Molly Looby's Blog, page 4
January 16, 2017
Characters Are Your Best Friends
When I say characters are your best friends, I really mean it. They will annoy you, make you cry, make you laugh, frustrate you, and drive you crazy just like a real friend would. And they should. They should be as real and as annoying as you or me.
Your characters--if you're a character-driven person like me--are the most important part of your story. Because after all, it's their story you're telling. We're reading for them. We want to know how it turns out because we're rooting for them. We're not rooting for the author writing a great book, we forget you exist! (But please do write us a good one.)
In short, we're in it for them.
Many people are plot-driven, and that's okay, but that's just not the way I work. The one time I tried to write and care about the plot more than the characters, I crashed and burned. And I know many people are like me. You want to follow this fantastic person through to the end of their story, whatever the story is. You want to laugh with them, cry with them, and live their life--however awful that could be!
This is the reason I start with characters once I've got a basic idea. Sometimes all I have is a key word. When I was writing my Immorality of Immorality trilogy, all I had was 'vampire' before I moved on to craft Felix, the protagonist. The same went for ZA. I picked up the word 'zombie' and ran with it, crafting Zane before I planned anything out. After all, how the story goes really depends on what your characters would do.
You might be thinking, this is all very self-indulgent, Molly. We don't care what you do. What do we do? Tell us your secrets!
Well, okay then.
To craft the greatest character you can think of, all you have to focus on is making them real. Make the person in your head have thoughts and feelings outside of your own. Give them strengths and weaknesses. Give them fears and dreams.
First, I flesh out a name and a basic description of what they're like as a person. For example, Felix is shy and anxious. Zane is athletic and loving. Once you've got that you can move on to bigger questions. Who do they live with? Who are their friends? What do they like about themselves? What do they hate about themselves? What do they love most? What do they hate most? What drives them onwards in times of struggle?
After these bigger world types of questions, you can move onto the trickier ones. My favourite question of all time is what's their deepest, darkest secret? This secret doesn't have to have any effect on the story, or it can run the story entirely. Either way, you have to know the answer. Until you know everything about your protagonist, you aren't ready to write. What are their weird hobbies and mannerisms? How do they speak, walk, behave among peers, among 'superiors'? What do they wear? How do they style their hair?
And of course . . . What do they look like?
Then we can move onto the less important but fun questions. Favourite colour, book, TV show, film, food, sport, holiday destination. If you're like me, you'll also want to sort your characters into Hogwarts houses and Divergent factions.
Do questionnaires or personality quizzes on their behalf. I have a 'master questions' document that's five pages long that I fill out for all my characters before I get writing. When you get to the end of the questions document, wow, let me tell you, you certainly know more than you thought you would at the start.
Once you've got all this, live and breathe them. Every situation you come across, think about how they would react. See through their eyes until you don't have to ask yourself that question any more. Once you just know, you're ready.
Oh man, you are so ready.
Some may say you're crazy. Some may think there are people living in your head and now there are. Some may look at you with this bizarre I-think-what-you-can-do-is-amazing-but-it-kinda-scares-me look. If you get that, you know you're doing something right.
So go out there and write them something phenomenal. You've made them the best, so go and show the world! But most importantly, have the most fun in the universe doing it!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
Your characters--if you're a character-driven person like me--are the most important part of your story. Because after all, it's their story you're telling. We're reading for them. We want to know how it turns out because we're rooting for them. We're not rooting for the author writing a great book, we forget you exist! (But please do write us a good one.)
In short, we're in it for them.
Many people are plot-driven, and that's okay, but that's just not the way I work. The one time I tried to write and care about the plot more than the characters, I crashed and burned. And I know many people are like me. You want to follow this fantastic person through to the end of their story, whatever the story is. You want to laugh with them, cry with them, and live their life--however awful that could be!
