middle and end.
I swear.
The eight-sequence structure evolved from the early days of film when movies were divided into reels (physical film reels), each holding about ten to fifteen minutes of film (movies were also shorter, proportionately). The projectionist had to manually change each reel as it finished. Early screenwriters (who by the way, were mostly playwrights, well-schooled in the three-act structure) incorporated this rhythm into their writing, developing individual sequences that lasted exactly the length of a reel, so that as the reel ended, the sequence also ended, on a cliffhanger climax – so that as the projectionist was scrambling to change reels, the audience was in a state of high anticipation about WHAT HAPPENS NEXT – instead of being frustrated and pissed off about having their moviegoing experience interrupted in the middle of a key scene. Nobody likes having a climax interrupted, right?
Obviously these days we have digital projection and no one is up in that projection booth scrambling to change reels, but modern films still follow that same climax-every-15-minutes storytelling rhythm. Because - what storytelling form came along mid-twentieth century that really locked that cliffhanger rhythm into place?
Right! Television! Network TV writers always end a sequence on a cliffhanger before the station cuts away to a commercial break. It’s just too easy to change channels, otherwise.
And the eight-sequence structure actually translates beautifully to novel structuring, although we have much more flexibility with a novel and you might end up with a few more sequences in a book. But watching movies with the eight-sequence structure in mind is an excellent way to get familiar with this storytelling rhythm, and once you’re able to spot the sequence and act climaxes in movies, they’ll start becoming very apparent in the novels you read as well (you’ll be seeing these climaxes about every fifty pages in a 400-page novel.)
If you’re a writer, you are probably already unconsciously following this structure – that’s what most people in my workshops discover! They just needed someone to point it out to them and show them how to make the most of their climaxes (sorry, it’s impossible to talk about this without sounding like the non-fiction version of 50 Shades…).
Think about it. How many movies and TV shows have you seen in your lifetime? I’m willing to bet it’s thousands. You knowthis rhythm. Your readers know this rhythm. And here’s the thing: your readers unconsciously EXPECT this rhythm, and if you’re not giving it to them, they’re going to get worried that you’re doing something wrong.
So it’s very, very useful to get conscious about the eight-sequence structure yourself, so you can use it most effectively.
If you’re new to story breakdowns and analysis, then you'll probably want to check out my sample breakdowns (full breakdowns of different movies are included in the workbooks) and watch several, or all, of those movies, following along with my notes, before you try to analyze a movie on your own. You can also sign up for my Story Structure Extras list and get free sample movie breakdowns.
But if you want to jump right in with your own breakdowns and analyses, this is how it works:
-- Take a film that is similar in structure to your own WIP (work in progress), and screen it, watching the time clock on your DVD player (or your watch, or phone). At about 15 minutes into the film, there will be some sort of climax: an action scene, a revelation, a twist, a big SETPIECE. It won’t be as big as the climax that comes 30 minutes into the film, which would be the Act One climax, but it will be an identifiable climax that will spin the action into the next sequence.)
Proceed through the movie, stopping to identify the beginning, middle, and end of each sequence, approximately every 15 minutes. Also make note of the bigger climaxes or turning points – Act One at 30 minutes, the Midpoint at 60 minutes, Act Two at 90 minutes, and Act Three at whenever the movie ends.
NOTE: You can also, and probably should, say that a movie is really four acts, breaking the long Act Two into two separate acts. Hollywood continues to use "Three Acts." Whichever works best for you!
So how do you recognize a sequence?
It's generally a series of related scenes, tied together by location and/or time and/or action and/or the overall intent of the hero/ine.
In many movies a sequence will take place all in the same location, then move to another location at the climax of the sequence. The protagonist will generally be following just one line of action in a sequence, and then when s/he gets that vital bit of information in the climax of a sequence, s/he’ll move on to a completely different line of action, based on the new information. A good exercise is to title each sequence as you watch and analyze a movie – that gives you a great overall picture of the progression of action.
But the biggest clue to an Act or Sequence climax is a SETPIECE SCENE: there’s a dazzling, thematic location, an action or suspense sequence, an intricate set, a crowd scene, even a musical number (as in The Wizard of Oz and, more surprisingly, Jaws. And Casablanca, too.).
The setpiece is a fabulous lesson to take from filmmaking, one of the most valuable lessons for novelists, and possibly the most crucial for screenwriters, and I talk much more about them throughout the Screenwriting Tricks workbooks.
But me talking about it is not going to get you anywhere. You need to DO this. Watch the movies yourself. Do the breakdowns yourself. Identify setpieces yourself.
Screening one movie looking for this structure one will get you far, three will lock it in, and as you continue to practice looking out for it, this new awareness will open new worlds in your writing.
Eventually, it will be as natural to you as breathing, and you will find yourself incorporating this rhythm into your storytelling without even having to think about it.
So go, go, watch some movies. It's WORK (don't you love this job?)
And here’s where you can learn more:
STEALING HOLLYWOOD ebook
STEALING HOLLYWOOD US print
STEALING HOLLYWOOD print, all countries
Get free Story Structure extras and movie breakdowns
And remember – I always do a month of prep for Nanowrimo here on this blog in October. Come join me for brainstorming and feedback on your story before you launch into your Nano writing frenzy!
Happy Fall….
- Alex
August 27, 2015
Book of Shadows on sale, 99 cents this week!
by Alexandra Sokoloff
My spooky thriller Book of Shadows is just 99 cents in the US this week, with other price drops worldwide.
"A wonderfully dark thriller with amazing "Is-it-isn't-it?"suspense all the way to the end. Highly recommended." - Lee Child
Amazon USAmazon UKAmazon DEAmazon FRAmazon ESAmazon ITAmazon AU
Book of Shadows is about a cynical Boston cop who teams up with a mysterious Salem witch to solve what looks like a Satanic murder. It’s fascinating to me how when you write a book, everyone always assumes it’s about you. Few people get that sometimes, if not most times, when you write a book it’s about getting OUT of you. Just like reading is, right? So naturally everyone who reads it assumes that I’m a witch (that’s with a "w"). Oh, the interviewers don’t come right out and say it, but you know that’s what they’re asking. Well, I’m not. Really. Not really. No more than any woman is a witch. But I can’t deny that writing Book of Shadows was a really excellent opportunity for me to indulge some of my witchier nature. I wanted to dive right in and explore some of those things that make some men – and a lot of women – uncomfortable with feminine power, and feminine energy, and feminine sexuality, and feminine deity. I was working up to this book for quite a while. I’ve been around practicing witches most of my life. That’s what happens when you grow up in California, especially Berkeley. Actually the Berkeley part pretty much explains why I write supernatural to begin with, but that’s another post. Those of you who have visited Berkeley know that Telegraph Avenue, the famous drag that ends at the Berkeley campus, is a gauntlet of clothing and craft vendors, artists, and fortunetellers, forever fixed in the sixties. Well, look a little closer, and you’ll see just how many pagans, Wiccans, and witches there actually are. I’ve walked that gauntlet thousands of times in my life. It does something to your psyche, I’m telling you. There was also the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, where I spent many summer days in my interestingly misspent youth. Renaissance Faires are teeming with witches (check out the Fortune Tellers’ Grove next time if you don’t believe me). So even though I don’t actually practice, not in an organized covenish kind of way, I’ve been to a ceremony or two, and you could say I’ve been researching this book for quite some time. In fact, I think I’ve known I was going to write this book ever since I first saw a "Calling of The Corners," a Craft ceremony which is one of the ritual scenes I depict in "Book of Shadows." It’s one of the most extraordinary spiritual experiences I've ever had -- such elemental, feminine power. And in everyday life, there some things that are just useful to know about the Craft.I’m not much one for spells, I’m more of a meditator. But when I had to kick my evil tenants out of my rental house? A cleaning service was just not enough. You better believe that the second the locksmith was done changing the locks, I was down at the witch supply store, buying black and white candles (for protection and cleansing), and sage (smudge it for purification). I opened every window and swept the whole house widdershins (to the left, to dismiss) with a new broom dipped in salt and rosemary to dispel all lingering energy. Ritual works, and it doesn’t really matter what accoutrements you use; it’s really about the intention: in this case to cleanse, heal, and start over fresh.
