Kelly Apple's Blog, page 61

The Pre-NaNo Countdown

I have ten days to finish my preparedness checklist for NaNo. I know what I’m writing about (ZOMBIES! And two non-zombie people who like to get naked a lot!) and I know where the story needs to start and end. In my opinion, these are probably the most important things. I can do a lot with just those things.

But. BUT… there are a couple of other steps I like to take before the 1st.

I use Scrivener to write. I kind of love Scrivener because I can add all the little bits of pieces of my characters, setting, timeline, etc into the folder so it’s easily available if I ever need it. (As an aside, the first time I opened Scrivener I almost cried because that is one intimidating beast of a program. There are options in that bad boy I’ve never used and wouldn’t know what to do with if I ever accidentally opened them.)

(FYI, the type of program you use isn’t important. I just mention Scrivener because it’s what I use. You could write your NaNo masterpiece on a bar napkin. Or a waiter. Or an octopus. I’m not about to judge.)

Since this is the third book in a series, I have the characters pretty well fleshed out. So to speak. Heh. I mean, yeah, the two main characters do get pretty fleshy upon occasion. And the zombies aren’t very fleshed at all. Still, I know what drives these guys and I know some of the secrets from their past. The setting is established. The rules of the world have been established. A lot of the bits and pieces have been taken care of already.

Which is cool.

Because now I just have to write the story.

Over the next ten days, I’ll reacquaint myself with the characters and their quirks again. Mainly the secondary characters because the mains are IN MY HEAD already. I’ll reread both of the previous books so I’m in that zombie apocalypse love story mode. I’ll revisit my timeline just so it’s fresh and stuck to the front of my brainpan. (aside #72, I HIGHLY recommend starting a timeline of events when you first start a series because it makes keeping things straight SO MUCH EASIER down the road. You don’t have to hunt through previous manuscripts to figure out how much time has passed since X happened.)

Basically, the next ten days are going to be about getting my ducks in a row so I can dive into writing on the 1st. If this was a new series, I’d be making sure I knew enough about my characters that starting writing them wouldn’t be an issue.

I’m off now. I have a book or two to reread!

(PS: If you missed the Q&A and cover reveal for Demon Besieged on Sunday, a recording is available at kellyapple.com/live/. Want to see the cover itself? You can do that, too!)

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Find your inspiration

A few weeks ago, I started an impromptu rewatching of Supernatural. I’m in the middle of season 2 and I’m LOVING the balance between drama and humor that those Winchester boys bring to the table. (I’m up to the Trickster episode — Dean, we don’t need more of your blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah. BLAAAAAH.)

(Hold on, I’m laughing too hard to type!)

Seeing the interweaving of plot threads (an ep in season 2 brings angels into the mythology, something that the boys have to deal with HEAVILY in later seasons) makes me a little giddy.

But this post isn’t about how awesomely fantastic I think writers/authors who can play the long game with plots are. This post is more about finding inspiration in the little things.

(As an aside, it’s really hard to give you examples of things I’ve found inspiration in when giving you those examples will give away some major plot points in the books that haven’t been published yet. Anyway. I’ll give it a try.)

The main compound in my zombie apocalypse love story series is based on the layout of the community where I live. I had one of those “what if” moments one day when I was out walking my dogs.

What if a zombie outbreak happened? How would the people living here make a safe place from the zombies?

(That sounds boring when I write it out like that. Imagine some screaming and severed limbs, won’t you? And them imagine me standing on the sidewalk with a manic gleam in my eye.)

The idea for the story evolved from there. Well, with a little help from me wondering how horrible it would be to have a mental illness during a zombie apocalypse. Which is one of those things that I can’t talk about for fear of giving too much away.

Back to the Winchester boys. Every episode I’m watching is giving me ideas. Not the episodes themselves but rather the little things that happen on the sides. In real life, the other day, my little nephew kept trying to say “buttocks’ but it kept coming out at “butt cocks”. THAT’S GOING IN A BOOK SOMEWHERE!

It’s the little things, the big things, the things that make you laugh or make you think. Inspiration can be found in any of them!

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Plotting and planning ahead

Both the hardest and the easiest thing about writing is that there is no one right way to do things.

It’s hard because there’s no road map to getting it done. You have to forge your own path and figure out what works for you. It’s easy because YOU GET TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.

I know many people who plot the hell out of their novels. They plan. They finagle. They know what’s coming long before they ever sit down and write the first word.

I’m not one of those people.

I’m one of the ones who knows the overall arc my story is going to take but the journey to get from point A to point B unfolds as I write it.

And this works for me.

So, my planning for NaNo (or anything, really) usually starts with a single scene that I know will be in the story. Somewhere. Usually in the middle. Which, again, works for me. I know where I’m going to start and I know where the end point is going it be. My job is to get my characters from point A to that random scene to the end.

Do I have my random scene for my NaNo novel? Indeed, I do. I can SEE IT.

I love that.

(random hint that won’t make sense to anyone but me: A hilltop overlooking a group of houses. My two main characters are PLOTTING THINGS! And there might be a zombie or two lurking around.)

Ultimately, the scene might change a bit once I start writing the book, but that’s the place I want to get my characters to at some point.

So, plotter, pantster or one of those who sees little sign posts along the way, there’s no wrong way to get this done. As long as you’re doing SOMETHING, you’re on the right track.

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What’s in store? Plenty!

I’m going to take the month of October to talk about NaNoWriMo and the things I do to prepare for a balls-to-the-wall month of writing.

But first, let me preface this…

For those that don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. I’ve been participating in NaNo since 2005 (with a bleak year off in the middle where I forgot to. Or something. It was probably some tragic, terrifying reason that caused me to miss that year. Or possibly I simply forgot to sign up. I don’t know.) and I credit NaNo with teaching me that it’s okay for your first draft to suck. (If you’re curious, my fabulous editor has also delved into that idea – Your First Draft Sucks.)