This is the reason I start with characters once I've got a basic idea. Sometimes all I have is a key word. When I was writing my Immorality of Immorality trilogy, all I had was 'vampire' before I moved on to craft Felix, the protagonist. The same went for ZA. I picked up the word 'zombie' and ran with it, crafting Zane before I planned anything out. After all, how the story goes really depends on what your characters would do.
You might be thinking, this is all very self-indulgent, Molly. We don't care what you do. What do we do? Tell us your secrets!
Well, okay then.
To craft the greatest character you can think of, all you have to focus on is making them real. Make the person in your head have thoughts and feelings outside of your own. Give them strengths and weaknesses. Give them fears and dreams.
First, I flesh out a name and a basic description of what they're like as a person. For example, Felix is shy and anxious. Zane is athletic and loving. Once you've got that you can move on to bigger questions. Who do they live with? Who are their friends? What do they like about themselves? What do they hate about themselves? What do they love most? What do they hate most? What drives them onwards in times of struggle?
After these bigger world types of questions, you can move onto the trickier ones. My favourite question of all time is what's their deepest, darkest secret? This secret doesn't have to have any effect on the story, or it can run the story entirely. Either way, you have to know the answer. Until you know everything about your protagonist, you aren't ready to write. What are their weird hobbies and mannerisms? How do they speak, walk, behave among peers, among 'superiors'? What do they wear? How do they style their hair?
And of course . . . What do they look like?
Then we can move onto the less important but fun questions. Favourite colour, book, TV show, film, food, sport, holiday destination. If you're like me, you'll also want to sort your characters into Hogwarts houses and Divergent factions.
Do questionnaires or personality quizzes on their behalf. I have a 'master questions' document that's five pages long that I fill out for all my characters before I get writing. When you get to the end of the questions document, wow, let me tell you, you certainly know more than you thought you would at the start.
Once you've got all this, live and breathe them. Every situation you come across, think about how they would react. See through their eyes until you don't have to ask yourself that question any more. Once you just know, you're ready.
Oh man, you are so ready.
Some may say you're crazy. Some may think there are people living in your head and now there are. Some may look at you with this bizarre I-think-what-you-can-do-is-amazing-but-it-kinda-scares-me look. If you get that, you know you're doing something right.
So go out there and write them something phenomenal. You've made them the best, so go and show the world! But most importantly, have the most fun in the universe doing it!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
January 9, 2017
Book Reviews: October-December
Here are the book reviews from October to the end of 2016. I was so busy I only managed three, but there are more coming soon!
The Owl Service - Alan Garner 5/10 (Fangs, Claws, and Wings)
Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard 2/5 (Movellas)
Beautiful Broken Things - Sara Barnard 5/5 (Movellas)
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
The Owl Service - Alan Garner 5/10 (Fangs, Claws, and Wings)
Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard 2/5 (Movellas)
Beautiful Broken Things - Sara Barnard 5/5 (Movellas)
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
January 4, 2017
New Year! Same Goals!
My resolutions are always habits I want to keep up. Too many resolutions fizzle into nothing, when really what you want to do is create a habit. One year I told myself I wasn't going to drink more than two cups of tea in one day for the whole year, and I didn't. But as soon as January 1st came around, I went back to normal. 365 days should set a habit, but don't count on it. So that's why my goals are always the same, or similar. I'm not letting these habits drop.
Read 30 books.
Nothing's changed here. I don't want to push too hard as I know I've got a busy year. But saying that, I don't want to drop my total down, so the goal is to maintain the steady 30-ish books I've managed to read each year for the past three or four years.
Write at least once every week.
I know I tell people to write every day, but in this resolution I specifically mean part of a novel, short story, or blog post. I write every day if you count emails and tweets, but this is a little more specific. Last year I spent a good while not writing anything when I was between projects, and I'm not going to fall into that trap again. It makes starting the next project so much harder.
Write 52 blogs.
Again, this is the same as every year. Even though writing my blog feels like shouting into the void, I want to keep doing it because it keeps me focused. It makes me think about what I'm reading so I can review it. It makes me write about things I've done and notice achievements. And I can't let myself let it go.