Another concept of the Craft that I’ve always found particularly useful is Maiden, Mother, Crone. Those are the three aspects of the Goddess, and also the three phases of the moon, corresponding colors white, red and black. They represent the three cycles of a woman’s life – youth, womanhood and age – but women also pass through all three aspects every month when they’re menstruating, and knowing that has saved my life (and the lives of many of those around me) many a time. The time right after your period is Maiden: you have a rush of estrogen, so you’re glowing, you’ve just dropped all that water weight, you have a ton of energy, and you’re – well, up for it. And men can sense it. Best time to snag a partner, although your choices might not be exactly the best in this phase of the cycle.
The Mother (also called Queen) phase of the month is around ovulation. You’re powerful, grounded, and can get a lot done, especially creatively, because of the pregnancy connotations. It’s a sexy time in a different way than Maiden, because there’s the extra knowledge that yes, you really can get pregnant right now.
The Crone phase is raging PMS and the "death" that a period often feels like. Wise people know to avoid you at this time unless they really want a faceful of truth, and I try not to schedule meetings, especially with men, when I’m in this phase. Best for me to be solitary and contemplative. And contain the damage. But the things that come out of your mouth during this phase are the deep truth, even if they’re not pleasant, and if you remember to breathe, put the knife down, and pay attention to what you’re feeling and saying, you can learn a lot about your life and what you really need to be doing. Also your dreams will tend to be the most powerful, vivid, and significant in this phase. I know mine are.
I appreciate the earth/nature centeredness of the Craft. I like to be aware of whether the moon is waxing or waning, and focus on bringing things into my life during the waxing, and letting go of things (or people!) in the waning. And I like knowing that there is extra power and magic at the Solstices and Equinoxes; that knowledge makes me stop at least four times a year to consider what I really want to manifest in my life. (Obviously I used all of that Moon knowledge and more in the Huntress Moon series, too…)
Let’s face it: I also like the clothes. With my hair, I’ll never be able to pull off the tailored look. I love lace and fishnets and velvet and sparkles and corsets and big jewelry. I love the candles and the scents and that every day has a color (today is white, if you’re wondering). And there is another aspect of the Craft that has been truly important to me, spiritually. It’s about balance. I have never, ever bought the idea that God is male. It runs contrary to my entire experience of reality. I love you guys, really I do, but you’re only half the equation. I can’t see how an ultimate power could be anything but BOTH male and female. So the notion of a Goddess, in all Her forms, to me, completes the equation.
And a Supreme Being who likes velvet and fishnets? Even better.
So how about you? What’s your take on witches? Are you familiar with the way witchcraft is actually practiced, or is that whole world completely mysterious to you? Or do you do the odd spell or two yourself?
-- Alexandra Sokoloff
Book of Shadows
Homicide detective Adam Garrett is already a rising star in the Boston police department when he and his cynical partner, Carl Landauer, catch a horrifying case that could make their careers: the ritualistic murder of a wealthy college girl that appears to have Satanic elements.
The partners make a quick arrest when all evidence points to another student, a troubled musician in a Goth band who was either dating or stalking the murdered girl. But Garrett's case is turned upside down when beautiful, mysterious Tanith Cabarrus, a practicing witch from nearby Salem, walks into the homicide bureau and insists that the real perpetrator is still at large. Tanith claims to have had psychic visions that the killer has ritually sacrificed other teenagers in his attempts to summon a powerful, ancient demon.
All Garrett's beliefs about the nature of reality will be tested as he is forced to team up with a woman he is fiercely attracted to but cannot trust, in a race to uncover a psychotic killer before he strikes again.
Amazon USAmazon UKAmazon DEAmazon FRAmazon ESAmazon ITAmazon AU
"Sokoloff successfully melds a classic murder-mystery/whodunit with supernatural occult undertones." - Library Journal
"Compelling, frightening and exceptionally well-written, Book of Shadows is destined to become another hit for acclaimed horror and suspense writer Sokoloff. The incredibly tense plot and mysterious characters will keep readers up late at night, jumping at every sound, and turning the pages until they've devoured the book." - Romantic Times Book Reviews
"Fast-paced with strong characterizations, fans will enjoy this superb thriller, as Adam and the audience wonder if The Unseen could be the killer." - Publisher's Weekly
"A wonderfully dark thriller with amazing is-it-isn't-it suspense all the way to the end. Highly recommended." - Lee Child
My spooky thriller Book of Shadows is just 99 cents in the US this week, with other price drops worldwide.
"A wonderfully dark thriller with amazing "Is-it-isn't-it?"suspense all the way to the end. Highly recommended." - Lee ChildAmazon USAmazon UKAmazon DEAmazon FRAmazon ESAmazon ITAmazon AU
Book of Shadows is about a cynical Boston cop who teams up with a mysterious Salem witch to solve what looks like a Satanic murder. It’s fascinating to me how when you write a book, everyone always assumes it’s about you. Few people get that sometimes, if not most times, when you write a book it’s about getting OUT of you. Just like reading is, right? So naturally everyone who reads it assumes that I’m a witch (that’s with a "w"). Oh, the interviewers don’t come right out and say it, but you know that’s what they’re asking. Well, I’m not. Really. Not really. No more than any woman is a witch. But I can’t deny that writing Book of Shadows was a really excellent opportunity for me to indulge some of my witchier nature. I wanted to dive right in and explore some of those things that make some men – and a lot of women – uncomfortable with feminine power, and feminine energy, and feminine sexuality, and feminine deity. I was working up to this book for quite a while. I’ve been around practicing witches most of my life. That’s what happens when you grow up in California, especially Berkeley. Actually the Berkeley part pretty much explains why I write supernatural to begin with, but that’s another post. Those of you who have visited Berkeley know that Telegraph Avenue, the famous drag that ends at the Berkeley campus, is a gauntlet of clothing and craft vendors, artists, and fortunetellers, forever fixed in the sixties. Well, look a little closer, and you’ll see just how many pagans, Wiccans, and witches there actually are. I’ve walked that gauntlet thousands of times in my life. It does something to your psyche, I’m telling you. There was also the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, where I spent many summer days in my interestingly misspent youth. Renaissance Faires are teeming with witches (check out the Fortune Tellers’ Grove next time if you don’t believe me). So even though I don’t actually practice, not in an organized covenish kind of way, I’ve been to a ceremony or two, and you could say I’ve been researching this book for quite some time. In fact, I think I’ve known I was going to write this book ever since I first saw a "Calling of The Corners," a Craft ceremony which is one of the ritual scenes I depict in "Book of Shadows." It’s one of the most extraordinary spiritual experiences I've ever had -- such elemental, feminine power. And in everyday life, there some things that are just useful to know about the Craft.I’m not much one for spells, I’m more of a meditator. But when I had to kick my evil tenants out of my rental house? A cleaning service was just not enough. You better believe that the second the locksmith was done changing the locks, I was down at the witch supply store, buying black and white candles (for protection and cleansing), and sage (smudge it for purification). I opened every window and swept the whole house widdershins (to the left, to dismiss) with a new broom dipped in salt and rosemary to dispel all lingering energy. Ritual works, and it doesn’t really matter what accoutrements you use; it’s really about the intention: in this case to cleanse, heal, and start over fresh.
Another concept of the Craft that I’ve always found particularly useful is Maiden, Mother, Crone. Those are the three aspects of the Goddess, and also the three phases of the moon, corresponding colors white, red and black. They represent the three cycles of a woman’s life – youth, womanhood and age – but women also pass through all three aspects every month when they’re menstruating, and knowing that has saved my life (and the lives of many of those around me) many a time. The time right after your period is Maiden: you have a rush of estrogen, so you’re glowing, you’ve just dropped all that water weight, you have a ton of energy, and you’re – well, up for it. And men can sense it. Best time to snag a partner, although your choices might not be exactly the best in this phase of the cycle.
