Nenia Campbell's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"

My reaction when someone likes one of my reviews on GoodReads:


My reaction when someone comments on one of my reviews on GoodReads:


My reaction when someone rates one of my books on GoodReads:


My reaction when someone reviews one of my books on GoodReads:

Stephenie Meyer made the author playlist thing super popular. I actually think that this is one of my favorite things she's done because a) it gives all those wonderful music artists some love, b) it helps convey the kind of mood you want for your story, and c) it kind of tells a little bit about the person behind the author.

I love listening to music while I write, whether it's on Youtube or from my own personal library. I also love it when people tell me what music THEY listen to while they read. I've found a lot of great new artists that way. :)

Anyway, without further ado, here is my (unofficial) playlist for Endgame.

1. This Is What Makes Us Girls - Lana Del Rey
2. Keep Breathing - Ingrid Michaelson
3. Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode
4. Sunday - Sia
5. Sway - Vanessa Carlton
6. Howl - Florence + the Machine
7. Stepping Stone - Duffy
8. Must Be Dreaming - Frou Frou
9. Red Rain - Peter Gabriel
10. Blinding - Florence + the Machine
11. Under Ice - Kate Bush
12. Fascination Street - The Cure
13. My Last Breath - Evanescence
14. Chokehold - Adam Lambert
15. Escape - Fireflight
16. Breathing - Kate Bush
17. Utopia - Within Temptation**

**I love this artist so much. Her voice is gorgeous, she seems like a wonderful person, and this track would just make the best end credits song ever imo.

Want to read the story behind the songs? Click here!

Enjoy!

By Me, Nenia Campbell

A is for... Alternate Universe
For when you're too lazy to do your research.

B is for... Beta
A mythological creature. Good luck finding one.

C is for... Cannon
This is what die-hard fans will shoot you out of if you violate their OTP.

D is for... Darkfic
Proof that depressed teenagers should not be allowed on the computer.

E is for... Editing
Another mythological creature.

F is for... Fluff
What would happen if Nicholas Sparks rewrote your favorite fandom.

G is for... Gender-Bender
Please turn your textbooks to page 63.

H is for... Hiatus
When even the author can no longer stand to read their own crap.

I is for... In-Character
Don't worry about this one; you'll never come across it.

J is for... Jokefic
See entry for "Kid."

K is for... Kid
Most likely a crackfic in disguise wearing a false mustache and talking to his good friend, Mr. Inanimate Object, about the importance of wearing a condom when you're out weeding the garden.

L is for... Lemon
An acidic fruit full of vitamin C.

M is for... Mpreg
Because anatomy is just another word for 'boring.'

N is for... Non-Con
Putting the 'sensual' into non-consensual.

O is for... OOC
The characters you are about to read resemble their bookverse counterparts in name only.

P is for... Plotbunny
Nefarious, invisible creatures that devour the answers to questions like "what the hell is going on?" "why is the character doing that?" and "what is the plot of this fic again?"

Q is for... Queer
What happens when your favorite characters are dragged, kicking and screaming, into the GBLT community.

R is for... Rule 34
If it exists, it has been violated- literally- in some shape or form. Nothing is sacred.

S is for... Smut
Even the author admits that their fic is nothing more than a pretext for gratuitous sex.

T is for... Teen
Something to screen for when you're looking for smut.

U is for... Unresolved Sexual Tension
Akin to holding a carrot over a horse's head to make it run faster.

V is for... Vore
Taking the phrase 'playing with your food' to a literal, and extremely disturbing, level.

W is for... WIP
Author has no intention of completing the fic, but is too sadistic to admit it.

X is for... XXX
Please refer to "smut."

Y is for... Yaoi/Yuri
Slash with anime eyes drawn on.

Z is for... 'Zine
What happens in fanfiction does not necessarily stay on fanfiction websites.

After some initial formatting issues with the cover design, I finally got the green light. Endgame is now ready to order!

Unfortunately, the other cover did not fit the specified dimensions, so I had to make it myself. Let's call it "a special edition."

Click the book to order a copy for $6.00.



OR

Purchase the kindle edition here and satisfy your desire for instant gratification!

As always, I thank you for your support!

I've just had my first author interview ever with our very own Demonic Lynx. Oh my gosh you guys. I literally started fangirling when she asked me. I feel like I'm Cinderella, and GoodReads is my fairy godmother letting me go to the author ball.

You can read my interview on her website.

Thanks, Lisbeth!

We all know her. She's the girl we love to hate.



Wondering if the character in the book you're reading is an Uber-Sue? Or concerned about your own writing? Take this fun Mary Sue Litmus Test to find out.

I'm in the clear! My characters passed. :)

I'm very proud for finishing this book--especially during National Writing Month. And on the last day, too. Talk about a close shave!

I hope the rest of you participants were similarly fortunate in meeting--or better yet, exceeding--your goals. And if you didn't, don't give up. There's always next year. Or, if you're feeling cheeky and daring, next month!

You can order a copy of Fearscape for yourself here, for $2.99 for the Kindle. If you have Amazon Prime, I believe you also have the option of borrowing it for free. FREE, PEOPLE!

The hard copy edition is still being proofed, so for those of you who don't have Kindles/would rather read the book in print, the paperback should be available soon for around $7.00. It's just shy of 300 pages.

Once again, I'd also like to thank everyone for the amazing feedback and support--even the mixed feedback. Especially the mixed feedback. Thanks to some of my reviews, I've now gotten the formatting down to a (mostly) fine art, and had some wonderful people step forward to offer their services with fact-checks. In fact, an extra-special thank-you goes to McQuinn, who helped me with all the info on legal proceedings and terminology. You're a star, Quinny!