Write 2 books and re-write 1 book.
This one is my stretched goal. I usually write two books, and if I'm doing a re-write, I only write one new one. This year I want to write both two new books and re-write an old one. It's going to be tough, but based on the summer of 2016 when I didn't write anything at all, I can do it.
I think the mistake people make with their goals is that they make them too difficult. I'm using this as a way to focus on what I want to achieve in my day-to-day life, and there's nothing on here I can't handle. I don't want to be stressed by my goals, I want to be excited by them. I think we authors put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Don't let it take over your life. It's your life, and they're your stories.
My 2017 is going to be run by me and me alone. And I will smile as I go and read and write and re-write (and edit).
I don't know about you, but I feel good about 2017. Amazing even.
Let's see what's in store :)
Have any writing resolutions? Let me know in the comments!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
Read 30 books.
Nothing's changed here. I don't want to push too hard as I know I've got a busy year. But saying that, I don't want to drop my total down, so the goal is to maintain the steady 30-ish books I've managed to read each year for the past three or four years.Write at least once every week.
I know I tell people to write every day, but in this resolution I specifically mean part of a novel, short story, or blog post. I write every day if you count emails and tweets, but this is a little more specific. Last year I spent a good while not writing anything when I was between projects, and I'm not going to fall into that trap again. It makes starting the next project so much harder.
Write 52 blogs.
Again, this is the same as every year. Even though writing my blog feels like shouting into the void, I want to keep doing it because it keeps me focused. It makes me think about what I'm reading so I can review it. It makes me write about things I've done and notice achievements. And I can't let myself let it go.Write 2 books and re-write 1 book.
This one is my stretched goal. I usually write two books, and if I'm doing a re-write, I only write one new one. This year I want to write both two new books and re-write an old one. It's going to be tough, but based on the summer of 2016 when I didn't write anything at all, I can do it.
I think the mistake people make with their goals is that they make them too difficult. I'm using this as a way to focus on what I want to achieve in my day-to-day life, and there's nothing on here I can't handle. I don't want to be stressed by my goals, I want to be excited by them. I think we authors put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Don't let it take over your life. It's your life, and they're your stories.
My 2017 is going to be run by me and me alone. And I will smile as I go and read and write and re-write (and edit).
I don't know about you, but I feel good about 2017. Amazing even.
Let's see what's in store :)
Have any writing resolutions? Let me know in the comments!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
December 29, 2016
See Ya 2016!
I know 2016's been crazy, but for me, it's been amazing!I've kept up with my blogging, which is some kind of miracle quite honestly. This year I've somehow managed 53 blog posts, which means I've hit my target of once a week.
The most popular blog post this year was the book review I did for India Taylor and her book All Change, which has come as a shock. My book reviews are never the most popular of my posts. Go, India! After that, it was I Am ZA Ready, which I guess means that you guys have been spending the year preparing for the Zombie Armageddon. I don't blame you after the year we've had!
This year I managed to read 32 books, which is a few less than normal, but I've been super busy, as you'll see as this post goes on. I'm still happy though as I hit my target of 30.
Out of those 32, here are the top 10 in the order I read them:
Next of Kin - Dan WellsGirl of Nightmares - Kendare BlakeThe New Hunger - Isaac MarionThe Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick NessThe 5th Wave - Rick YanceyThe Art of Being Normal - Lisa WilliamsonThe Infinite Sea - Rick YanceyThe Last Star - Rick YanceyHarry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack ThorneBeautiful Broken Things - Sara Barnard
You should all go out and buy these books right away. They're all incredible!