The Mother (also called Queen) phase of the month is around ovulation. You’re powerful, grounded, and can get a lot done, especially creatively, because of the pregnancy connotations. It’s a sexy time in a different way than Maiden, because there’s the extra knowledge that yes, you really can get pregnant right now.
The Crone phase is raging PMS and the "death" that a period often feels like. Wise people know to avoid you at this time unless they really want a faceful of truth, and I try not to schedule meetings, especially with men, when I’m in this phase. Best for me to be solitary and contemplative. And contain the damage. But the things that come out of your mouth during this phase are the deep truth, even if they’re not pleasant, and if you remember to breathe, put the knife down, and pay attention to what you’re feeling and saying, you can learn a lot about your life and what you really need to be doing. Also your dreams will tend to be the most powerful, vivid, and significant in this phase. I know mine are.
I appreciate the earth/nature centeredness of the Craft. I like to be aware of whether the moon is waxing or waning, and focus on bringing things into my life during the waxing, and letting go of things (or people!) in the waning. And I like knowing that there is extra power and magic at the Solstices and Equinoxes; that knowledge makes me stop at least four times a year to consider what I really want to manifest in my life. (Obviously I used all of that Moon knowledge and more in the Huntress Moon series, too…)
Let’s face it: I also like the clothes. With my hair, I’ll never be able to pull off the tailored look. I love lace and fishnets and velvet and sparkles and corsets and big jewelry. I love the candles and the scents and that every day has a color (today is white, if you’re wondering). And there is another aspect of the Craft that has been truly important to me, spiritually. It’s about balance. I have never, ever bought the idea that God is male. It runs contrary to my entire experience of reality. I love you guys, really I do, but you’re only half the equation. I can’t see how an ultimate power could be anything but BOTH male and female. So the notion of a Goddess, in all Her forms, to me, completes the equation.
And a Supreme Being who likes velvet and fishnets? Even better.
So how about you? What’s your take on witches? Are you familiar with the way witchcraft is actually practiced, or is that whole world completely mysterious to you? Or do you do the odd spell or two yourself?
-- Alexandra Sokoloff
Book of Shadows
Homicide detective Adam Garrett is already a rising star in the Boston police department when he and his cynical partner, Carl Landauer, catch a horrifying case that could make their careers: the ritualistic murder of a wealthy college girl that appears to have Satanic elements.
The partners make a quick arrest when all evidence points to another student, a troubled musician in a Goth band who was either dating or stalking the murdered girl. But Garrett's case is turned upside down when beautiful, mysterious Tanith Cabarrus, a practicing witch from nearby Salem, walks into the homicide bureau and insists that the real perpetrator is still at large. Tanith claims to have had psychic visions that the killer has ritually sacrificed other teenagers in his attempts to summon a powerful, ancient demon.
All Garrett's beliefs about the nature of reality will be tested as he is forced to team up with a woman he is fiercely attracted to but cannot trust, in a race to uncover a psychotic killer before he strikes again.
Amazon USAmazon UKAmazon DEAmazon FRAmazon ESAmazon ITAmazon AU
"Sokoloff successfully melds a classic murder-mystery/whodunit with supernatural occult undertones." - Library Journal
"Compelling, frightening and exceptionally well-written, Book of Shadows is destined to become another hit for acclaimed horror and suspense writer Sokoloff. The incredibly tense plot and mysterious characters will keep readers up late at night, jumping at every sound, and turning the pages until they've devoured the book." - Romantic Times Book Reviews
"Fast-paced with strong characterizations, fans will enjoy this superb thriller, as Adam and the audience wonder if The Unseen could be the killer." - Publisher's Weekly
"A wonderfully dark thriller with amazing is-it-isn't-it suspense all the way to the end. Highly recommended." - Lee Child
August 17, 2015
Screenwriting Tricks for Authors: THE MASTER LIST
by Alexandra Sokoloff
I’m very excited to be teaching one of the writing Master Classes for the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival next month, along with the brilliant Denise Mina, one of my all-time favorite authors and a major inspiration for my Huntress Moon thrillers.
I always like to give my workshop students some optional homework in the weeks before classes, so that we get the most out of our workshop time – and also so that those of you who can’t make the workshop can play along at home!
What I teach in my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshops is basic film story structure: the Three-Act, Eight-Sequence structure.
USC film school teaches it, the screenwriting story structure gurus teach it, all film execs and producers are aware of it even if it’s only in a vague way, and even screenwriters who claim not to follow this structure pattern do it to some extent or another. And it translates beautifully to novel writing. Not only does it make writing novels much easier – this is a rhythm of storytelling that readers (and audiences) are so used to that if you aren't using it to your advantage, they’re going to feel like something’s missing! You don’t want that to happen.
But I want my students to analyze examples that are meaningful to them, so the first assignment I give my workshop students is THE MASTER LIST: a list of ten novels and films that are specific to the story and genre you’re working on, and more importantly, that have had the maximum emotional and intellectual effect on you.
> ASSIGNMENT: List ten books and films that are similar to your own story in structure and/or genre (at least five books and three movies if you’re writing a book, at least five movies if you’re writing a script.).
Or if you’re trying to decide on the right project for you to work on, then make a list of ten books and films that you wish you had written!
And you people who feel like you’ve done this for me already – remember that it’s good practice to make a master list for every new project you’re working on! Your lists will be different for different books.
It’s very simple: in order to write stories like the ones that move you, you need to look at the stories that affect you and figure out what those authors and filmmakers are doing to get the effect they do.
Every genre has its own structural patterns and its own tricks. Screenwriter Ryan Rowe says it perfectly: “Every genre has its own game that it’s playing with the audience.”
For example, with a mystery, the game is “Whodunit?” You are going to toy with a reader or audience’s expectations and lead them down all kinds of false paths with red herrings so that they are constantly in the shoes of the hero/ine, trying to figure the puzzle out.
But with a romantic comedy or classic romance, there’s no mystery involved. 99.99% of the time the hero and heroine are going to end up together. The game in that genre is often to show, through the hero and heroine, how we are almost always our own worst enemies in love, and how we throw up all kinds of obstacles in our own paths to keep ourselves from getting what we want.
So if you’re writing a story like It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s not going to help you much to study Apocalypse Now. A story that ends with a fallen hero/ine is not going to have the same story shape as one that ends with a transcended hero/ine. (Although if both kinds of films end up on your list of favorite stories, you might find one is the other in reverse. That’s why you need to make your own lists!)
Once you start looking at the games that genres play, you will also start to understand the games that you most love, and that you want to play with your readers and audience.
I’m primarily a thriller writer, and my personal favorite game is: “Is it supernatural or is it psychological?” I love to walk the line between the real and unreal, so I am constantly creating story situations in which there are multiple plausible explanations for the weird stuff that’s going on, including mental illness, drug-induced hallucinations, and outright fraud. That’s why my master list for any book or script I write will almost always include The Haunting of Hill House and The Shining, both classic books (and films) that walk the line between the supernatural and the psychological.
But what works for me structurally is not necessarily going to do it for you.
If you take the time to study and analyze the books and films that have had the greatest impact on you, personally, or that are structurally similar to the story you’re writing, or both, that’s when you really start to master your craft. Making the lists and analyzing those stories will help you brainstorm your own unique versions of scenes and meta-structures that work in the stories on your master list; it will help you figure out how your particular story will work. And doing this analysis will embed story structure in your head so that constructing a story becomes a fun and natural process for you.
Another great benefit of making the master list is that it helps you “brand” yourself as an author. Agents, editors, publishing houses, publicists, sales reps, bookstores, reviewers, media interviewers, librarians, and most importantly, your readers — all of these people want to be able to categorize you and your books. You need to be able to tell all of these people exactly what it is you write, what it’s similar to, and why it’s also unique. That’s part of your job as a professional author.
Remember, the list isn’t written in stone! You can change anything on it at any time. And honestly, when you’re doing these lists, it’s often most useful to write the first ten films and books that come to mind. Doing it fast and without thinking about it too consciously might show you something you never realized about what you’re writing.