If you're even the slightest bit interested, I would be honored for you to give my books a chance. When I posted my work online, the feedback I received from my readers helped hone me into the writer I am today. That feedback is especially critical now that money is involved and I'm writing (or trying to write) in a more professional context. Let me know what you like and what you dislike--and don't be afraid to be honest! :)

Happy reading,

xNenia

(Cover shout-out to Louisa again.)

Some of you wanted to know when Fearscape was going to be available in paperback. Well, I just got le news today! The proofing went through, and yes, your edition will come with Lou's GORGEOUS cover. ♥

You can order a copy from Createspace HERE for $7.50 (I almost wrote $750. LOL, no.)

And just to reiterate, you can get the Kindle version for $2.99 (NOT $299) at the Kindle store HERE.

As always, happy reading!

xNenia

One of my readers was kind enough to list some of the typos in Cloak and Dagger (thanks Kathryn!), so I submitted a new document with the corrections she suggested for both Kindle and hard copy editions. Both should be available for purchase in 12-42 hours.

Thank goodness! Some of them were pretty embarrassing.

On that note, please don't be afraid to tell me if you see any typos or mistakes. Apart from some assistance from some lovely friends of mine I don't have an editor, and I do want to improve as a writer. Plus, I want all of you to have the best reading experience possible!

As always, I appreciate your kindness and support.

Happy reading,

xNenia

There is a controversy on Goodreads about an issue that I find very interesting (and not just because it happens to be personally relevant). Should authors be permitted to read and review the works of other authors on public platforms like Goodreads, or Amazon, where everyone else can see them? Should they interact with their own reviewers?

From what I've read, both sides of this argument have good points.

Some believe that openly reading and reviewing others' works opens the door to "revenge-rating" and other schoolyard-esque intimidation tactics that wouldn't occur if the author had decided to lie low, or give everyone four or five star ratings.

On the other hand, authors tend to do just as much reading as anyone else--if not more--and shouldn't they be entitled to the same rights as other individuals as long as they are respectful and adhere to the golden rule?

The problem, I think, is that you can't really generalize a situation like this because people are so diverse and unpredictable. We all put our feet in our mouths sometimes, but authors as public figures are doubly culpable because their opinions reflect badly not only on themselves as people, but also on their books and their standing as an author/figure in the publishing industry.

The "just be nice" rule doesn't work, either, because rating everything positively only causes readers to be that much more disappointed and angry when they spend their money on a book on the basis of a favorite author's endorsement, only to find that it is (for them, in any case) crap. Their respect for the writer diminishes as a result. Of course, you could just NOT rate anything, but what's the point in that? That's no fun at all.

My policy when it comes to reviewing is pretty straightforward, and can be summed up in five points. It's probably not the best strategy, but that's why I'm posting this in a blog. Because it will be interesting to see if this generates a debate on the topic. I know for many of you, active GoodReads authors are a hot button.

1. Don't write things that you wouldn't be comfortable having said about your own work. This doesn't mean that you have to coat everything in sugar, but if you tear people's books to shreds you shouldn't be surprised or angered or personally offended if someone one day decides to do the same thing to you.

I am a harsh critic--but I don't hold people to standards any different from the ones that I use for myself. If my characterization falls flat, or if I have a typo on page 345, I'd like to know about it. And if someone gives your book a 1-star rating, well. It's not the end of the world. Oh well. Move on.

2. Be honest, but polite. Don't feed the trolls, but give people the benefit of the doubt. Some people on this site seem determined to provoke others into flames and rants. Others may seem provocative at a glance, but if you talk to them you may realize that their wording was a casualty to the nuance-less black hole that is internet communication. If the person does turn out to be a troll, thank them for their opinion and end it at that. This isn't LOSING. It's being a mature adult.

3. Don't be pretentious. Being an author does not make you a better person, nor does it give your opinions more weight. Going after people for not "getting" your book is not a very nice thing to do. Books are subjective. People may read different things out of them than you intended. Lord knows my books have garnered some pretty interesting interpretations.

But beyond that, it's important that you not attempt to define yourself by the books you read. Filling your bookshelves with nothing but classics does not mean you're Shakespeare. People KNOW that you read other things besides The Great Gatsby. You aren't fooling anyone except yourself.

One of the best things about being a writer is that you get to share all the books that inspired YOU with other people. I always love it when people tell me that they stalk my shelves for good reads (ha!), because I want to support the authors I love. That's why I make my shelves so silly. I want curious individuals to peruse them. I've made so many connections on this site through a mutual love for a book/series. It's wonderful. I hope one day people will bond like that over my books. ♥

4. Accept the fact that you are a biased individual. You, as the author, probably think your books are the cat's meow. Other people might not agree. And since they are paying for your book and you aren't, you might want to pay them some mind. Feedback will never be 100% positive. Just as there will always be someone who hates you for being you, there will always be someone who hates what you write just because of the genre, the topic, or even the fact that you, as a person, wrote it. Sometimes they will have something of value to say. Sometimes they might just say "this book sucks donkey." If you can't think of anything constructive to say in response, don't respond. I, personally, think it's ok for authors to (politely) ask for elaboration in a critical review, but if the person reacts to you hostilely you should probably just leave them alone, lest you be branded as a bully. (And if the person makes it clear that they don't WANT you commenting on their reviews, then you are being a bully, even if you are being polite.)

5. Be your own worst critic. I am! And it works. If you are hard on yourself, then nothing that anyone says will come as a surprise to you. It will also make you better at picking out your own errors. Don't be afraid to cut out unnecessary descriptions, adverbs, adjectives, punctuation, and italics. If you are constantly chanting "I am not perfect I am not perfect," then when someone tells you "You are not perfect," you will just be like, 'Yeah, so? :D' Plus, it will make your own reviews that much better when you provide concrete examples for why YOU didn't like a book.

And that's a wrap! What do you think?