Reading-wise, this year Rick Yancey stole my heart. I loved The 5th Wave trilogy so much! I promise I won't blabber on too much, but here are a few words and phrases I've used to describe the trilogy: reading bliss, tore me down and built me back up, phenomenal, both killed me and made me want to live, will stay with me always, a masterpiece, This book became me, need a stronger word than beautiful. I think you get the picture!As well as reading, I also did some writing too! I'm happy to report that I'm back to my usual two books a year target. I have at last reached the end of my After trilogy, with the final book in the series now complete. I'm proud to announce the current title right here on this blog: Everafter. Make of that what you will! It took longer to write than the others, but that's probably down to tying everything up at the end. I'm going to be honest, the prospect of working on this trilogy is scaring me a little bit, so don't expect to see Abia in any book shops next year. I'm going to have to work out what to do with her first! If you want to know what on earth I'm talking about, you can read the first book on Movellas. Be prepared, it's unedited and an old draft at this point! But I like to share what I can with my readers :)
I also, of course, took part in NaNoWriMo 2016, which marks my 6th NaNo done and won! Woo! Also, I hit a total NaNo count of over 375,000 words, which is a pretty mean feat. All I'll say about this book is that Iris Hale is one badass demon hunter, and I love her. Again, this is even less of a sure thing than the After trilogy, so don't expect to hear about Iris for a while! Though you can read the first few (unedited!) chapters on Movellas.
The most exciting thing that's happened to me this year was the release of ZA, my pride and joy. My absolute world. I'm so thrilled with it I'm not sure I have the words to describe it. I've had such amazing feedback from my readers, and I couldn't be more grateful. If you haven't picked up ZA yet, maybe it's time for you to get ZA ready! You can buy it here :)If you want all the ZA gossip, you should join my fantastic group of survivors! You can find more about all the cool stuff you can discover, such as facts and new POVs, here.
Because of ZA, I had the opportunity to do some truly amazing things this year. I've been on three radio shows (Phoenix FM, BBC Essex, Gateway FM), been a guest on a podcast, been to an author event, had an author event, run a competition, run a Goodreads giveaway, spoken at a writers' group, and had my very own book signing at Waterstones! I feel like the luckiest author in the world that I've been able to spread the ZA/writing/NaNoWriMo love with everyone!
As well as all that, I finished my website, which you can visit here, and my beloved Molten Publishing turned one! You can visit us at our website, which also went live this year! If you send us a submission, we'll give you feedback!
So, what's next? Gosh, I'm not sure how 2017 can top 2016, but I'm going to try and ramp it up even more! Not to mention, in 2017 I'm getting married to my wonderful fiancé who I've now known for 10 years. Wow.
Fingers crossed, next year I shall be bringing out another book, which needs a rather major fix up, so I'm not going to give you any more than that for now. Though I don't like keeping things a secret, so I'm sure I'll make an announcement sooner rather than later!
And of course, I'm going to write more! Again, I've set my goal at two books: one in spring (probably), and another for NaNoWriMo. But as well as that, I'm also going to be re-writing a book, so wish me luck!
Thanks to every one of you for supporting me this year. Whether you follow me on Twitter (I hit 10,000 followers this year), read my blog, listened to me on the radio, came to my signing, bought a copy of ZA, follow me on Movellas, whatever it is, I love you all.
Thank you for an incredible year, and here's to 2017!
Molly x
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
December 12, 2016
Book Signing at Waterstones
On Saturday, I had one of the greatest days ever! I spent the day at my very first book signing. All day I got to chat to readers and YA lovers, and not to mention recommend some of my favourite books. I couldn't help myself! Sometimes you just have to point people to Patrick Ness's The Knife of Never Letting Go or Jenny Downham's Before I Die.
The Waterstones staff were so friendly and encouraging, and I felt so welcomed. It was a mad rush being so close to Christmas, but they asked me how I was getting on every now and then, which was so kind of them considering how busy it was.
I'm so proud ZA's sitting on the shelf with some of my favourite authors!
And let me tell you, there's something magical about staying in a bookshop all day and talking about nothing but books. Everyone who came to talk to me brightened my day, and I hope I brightened theirs too.