And I encourage you to splurge on a nice big beautiful notebook to work in. We writers live so much in our heads it’s important to give ourselves toys and rewards to make the work feel less like work, and also to cut down on the drinking.
Do your list, and share it in the comments if you feel like it – next post we’ll be analyzing the lists!
- Alex
All the material from my workshops and on this blog, and much much more is available in my workbooks: $3.99 ebook, $14.99 print textbook:
Print book US
Print book all countries
e book
Enter to win a copy of the book!
You can sign up for my mailing list to get free breakdowns of The Silence of the Lambs, The Wizard of Oz, Chinatown, and other classic movies as I analyze them for my students and blog readers.
I’m very excited to be teaching one of the writing Master Classes for the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival next month, along with the brilliant Denise Mina, one of my all-time favorite authors and a major inspiration for my Huntress Moon thrillers.
I always like to give my workshop students some optional homework in the weeks before classes, so that we get the most out of our workshop time – and also so that those of you who can’t make the workshop can play along at home!
What I teach in my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshops is basic film story structure: the Three-Act, Eight-Sequence structure.
USC film school teaches it, the screenwriting story structure gurus teach it, all film execs and producers are aware of it even if it’s only in a vague way, and even screenwriters who claim not to follow this structure pattern do it to some extent or another. And it translates beautifully to novel writing. Not only does it make writing novels much easier – this is a rhythm of storytelling that readers (and audiences) are so used to that if you aren't using it to your advantage, they’re going to feel like something’s missing! You don’t want that to happen.
But I want my students to analyze examples that are meaningful to them, so the first assignment I give my workshop students is THE MASTER LIST: a list of ten novels and films that are specific to the story and genre you’re working on, and more importantly, that have had the maximum emotional and intellectual effect on you.
> ASSIGNMENT: List ten books and films that are similar to your own story in structure and/or genre (at least five books and three movies if you’re writing a book, at least five movies if you’re writing a script.).
Or if you’re trying to decide on the right project for you to work on, then make a list of ten books and films that you wish you had written!
And you people who feel like you’ve done this for me already – remember that it’s good practice to make a master list for every new project you’re working on! Your lists will be different for different books.
It’s very simple: in order to write stories like the ones that move you, you need to look at the stories that affect you and figure out what those authors and filmmakers are doing to get the effect they do.
Every genre has its own structural patterns and its own tricks. Screenwriter Ryan Rowe says it perfectly: “Every genre has its own game that it’s playing with the audience.”
For example, with a mystery, the game is “Whodunit?” You are going to toy with a reader or audience’s expectations and lead them down all kinds of false paths with red herrings so that they are constantly in the shoes of the hero/ine, trying to figure the puzzle out.
But with a romantic comedy or classic romance, there’s no mystery involved. 99.99% of the time the hero and heroine are going to end up together. The game in that genre is often to show, through the hero and heroine, how we are almost always our own worst enemies in love, and how we throw up all kinds of obstacles in our own paths to keep ourselves from getting what we want.
So if you’re writing a story like It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s not going to help you much to study Apocalypse Now. A story that ends with a fallen hero/ine is not going to have the same story shape as one that ends with a transcended hero/ine. (Although if both kinds of films end up on your list of favorite stories, you might find one is the other in reverse. That’s why you need to make your own lists!)
Once you start looking at the games that genres play, you will also start to understand the games that you most love, and that you want to play with your readers and audience.
I’m primarily a thriller writer, and my personal favorite game is: “Is it supernatural or is it psychological?” I love to walk the line between the real and unreal, so I am constantly creating story situations in which there are multiple plausible explanations for the weird stuff that’s going on, including mental illness, drug-induced hallucinations, and outright fraud. That’s why my master list for any book or script I write will almost always include The Haunting of Hill House and The Shining, both classic books (and films) that walk the line between the supernatural and the psychological.
But what works for me structurally is not necessarily going to do it for you.
If you take the time to study and analyze the books and films that have had the greatest impact on you, personally, or that are structurally similar to the story you’re writing, or both, that’s when you really start to master your craft. Making the lists and analyzing those stories will help you brainstorm your own unique versions of scenes and meta-structures that work in the stories on your master list; it will help you figure out how your particular story will work. And doing this analysis will embed story structure in your head so that constructing a story becomes a fun and natural process for you.
Another great benefit of making the master list is that it helps you “brand” yourself as an author. Agents, editors, publishing houses, publicists, sales reps, bookstores, reviewers, media interviewers, librarians, and most importantly, your readers — all of these people want to be able to categorize you and your books. You need to be able to tell all of these people exactly what it is you write, what it’s similar to, and why it’s also unique. That’s part of your job as a professional author.
Remember, the list isn’t written in stone! You can change anything on it at any time. And honestly, when you’re doing these lists, it’s often most useful to write the first ten films and books that come to mind. Doing it fast and without thinking about it too consciously might show you something you never realized about what you’re writing.
And I encourage you to splurge on a nice big beautiful notebook to work in. We writers live so much in our heads it’s important to give ourselves toys and rewards to make the work feel less like work, and also to cut down on the drinking.
Do your list, and share it in the comments if you feel like it – next post we’ll be analyzing the lists!
- Alex
All the material from my workshops and on this blog, and much much more is available in my workbooks: $3.99 ebook, $14.99 print textbook:
Print book USPrint book all countries
e book
Enter to win a copy of the book!
You can sign up for my mailing list to get free breakdowns of The Silence of the Lambs, The Wizard of Oz, Chinatown, and other classic movies as I analyze them for my students and blog readers.
August 11, 2015
FLASH SALE: Book of Shadows 99p!
My spooky thriller Book of Shadows is just 99p in the UK today ($3.99 US and worldwide).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Shadows-...
Book of Shadows
"A wonderfully dark thriller with amazing "Is-it-isn't-it?"suspense all the way to the end. Highly recommended." - Lee Child
Book of Shadows is about a cynical Boston cop who teams up with a mysterious Salem witch to solve what looks like a Satanic murder.
It’s fascinating to me how when you write a book, everyone always assumes it’s about you. Few people get that sometimes, if not most times, when you write a book it’s about getting OUT of you. Just like reading is, right?
So naturally everyone who reads it assumes that I’m a witch (that’s with a "w"). Oh, the interviewers don’t come right out and say it, but you know that’s what they’re asking.
Well, I’m not. Really. Not really. No more than any woman is a witch. But I can’t deny that writing Book of Shadows was a really excellent opportunity for me to indulge some of my witchier nature. I wanted to dive right in and explore some of those things that make some men – and a lot of women – uncomfortable with feminine power, and feminine energy, and feminine sexuality, and feminine deity.
I was working up to this book for quite a while. I’ve been around practicing witches most of my life. That’s what happens when you grow up in California, especially Berkeley. Actually the Berkeley part pretty much explains why I write supernatural to begin with, but that’s another post. Those of you who have visited Berkeley know that Telegraph Avenue, the famous drag that ends at the Berkeley campus, is a gauntlet of clothing and craft vendors, artists, and fortunetellers, forever fixed in the sixties. Well, look a little closer, and you’ll see just how many pagans, Wiccans, and witches there actually are. I’ve walked that gauntlet thousands of times in my life. It does something to your psyche, I’m telling you.
There was also the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, where I spent many summer days in my interestingly misspent youth. Renaissance Faires are teeming with witches (check out the Fortune Tellers’ Grove next time if you don’t believe me). So even though I don’t actually practice, not in an organized covenish kind of way, I’ve been to a ceremony or two, and you could say I’ve been researching this book for quite some time. In fact, I think I’ve known I was going to write this book ever since I first saw a "Calling of The Corners," a Craft ceremony which is one of the ritual scenes I depict in "Book of Shadows." It’s one of the most extraordinary spiritual experiences I've ever had -- such elemental, feminine power. And in everyday life, there some things that are just useful to know about the Craft.
I’m not much one for spells, I’m more of a meditator. But when I had to kick my evil tenants out of my rental house? A cleaning service was just not enough. You better believe that the second the locksmith was done changing the locks, I was down at the witch supply store, buying black and white candles (for protection and cleansing), and sage (smudge it for purification). I opened every window and swept the whole house widdershins (to the left, to dismiss) with a new broom dipped in salt and rosemary to dispel all lingering energy. Ritual works, and it doesn’t really matter what accoutrements you use; it’s really about the intention: in this case to cleanse, heal, and start over fresh.
Another concept of the Craft that I’ve always found particularly useful is Maiden, Mother, Crone. Those are the three aspects of the Goddess, and also the three phases of the moon, corresponding colors white, red and black. They represent the three cycles of a woman’s life – youth, womanhood and age – but women also pass through all three aspects every month when they’re menstruating, and knowing that has saved my life (and the lives of many of those around me) many a time. The time right after your period is Maiden: you have a rush of estrogen, so you’re glowing, you’ve just dropped all that water weight, you have a ton of energy, and you’re – well, up for it. And men can sense it. Best time to snag a partner, although your choices might not be exactly the best in this phase of the cycle.
The Mother (also called Queen) phase of the month is around ovulation. You’re powerful, grounded, and can get a lot done, especially creatively, because of the pregnancy connotations. It’s a sexy time in a different way than Maiden, because there’s the extra knowledge that yes, you really can get pregnant right now.
The Crone phase is raging PMS and the "death" that a period often feels like. Wise people know to avoid you at this time unless they really want a faceful of truth, and I try not to schedule meetings, especially with men, when I’m in this phase. Best for me to be solitary and contemplative. And contain the damage. But the things that come out of your mouth during this phase are the deep truth, even if they’re not pleasant, and if you remember to breathe, put the knife down, and pay attention to what you’re feeling and saying, you can learn a lot about your life and what you really need to be doing. Also your dreams will tend to be the most powerful, vivid, and significant in this phase. I know mine are.
I appreciate the earth/nature centeredness of the Craft. I like to be aware of whether the moon is waxing or waning, and focus on bringing things into my life during the waxing, and letting go of things (or people!) in the waning. And I like knowing that there is extra power and magic at the Solstices and Equinoxes; that knowledge makes me stop at least four times a year to consider what I really want to manifest in my life. (Obviously I used all of that Moon knowledge and more in the Huntress Moon series, too…)
Let’s face it: I also like the clothes. With my hair, I’ll never be able to pull off the tailored look. I love lace and fishnets and velvet and sparkles and corsets and big jewelry. I love the candles and the scents and that every day has a color (today is white, if you’re wondering). And there is another aspect of the Craft that has been truly important to me, spiritually. It’s about balance. I have never, ever bought the idea that God is male. It runs contrary to my entire experience of reality. I love you guys, really I do, but you’re only half the equation. I can’t see how an ultimate power could be anything but BOTH male and female. So the notion of a Goddess, in all Her forms, to me, completes the equation.
And a Supreme Being who likes velvet and fishnets? Even better.
So how about you? What’s your take on witches? Are you familiar with the way witchcraft is actually practiced, or is that whole world completely mysterious to you? Or do you do the odd spell or two yourself?
-- Alexandra Sokoloff
Book of Shadows
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Shadows-...
Book of Shadows
Homicide detective Adam Garrett is already a rising star in the Boston police department when he and his cynical partner, Carl Landauer, catch a horrifying case that could make their careers: the ritualistic murder of a wealthy college girl that appears to have Satanic elements.
The partners make a quick arrest when all evidence points to another student, a troubled musician in a Goth band who was either dating or stalking the murdered girl. But Garrett's case is turned upside down when beautiful, mysterious Tanith Cabarrus, a practicing witch from nearby Salem, walks into the homicide bureau and insists that the real perpetrator is still at large. Tanith claims to have had psychic visions that the killer has ritually sacrificed other teenagers in his attempts to summon a powerful, ancient demon.
All Garrett's beliefs about the nature of reality will be tested as he is forced to team up with a woman he is fiercely attracted to but cannot trust, in a race to uncover a psychotic killer before he strikes again.
"Sokoloff successfully melds a classic murder-mystery/whodunit with supernatural occult undertones." - Library Journal
"Compelling, frightening and exceptionally well-written, Book of Shadows is destined to become another hit for acclaimed horror and suspense writer Sokoloff. The incredibly tense plot and mysterious characters will keep readers up late at night, jumping at every sound, and turning the pages until they've devoured the book." - Romantic Times Book Reviews
"Fast-paced with strong characterizations, fans will enjoy this superb thriller, as Adam and the audience wonder if The Unseen could be the killer." - Publisher's Weekly
"A wonderfully dark thriller with amazing is-it-isn't-it suspense all the way to the end. Highly recommended." - Lee Child
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Shadows-...
Book of Shadows
"A wonderfully dark thriller with amazing "Is-it-isn't-it?"suspense all the way to the end. Highly recommended." - Lee Child
Book of Shadows is about a cynical Boston cop who teams up with a mysterious Salem witch to solve what looks like a Satanic murder.
It’s fascinating to me how when you write a book, everyone always assumes it’s about you. Few people get that sometimes, if not most times, when you write a book it’s about getting OUT of you. Just like reading is, right?
So naturally everyone who reads it assumes that I’m a witch (that’s with a "w"). Oh, the interviewers don’t come right out and say it, but you know that’s what they’re asking.
Well, I’m not. Really. Not really. No more than any woman is a witch. But I can’t deny that writing Book of Shadows was a really excellent opportunity for me to indulge some of my witchier nature. I wanted to dive right in and explore some of those things that make some men – and a lot of women – uncomfortable with feminine power, and feminine energy, and feminine sexuality, and feminine deity.
I was working up to this book for quite a while. I’ve been around practicing witches most of my life. That’s what happens when you grow up in California, especially Berkeley. Actually the Berkeley part pretty much explains why I write supernatural to begin with, but that’s another post. Those of you who have visited Berkeley know that Telegraph Avenue, the famous drag that ends at the Berkeley campus, is a gauntlet of clothing and craft vendors, artists, and fortunetellers, forever fixed in the sixties. Well, look a little closer, and you’ll see just how many pagans, Wiccans, and witches there actually are. I’ve walked that gauntlet thousands of times in my life. It does something to your psyche, I’m telling you.
There was also the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, where I spent many summer days in my interestingly misspent youth. Renaissance Faires are teeming with witches (check out the Fortune Tellers’ Grove next time if you don’t believe me). So even though I don’t actually practice, not in an organized covenish kind of way, I’ve been to a ceremony or two, and you could say I’ve been researching this book for quite some time. In fact, I think I’ve known I was going to write this book ever since I first saw a "Calling of The Corners," a Craft ceremony which is one of the ritual scenes I depict in "Book of Shadows." It’s one of the most extraordinary spiritual experiences I've ever had -- such elemental, feminine power. And in everyday life, there some things that are just useful to know about the Craft.
I’m not much one for spells, I’m more of a meditator. But when I had to kick my evil tenants out of my rental house? A cleaning service was just not enough. You better believe that the second the locksmith was done changing the locks, I was down at the witch supply store, buying black and white candles (for protection and cleansing), and sage (smudge it for purification). I opened every window and swept the whole house widdershins (to the left, to dismiss) with a new broom dipped in salt and rosemary to dispel all lingering energy. Ritual works, and it doesn’t really matter what accoutrements you use; it’s really about the intention: in this case to cleanse, heal, and start over fresh.
Another concept of the Craft that I’ve always found particularly useful is Maiden, Mother, Crone. Those are the three aspects of the Goddess, and also the three phases of the moon, corresponding colors white, red and black. They represent the three cycles of a woman’s life – youth, womanhood and age – but women also pass through all three aspects every month when they’re menstruating, and knowing that has saved my life (and the lives of many of those around me) many a time. The time right after your period is Maiden: you have a rush of estrogen, so you’re glowing, you’ve just dropped all that water weight, you have a ton of energy, and you’re – well, up for it. And men can sense it. Best time to snag a partner, although your choices might not be exactly the best in this phase of the cycle.
The Mother (also called Queen) phase of the month is around ovulation. You’re powerful, grounded, and can get a lot done, especially creatively, because of the pregnancy connotations. It’s a sexy time in a different way than Maiden, because there’s the extra knowledge that yes, you really can get pregnant right now.
The Crone phase is raging PMS and the "death" that a period often feels like. Wise people know to avoid you at this time unless they really want a faceful of truth, and I try not to schedule meetings, especially with men, when I’m in this phase. Best for me to be solitary and contemplative. And contain the damage. But the things that come out of your mouth during this phase are the deep truth, even if they’re not pleasant, and if you remember to breathe, put the knife down, and pay attention to what you’re feeling and saying, you can learn a lot about your life and what you really need to be doing. Also your dreams will tend to be the most powerful, vivid, and significant in this phase. I know mine are.
I appreciate the earth/nature centeredness of the Craft. I like to be aware of whether the moon is waxing or waning, and focus on bringing things into my life during the waxing, and letting go of things (or people!) in the waning. And I like knowing that there is extra power and magic at the Solstices and Equinoxes; that knowledge makes me stop at least four times a year to consider what I really want to manifest in my life. (Obviously I used all of that Moon knowledge and more in the Huntress Moon series, too…)
Let’s face it: I also like the clothes. With my hair, I’ll never be able to pull off the tailored look. I love lace and fishnets and velvet and sparkles and corsets and big jewelry. I love the candles and the scents and that every day has a color (today is white, if you’re wondering). And there is another aspect of the Craft that has been truly important to me, spiritually. It’s about balance. I have never, ever bought the idea that God is male. It runs contrary to my entire experience of reality. I love you guys, really I do, but you’re only half the equation. I can’t see how an ultimate power could be anything but BOTH male and female. So the notion of a Goddess, in all Her forms, to me, completes the equation.
And a Supreme Being who likes velvet and fishnets? Even better.
So how about you? What’s your take on witches? Are you familiar with the way witchcraft is actually practiced, or is that whole world completely mysterious to you? Or do you do the odd spell or two yourself?
-- Alexandra Sokoloff
Book of Shadows
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Shadows-...
Book of Shadows
Homicide detective Adam Garrett is already a rising star in the Boston police department when he and his cynical partner, Carl Landauer, catch a horrifying case that could make their careers: the ritualistic murder of a wealthy college girl that appears to have Satanic elements.
The partners make a quick arrest when all evidence points to another student, a troubled musician in a Goth band who was either dating or stalking the murdered girl. But Garrett's case is turned upside down when beautiful, mysterious Tanith Cabarrus, a practicing witch from nearby Salem, walks into the homicide bureau and insists that the real perpetrator is still at large. Tanith claims to have had psychic visions that the killer has ritually sacrificed other teenagers in his attempts to summon a powerful, ancient demon.
All Garrett's beliefs about the nature of reality will be tested as he is forced to team up with a woman he is fiercely attracted to but cannot trust, in a race to uncover a psychotic killer before he strikes again.
"Sokoloff successfully melds a classic murder-mystery/whodunit with supernatural occult undertones." - Library Journal
"Compelling, frightening and exceptionally well-written, Book of Shadows is destined to become another hit for acclaimed horror and suspense writer Sokoloff. The incredibly tense plot and mysterious characters will keep readers up late at night, jumping at every sound, and turning the pages until they've devoured the book." - Romantic Times Book Reviews
"Fast-paced with strong characterizations, fans will enjoy this superb thriller, as Adam and the audience wonder if The Unseen could be the killer." - Publisher's Weekly
"A wonderfully dark thriller with amazing is-it-isn't-it suspense all the way to the end. Highly recommended." - Lee Child
August 5, 2015
Summer News and workshops, STFA in print!
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073711037 9 0 511 0;} @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; mso-themecolor:hyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style> --> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Yes, I’m still alive! I know, I was beginning to have doubts myself.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This year has just been non-stop. They always are, I guess, but releasing three books in a row within months of each other, and getting ready to release a fourth next month – I’ve never done anything like this before and I am TIRED, but starting to crawl my way back to the surface and start to engage with, um, people again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So, what’s in the works?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img alt="Wolf Moon" border="1" src="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/images/c..." height="250" width="166" /><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">First off, I’m writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wolf Moon</i>, book 4 in the Huntress series, and there’s something I have </span>to clear up right away. I’ve come across a completely unanticipated problem: people who are reading the Huntress books are assuming they’re a trilogy - and worse – calling them a trilogy in reviews. I’m always grateful for reviews, and they’ve been almost universally stellar, t<i>hank you </i>all who have taken the time! – I couldn’t ask for better ones!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But wow, this is so NOT a trilogy, and having that idea out there is understandably confusing to readers who pick up <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cold Moon</i> expecting an end to the series. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cold Moon</i> is definitely not the end, and I thought it would be pretty clear in the way the book ends that there is another one coming. It’s funny, though, how there’s no real way to counteract that assumption once people start repeating it. So yeah. Book 4 is coming, and I'm not going to say much right now, but it's really different from the first three. (Why am I constantly doing this to myself? I wonder...)</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="width: 600px;"><tbody><tr align="left" valign="left"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/huntress... alt="Huntress Moon" border="1" src="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/images/h..." height="250" width="166" /></a></td> <td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/blood-mo... alt="Blood Moon" border="1" src="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/images/b..." height="250" width="166" /></a></td> <td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/cold-moo... alt="Cold Moon" border="1" src="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/images/c..." height="250" width="166" /></a></td> <td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And a quick note for AUSTRALIAN readers: <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huntress Moon</i> is on sale throughout August on Amazon.AU -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>just 1.99!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B... class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-stZ18U5-SaE..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-stZ18U5-SaE..." width="160" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Next - it's nearly killed me to get it done, but yes - the PRINT workbook of <i>Screenwriting Tricks for Authors</i>, STEALING HOLLYWOOD, will be available as soon as sometime next week. I know some of you have been waiting for this one for practically ever – well, it’s completely worth the wait!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But - make sure you’re on my <a href="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/newslett... mailing list </a>if you want to get the release announcement (and discount on the new ebook). If you're not sure, it doesn't hurt to try signing up again; you won't get double announcements, the extra email will automatically drop from the list. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://alexandrasokoloff.com/newslett... </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">For the rest of the summer (Scottish summer, that is…) - well, it’s August, so I’m taking a bit of a break next week to go down to London to see Benedict Cumberbatch in <i>Hamlet.</i></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ovq1O7QJw20..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ovq1O7QJw20..." width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee</i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sorry, lost it for a minute there. But yes, I’m so excited I can barely sleep. It's my favorite play, and there's one actor per generation who is simply born to play it. I think we have our answer here. And yes, I will report back!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B... class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And Craig and I are gearing up for the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival, followed frighteningly soon after by Bouchercon in Raleigh. Lots of events going on at both, and I wanted to let people know about upcoming workshops as well, since I’m doing a bit more teaching in the fall than I usually do, so here’s the lineup:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} span.lavbold {mso-style-name:lavbold; mso-style-unhide:no;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="lavbold"><b>—September 11-13 </b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="MsoHyperlink">Bloody Scotland</span><br />Stirling, Scotland </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal">I’ll be teaching a master class in story structure at Bloody Scotland, as well as a self-publishing workshop. I’ll also be paneling on Film Writing (and Film 101 for Authors!) as well as on the issue of the depiction of violence against women in books, film, and television.</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Fans of <a href="http://craigrobertsonbooks.co.uk/&quo... Robertson</a> can also find him appearing on panels and compering <i>Crime at the Coo</i>: a cabaret pub night on Saturday, featuring Bloody Scotland authors performing song, dance and poetry. Yes, I’ll be singing, too!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="lavbold"><b>—October 8-11</b></span><br /><span class="MsoHyperlink">Bouchercon World Mystery Convention</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Raleigh, NC </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Craig and I are both on the program.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="lavbold"><b>—October 31-November 1</b></span><br /><span class="MsoHyperlink">805 Writers Conference</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">2-hour Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshop</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Ventura, CA </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Craig and I are both on the program.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="lavbold"><b>—November 7</b></span><br /><span class="MsoHyperlink">Land of Enchantment Romance Writers Association</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">All-day Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshop</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Albuquerque, NM </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="lavbold"><b>November 13-15</b></span><br /><span class="MsoHyperlink">Shetland Noir</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Shetland Islands, UK </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Craig and I are both on the program.</span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hope you're all having fabulous summers. Would love to hear what you're up to!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> --- Alex </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div>
July 10, 2015
Britcrime online crime writing festival and COLD MOON blog tour
by Alexandra Sokoloff
As I said a few days ago, I'm touring online for the print and audio release of Book 3 in the Huntress/FBI Thrillers. Today I'm at Crime Thriller Girl, talking with Steph Broadribb about the series (and dispensing advice for authors!). You can catch up with me at any of the stops listed below - comment on any blog to be entered in a drawing to win print books! And yes, you can enter multiple times.
This weekend I'm doing something a little different: I'm the lone American in a lineup of 40 British crime authors participating in the first annual Britcrime Festival, an all-online gathering of authors, readers and bloggers in a two-day series of panels, virtual drinking in The Slaughtered Author Pub - and I suspect, some happy mayhem.
Britcrime is the brainchild of sister Thomas & Mercer author Helen Smith, and it grew out of a private Facebook group of UK authors, of which I am a member by virtue of living and writing in Scotland. We were having such an entirely funny and fun time in this group that we wanted a way to bring some of the conversation and hilarity to readers, and use Facebook to do it because it's free and accessible to anyone who wants to stop in.
In a masterful frenzy of organizing, Helen has pulled a real festival together, with intriguing, interactive panels; reader contributions, curated reviews, podcasts, and plans for upcoming events, including online classes and a Christmas party.
One of the complaints you hear most often from authors is how time-intensive live events are - the prep, the travel, and the possibility that no one will even show up. An online festival has the potential for great reach, a more casual interaction with readers, and room to grow. I'm excited to see how it turns out!
I'll be talking about Serial Offenders on Panel #4, Saturday at 6-8 pm UK time, 1-3 pm EST, with Mason Cross, Graeme Cameron, and Emma Kavanagh. You can post questions for me and the panel in advance, here.
And for Craig Robertson fans (or the curious…!), Craig will also be talking about serial killers on an earlier panel (Helen was wise enough not to put us on the same panel about this particular topic!).
You can find him on Saturday, 1-3 pm UK time, 7-9 am EST, here: Serial Killers.
You can click through to check out the full lineup of panels, and learn more about Britcrime.
Hope you'll join us!
- Alex
Cold Moon is out in print and audio this month and I'm doing a blog tour throughout the month of July, with lots of giveaways to celebrate!
Check the calendar listings below for where I'll be all through July, and stop by as many of the blogs as you want to read all about the whole Huntress series, and enter to win books and audiobooks.
Full Tour Calendar
July 7:
Feature article in ITW’s The Big Thrill
(Share or Tweet the article to be entered in the first drawing!)
July 8:
Off the Shelf Books off-the-shelfbooks.blogspot.co.uk
Silver’s Book Reviews http://silversolara.blogspot.com
July 9:
Lynsey’s Books http://lynseysbooks.blogspot.co.uk
July 10:
Crime Thriller Girlhttp://crimethrillergirl.com/
July 11:
BritCrime online festival: live panel discussion on serial killers1pm-3pm EST, 6pm-8pm BSThttps://www.facebook.com/britcrime
July 11:
King’s River Life magazinehttp://kingsriverlife.com
July 13:
Writing Round the Block https://cphilippou123.wordpress.com/
July 15:
Mystery Playground http://www.mysteryplayground.net
July 17:
Books that Hookhttp://booksthathook.com
July 19:
Reflections of a Readerwww.reflectionsofareader.blogspot.co.uk
July 20:
Read-Love-BlogRead-Love-Blog
July 21:
Crime Book Junkiehttp://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk
July 23:
The Book Trailhttp://thebooktrail.com
July 27:
Musings of a Bookish Kittyhttp://www.literaryfeline.com
July 28:
Liz Loves Books
http://lizlovesbooks.com/
________________________________________________________________________
Books 1, 2 and 3 of the Huntress/FBI Thrillers, Huntress Moon, Blood Moon, and Cold Moon are available now from Thomas & Mercer.
I very strongly recommend that you read the series in order, starting with Huntress Moon.
Buy on Amazon US Buy on Amazon US Buy on Amazon US
Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon UK
As I said a few days ago, I'm touring online for the print and audio release of Book 3 in the Huntress/FBI Thrillers. Today I'm at Crime Thriller Girl, talking with Steph Broadribb about the series (and dispensing advice for authors!). You can catch up with me at any of the stops listed below - comment on any blog to be entered in a drawing to win print books! And yes, you can enter multiple times.
This weekend I'm doing something a little different: I'm the lone American in a lineup of 40 British crime authors participating in the first annual Britcrime Festival, an all-online gathering of authors, readers and bloggers in a two-day series of panels, virtual drinking in The Slaughtered Author Pub - and I suspect, some happy mayhem.
Britcrime is the brainchild of sister Thomas & Mercer author Helen Smith, and it grew out of a private Facebook group of UK authors, of which I am a member by virtue of living and writing in Scotland. We were having such an entirely funny and fun time in this group that we wanted a way to bring some of the conversation and hilarity to readers, and use Facebook to do it because it's free and accessible to anyone who wants to stop in.
In a masterful frenzy of organizing, Helen has pulled a real festival together, with intriguing, interactive panels; reader contributions, curated reviews, podcasts, and plans for upcoming events, including online classes and a Christmas party.
One of the complaints you hear most often from authors is how time-intensive live events are - the prep, the travel, and the possibility that no one will even show up. An online festival has the potential for great reach, a more casual interaction with readers, and room to grow. I'm excited to see how it turns out!
I'll be talking about Serial Offenders on Panel #4, Saturday at 6-8 pm UK time, 1-3 pm EST, with Mason Cross, Graeme Cameron, and Emma Kavanagh. You can post questions for me and the panel in advance, here.
And for Craig Robertson fans (or the curious…!), Craig will also be talking about serial killers on an earlier panel (Helen was wise enough not to put us on the same panel about this particular topic!).
You can find him on Saturday, 1-3 pm UK time, 7-9 am EST, here: Serial Killers.
You can click through to check out the full lineup of panels, and learn more about Britcrime.
Hope you'll join us!
- Alex
Cold Moon is out in print and audio this month and I'm doing a blog tour throughout the month of July, with lots of giveaways to celebrate!Check the calendar listings below for where I'll be all through July, and stop by as many of the blogs as you want to read all about the whole Huntress series, and enter to win books and audiobooks.
Full Tour Calendar
July 7:Feature article in ITW’s The Big Thrill
(Share or Tweet the article to be entered in the first drawing!)
July 8:
Off the Shelf Books off-the-shelfbooks.blogspot.co.uk
Silver’s Book Reviews http://silversolara.blogspot.com
July 9:
Lynsey’s Books http://lynseysbooks.blogspot.co.uk
July 10:
Crime Thriller Girlhttp://crimethrillergirl.com/
July 11:
BritCrime online festival: live panel discussion on serial killers1pm-3pm EST, 6pm-8pm BSThttps://www.facebook.com/britcrime
July 11:
King’s River Life magazinehttp://kingsriverlife.com
July 13:
Writing Round the Block https://cphilippou123.wordpress.com/
July 15:
Mystery Playground http://www.mysteryplayground.net
July 17:
Books that Hookhttp://booksthathook.com
July 19:
Reflections of a Readerwww.reflectionsofareader.blogspot.co.uk
July 20:
Read-Love-BlogRead-Love-Blog
July 21:
Crime Book Junkiehttp://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk
July 23:
The Book Trailhttp://thebooktrail.com
July 27:
Musings of a Bookish Kittyhttp://www.literaryfeline.com
July 28:
Liz Loves Books
http://lizlovesbooks.com/
________________________________________________________________________
Books 1, 2 and 3 of the Huntress/FBI Thrillers, Huntress Moon, Blood Moon, and Cold Moon are available now from Thomas & Mercer.
I very strongly recommend that you read the series in order, starting with Huntress Moon.
Buy on Amazon US Buy on Amazon US Buy on Amazon US
Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon UK
July 7, 2015
COLD MOON print/audio release and blog tour!
by Alexandra Sokoloff
Cold Moon is out in print and audio today, and I'm doing a blog tour throughout the month of July, with lots of giveaways to celebrate!
Check the calendar listings below for where I'll be all through July, and stop by as many of the blogs as you want to read all about the whole Huntress series, and enter to win books and audiobooks.
Day 2, July 8:
Off the Shelf Books
off-the-shelfbooks.blogspot.co.uk
Interview with Victoria Goldman Gilbert - why I left screenwriting to write novels, where I get my ideas, the genesis of the Huntress series, and my weird writing habits! Comment to be entered in the giveaway: UK only.
Day 1, July 7: The Big Thrill (Share or Tweet the article to be entered in the first drawing!)
Full Tour Calendar
July 7:
Feature article in ITW’s The Big Thrill
July 8:
Off the Shelf Books off-the-shelfbooks.blogspot.co.uk
Silver’s Book Reviews http://silversolara.blogspot.com
July 9:
Lynsey’s Books http://lynseysbooks.blogspot.co.uk
July 10:
Crime Thriller Girlhttp://crimethrillergirl.com/
July 11:
BritCrime online festival: live panel discussion on serial killers1pm-3pm EST, 6pm-8pm BSThttps://www.facebook.com/britcrime
July 11:
King’s River Life magazinehttp://kingsriverlife.com
July 13:
Writing Round the Block https://cphilippou123.wordpress.com/
July 15:
Mystery Playground http://www.mysteryplayground.net
July 17:
Books that Hookhttp://booksthathook.com
July 19:
Reflections of a Readerwww.reflectionsofareader.blogspot.co.uk
July 20:
Read-Love-BlogRead-Love-Blog
July 21:
Crime Book Junkiehttp://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk
July 23:
The Book Trailhttp://thebooktrail.com
July 27:
Musings of a Bookish Kittyhttp://www.literaryfeline.com
July 28:
Liz Loves Books
http://lizlovesbooks.com/
________________________________________________________________________
Books 1, 2 and 3 of the Huntress/FBI Thrillers, Huntress Moon, Blood Moon, and Cold Moon are available now from Thomas & Mercer.
I very strongly recommend that you read the series in order, starting with Huntress Moon.
Buy on Amazon US Buy on Amazon US Buy on Amazon US
Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon UK
Cold Moon is out in print and audio today, and I'm doing a blog tour throughout the month of July, with lots of giveaways to celebrate!Check the calendar listings below for where I'll be all through July, and stop by as many of the blogs as you want to read all about the whole Huntress series, and enter to win books and audiobooks.
Day 2, July 8:
Off the Shelf Books
off-the-shelfbooks.blogspot.co.uk
Interview with Victoria Goldman Gilbert - why I left screenwriting to write novels, where I get my ideas, the genesis of the Huntress series, and my weird writing habits! Comment to be entered in the giveaway: UK only.
Day 1, July 7: The Big Thrill (Share or Tweet the article to be entered in the first drawing!)
Full Tour Calendar
July 7:Feature article in ITW’s The Big Thrill
July 8:
Off the Shelf Books off-the-shelfbooks.blogspot.co.uk
Silver’s Book Reviews http://silversolara.blogspot.com
July 9:
Lynsey’s Books http://lynseysbooks.blogspot.co.uk
July 10:
Crime Thriller Girlhttp://crimethrillergirl.com/
July 11:
BritCrime online festival: live panel discussion on serial killers1pm-3pm EST, 6pm-8pm BSThttps://www.facebook.com/britcrime
July 11:
King’s River Life magazinehttp://kingsriverlife.com
July 13:
Writing Round the Block https://cphilippou123.wordpress.com/
July 15:
Mystery Playground http://www.mysteryplayground.net
July 17:
Books that Hookhttp://booksthathook.com
July 19:
Reflections of a Readerwww.reflectionsofareader.blogspot.co.uk
July 20:
Read-Love-BlogRead-Love-Blog
July 21:
Crime Book Junkiehttp://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk
July 23:
The Book Trailhttp://thebooktrail.com
July 27:
Musings of a Bookish Kittyhttp://www.literaryfeline.com
July 28:
Liz Loves Books
http://lizlovesbooks.com/
________________________________________________________________________
Books 1, 2 and 3 of the Huntress/FBI Thrillers, Huntress Moon, Blood Moon, and Cold Moon are available now from Thomas & Mercer.
I very strongly recommend that you read the series in order, starting with Huntress Moon.
Buy on Amazon US Buy on Amazon US Buy on Amazon US
Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon UK
June 10, 2015
e Marketing tools: Thunderclap!
I'm teaching a five-day workshop at the West Texas AMU Writers Academy this week. It's a writing intensive in which I have 15 students plotting their entire books in one week. Exhausting, but highly rewarding, and miraculously, yet again we are right on course to get this all done. In five days!
Academy students are very motivated and I always end up doing adjunct sessions on ebook publishing and marketing. So here's one free marketing resource I'm showing my students - an interesting wrinkle on book marketing called Thunderclap!
Thunderclap! is a crowdspeaking platform that amplifies messages by allowing large groups of people to share a single message together at the same time. Sort of an online flashmob.
I've just used Thunderclap! to create a book launch page for the print and audio release of Cold Moon on July 7. People who want to support me and the Huntress series can sign up for an automatic Tweet or Facebook share about the book release on the day, and the Thunderclap site automatically posts the tweets/shares all at the same time. Just once, no follow up, no spam, no need to you to remember, no need for me to bug anyone - and everyone who signs up to support is automatically entered in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card!
This is what gets posted:
Cold Moon, #3 of Alexandra Sokoloff's Huntress/FBI Thrillers, is out today! Now evil has something to fear. #ColdMoon http://thndr.it/1GgkoVo
You can check out the support page to see how it works, here - and also, of course, I'm hoping you'll sign up to have a Tweet and/or Facebook post go out on my launch day!
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/27229-cold-moon-book-launch
I like how the dashboard page (which you can continue to edit up until the day of the Thunderclap) keeps count of the social media reach you're accruing as people continue to sign up. It's a much more efficient way of getting your friends and followers lined up to support your book launch. And apparently a Thunderclap can get your book trending on Twitter on release day.
Of course, I'll report back on results.
Has anyone else tried this?
Thanks for signing up!
--- Alex
Academy students are very motivated and I always end up doing adjunct sessions on ebook publishing and marketing. So here's one free marketing resource I'm showing my students - an interesting wrinkle on book marketing called Thunderclap!
Thunderclap! is a crowdspeaking platform that amplifies messages by allowing large groups of people to share a single message together at the same time. Sort of an online flashmob.
I've just used Thunderclap! to create a book launch page for the print and audio release of Cold Moon on July 7. People who want to support me and the Huntress series can sign up for an automatic Tweet or Facebook share about the book release on the day, and the Thunderclap site automatically posts the tweets/shares all at the same time. Just once, no follow up, no spam, no need to you to remember, no need for me to bug anyone - and everyone who signs up to support is automatically entered in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card!
This is what gets posted:
Cold Moon, #3 of Alexandra Sokoloff's Huntress/FBI Thrillers, is out today! Now evil has something to fear. #ColdMoon http://thndr.it/1GgkoVo
You can check out the support page to see how it works, here - and also, of course, I'm hoping you'll sign up to have a Tweet and/or Facebook post go out on my launch day!
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/27229-cold-moon-book-launch
I like how the dashboard page (which you can continue to edit up until the day of the Thunderclap) keeps count of the social media reach you're accruing as people continue to sign up. It's a much more efficient way of getting your friends and followers lined up to support your book launch. And apparently a Thunderclap can get your book trending on Twitter on release day.
Of course, I'll report back on results.
Has anyone else tried this?
Thanks for signing up!
--- Alex