NaNo also taught me that all the excuses in the world for why you CAN’T write don’t get that first draft written.

In essence, I have a lot to thank NaNo for. I wrote the first version of my zombie story one November. It lacked zombies and my computer crashed halfway through the month but, by gum, I got my 50K words in anyway.

They weren’t good.

But BUT… they spawned the second version of the zombie story. This one not only HAS zombies, I still adore the characters that came to life and their story is still being written (two books strong and I’m gearing up to write book three this year!).

So, come back here every Tuesday in October as I crack my metaphorical knuckles and get all my ducks in a row so I can write a book in November.

And if you’re feeling sassy? Join me!

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On Demons and Zombies…

So, I finished writing book 2 in the Demonkind Collective. Now what?

Honestly, writing that bad boy is only the first step (as I’m sure many of you know). Last week, I put it aside to let it percolate and to focus on finishing up book 2 in my zombie apocalypse love story series (more about that in a moment). Yesterday, I pulled out Demon Besieged again and gave it its first full read-through. I’m happy with it, but there are definitely some parts that need to be tightened, tweaked, and otherwise polished. Let’s be honest, all first drafts need polishing and tweaking.

Overall, though, I’m happy.

Happy is good.

Meanwhile, I have book 1 in my zombie apocalypse love story completed and book 2 MOSTLY completed. I kind of hit a wall while writing the end of that and had to put it aside for a while. But the end is now in sight and the setup for book 3 is coming together nicely.

That zombie apocalypse love story presents a certain set of challenges that I didn’t have with my demon books. The biggest one (and the one that’s holding up some of the parts that come after) is that I can’t figure out titles for it. I know that the series name is going to be The Time After but the titles are completely eluding me. Without the titles, visualizing the covers is tough. The first time I saw the pic that would later become Demon Restrained’s cover, I knew it was the one. It fit the title and it’s sexy enough to hint that there *might* be some sexy times going on inside. With my zombies, I don’t have that.

So, I’m going to keep plugging away at writing and editing and jotting down notes for potential titles for my zombies. If inspiration strikes out of the blue, I’ll be sure to let y’all know!

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Exciting things are exciting!

Don’t quote me on this but I think I finished up the initial draft of Demon Besieged last night. Before edits, it clocks in at over 33K words. We’ll see where it is after I tweak and fiddle and my FANTASTIC copy editor gets her hands on it to clear up all my weird sentences.

So, while this one gets put to the side for a few days (the better to see you with, my dear!), I’m going to pull out the first draft of book 1 in my zombie apocalypse love story to see how it holds up.

Meanwhile, if you want a sneak peek at some of the things you’ll find in Demon Besieged, hop on over to my Pinterest page. The demon plane is coming together nicely and we’re going to see more of it in later books. EXCITING!

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Demon Besieged Synopsis Reveal!

(Like a cover reveal, but with less pictures of half-naked demons. NO WORRIES, GUYS! The half-naked demons will come later. In more ways than one.)

If you read Demon Restrained, you might have noticed the synopsis for book 2 hiding out at the very, very end. Since I’m well on my way to finishing the first draft of Demon Besieged and this synopsis still looks pretty darn spot-on, I’m sharing with you. That makes it all official, doesn’t it? These characters had best know what’s good for them and not throw any last minute wrenches into my diabolical plans.

*ahem* Right. So… here it is–

Demon Besieged (The Demonkind Collective #2)

She’s determined to avenge her sister’s death.

Jazz’s journey to the demon plane takes an unexpected turn when she finds not only her sister alive but shacked up with the very demon who was supposed to have killed her. And the worst part? An infuriating demon bodyguard stirs longings in Jazz that she doesn’t want to face.

He sees something more.

Arix is intrigued by the sassy werewolf. Even when she’s making a mess of things, her fiery personality calls to him. She might be rough around the edges, but he senses a heart of gold under all her bluster.

Together they could be perfect.

What’s a demon to do when the wolf he wants to claim is determined to stay single? Turn up the heat and show her what she’ll be missing, of course.

Warning: This book contains a werewolf who constantly puts her foot in her mouth and a demon who likes a challenge. Never underestimate the power of good innuendo.

Jazz and Arix with a side order of Bas and Evie! I’m loving writing these guys and I’m SO excited with the set up for what’s to come!

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Today’s the day!

I hit publish on my first book today.

As I keep telling people, it’s both an exciting and a terrifying moment. AND IT IS.

One thing I haven’t done yet is officially reveal the cover or title. (If you’re savvy and/or you poked around the site a bit, you might have already seen this but this is the OFFICIAL reveal!)

Demon Restrained (The Demonkind Collective #1)

Bas wants out.

Held captive by a crazed Alpha, demon Bastael hates all those he’s come across on the mortal plane. When a damaged werewolf falls into his path, he’s determined to use her and find a way to escape.

Evie wants to be safe.

Abused by her Pack and afraid for her life, Evie hides in the dark corners of the basement. The demon that’s already down there? He’s better than the Alpha upstairs.

But neither of them expects the connection that sets them both on fire.

With the Alpha’s lust for power escalating, Bas and Evie will have to find a way to break free or die trying.

Warning: This book contains one cocky demon and one werewolf who’s stronger than she looks. That’s right, folks… If the basement is a rockin’, don’t come a knockin’!

I’ll add buy links once my dirty demon is live in the Amazon store.

And once the shock of being PUBLISHED wears off enough that I can get rid of the shakes!

WE HAVE LIFTOFF! Buy it at Amazon!

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