To everyone who bought a copy of ZA, I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you drop me a line to tell me what you thought. I always love hearing from my readers.
And thank you for coming and making my day awesome!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
December 5, 2016
NaNoWriM0 2016 Post #5
So, the race is over. Welcome to December, everyone! And relax.
Well, not for me. I'm STILL WRITING, though I must admit I took this weekend off as I was hanging out with my family. But back to it this week. I better finish this stupid novel this week. Can't wait to have a really long nap.
NaNo was pretty eventful this year. I wrote 75,643 words in total, which I'd just like to point out is a NaNo and a half! It is also the most I've ever written during NaNoWriMo. I drank 52 cups of tea while writing, which is one every 1,450 words.
Here's a recap of how I got on.
Everyone who took part, winner or not, should be super-proud of themselves. We are writers, and we are superheroes.
Until next year, Wrimos.
Read my NaNoWriMo Pep Talk on Movellas!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
November 30, 2016
Survivors Unite! Who's ZA Ready?
Exciting news!
Do you want exclusive facts, stories, quizzes and more from the zombie Armageddon?
Of course you do!Join us now! Us survivors have to band together!
All you have to do is send me a photo of you with your copy of ZA so I can share it with the world. After that, I will send you background information, character stories, thoughts on what happens next, and maybe even snippets of narrative from other characters' points of view! Who knows, maybe I'll want to put your name in my next book...
What are you waiting for? Email me your picture to molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk and join us for an awesome ZA ready fest.
Yours,
Molly
Survivor, ZAReady
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
November 28, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016 Post #4
Yes, I 'finished' last week. And yes, I'm still writing like I've got to hit the word count. What can I say? Writers gonna write.
As usual, continuing after 50,000 words is actually the easiest part. Of course it is. The world's just that kind. In answer to why I don't take a break after reaching the word count, it's because I can't. It's not just in November than I write every day until I finish. That's my writing style. I'll start a book and write every day until I reach the final full stop. Otherwise how can I be sure it'll ever get finished?
On the plus side, I hit 70,000 words today, meaning I've written 70,000 words this month, which equates to 2,500 words a day. If that's not a super power, what is?
Keep writing, Wrimos. I believe in you!
Read my NaNoWriMo Pep Talk on Movellas!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
November 21, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016 Post #3
Week three, the enemy of all writers. I don't remember feeling it this hard for a few years, but this year hit me. Hard. Week three put me in a slump. Every day was a struggle. Every day I didn't want to write at all, not even a page. But every day I made myself because I'm a writer, and that's what we do.
So I battled on, starting to hate this stupid book. But then something amazing happened. I reached 50,000 words. And then everything didn't seem so bad.
I say it all the time, but I'm going to repeat it. The only thing that makes you a writer is writing. And the only way to get better is to write more. NaNoWriMo is the perfect opportunity to teach yourself this. Being a writer means writing every day, even if you don't want to. You have to make yourself, because this is what you do.
Don't worry, some days it'll be fun!
Now to finish the novel. Not sure I can get that final full stop in before the end of November, but NaNo has been won for another year, so I can sleep easy.
Read my NaNoWriMo Pep Talk on Movellas!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
November 14, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016 Post #2
I found week two so much easier than week one! Most days I stormed through my words, and on a few days, I decided to keep writing past my goal of 2,000 words a day. This was the week I fell in love with my story.
And thank goodness for that! I had such a slog in week one, and I'm glad to be out the other side.
Though I'm already fearing week three, I'm sure I can conquer it. In fact, this time next week, I want to be finished. Well, not finished, but have reached 50,000 words at least.
I'm happy to report that I'm ahead of all my other NaNo novels at this point (except one which was finished by now!). It seems I usually reach 50,000 words around day 21-22, and I'd like to beat that this year.
Fingers crossed the good writing vibes continue!
Read my NaNoWriMo Pep Talk on Movellas!
Molly LoobyAuthor / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Readymolly@moltenpublishing.co.uk
Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo
