Lillian Graves's Blog

The Journey of Writing a Novel Summed Up In a Video

Ever feel like this?

Maybe you started a new job but quickly realized the environment was toxic, and throughout your stay no matter what you did you kept banging your head on the wall. Or, like every writer, you start off the first draft of a work super excited only to find it derailed by the middle. You get to the end asking, “How did I get here?”

I don’t think any of us make decisions with the intent of it ending up badly. We think things through – some more than others – and sometimes they end up going completely batty. What we must remember is that we are human. Even super geniuses fail, make wrong decisions, and bang their head all the way down the slide.

But how many of us climb up the ladder and sit back down at the top?

You can’t give up completely. Sure, you can give up toxic areas of your life when��they’re��infecting everything about your quality of life. For all we know, we only get one. There is no excuse for sticking through a toxic situation – don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

Today, I read a story about a Googler who left their job. A lot of people berate her, calling her spoiled. As someone who works in a fast paced industry in one of the busiest cities, I can relate. From the outside, people see perks – free booze, food, media events, nap pods at work, the name, the prestige, the money etc. But they are missing key ingredients to anyone working in a fast-paced industry – money and gifts lose their value quickly. They cannot make up for lost time (something you never get back) and lost relationships.

Don’t give up many things for one thing. You can cut ties with the toxic, but don’t let each clunk down the slide consume you. Life is full of these slides. If all you remember are the clunks, you’re going to have a bad time. But if you are willing to combat the same slides again and risk failure again, you will evolve and surprise more than just yourself.

A Writer’s Guide to New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time again – the day we promise things we know two months from now, most of us won’t cross off. The day we flood agent’s mailboxes with query letters. The month we go so hard, we thank God for telling us to get our flu shot because we would’ve been hospitalized by now.

Stop. Deep breaths. Hold it. Exhale.

You good? OK, let me tell you something. I have a different approach to 2015. It’s called the Year of You, and it begins with not caring so much.

Have you ever found that you produce your best work when you don’t think so much about what you are doing? It happens to me all the time. I wrote the first draft of UNFORTUNATES in a month – one pure brain dump with no looking back at the green and red squiggly lines. Sure there was some wine involved and some scenes were thrown out immediately on the read-through but for the most part, it was great thought-vomit.

It had voice. It had flair. It had me.

So write whatever you want. Remember: it can always be fixed.

Too often we are consumed in what others think. We check our sales constantly, read our reviews and stew, evil eye our rejection letters, and mentally stab editors through the screen for slashing one more of our best. sentences. EVER.

But you know what? When you take away all that negativity and actually accept and embrace other people’s feedback and ideas, you grow. You evolve. You succeed.

Writing is already a solitary activity. Don’t make it more so by shutting everyone out. Last year (I can say that now, right?), I helped my critique partner land an agent. They are currently working through revisions right now to go on submission later this year. That feeling of helping someone else is so uplifting. It shows me that it can happen, it is obtainable and it may be in my future as well. Karma has a way of paying us back one way or another, so always put your best foot forward.

Be positive. Be supportive, both to yourself and others. Remember: The Internet is not a personal soap box or your personal battle ground. Anyone can find whatever they want about you. Be you, but be your best you.

Lastly, believe that anything is possible. 

Two years ago, I was in a dungeon I like to call writer’s depression. It’s a dark and scary place. Your imagination shuts down, your fingers can’t type or hold a pen, and when they do they freeze up. You start to listen to all of the business babble: I like it but it won’t sell, paranormal is dead, only the best of the best will succeed, you’ll get eaten alive out there in Amazon land, you’ll fail, etc.

Each rejection letter and un-responded submission added an extra five pounds to my shoulders. I let it get to me so much, I lost six months of doing the thing I love the most because I was soooo scared to fail.

And then I attended Writer’s Digest East Conference and started meeting with people in the industry over coffee (ex agents, trad. and self-publishers). And I saw with my own eyes that agents were people too – just as nervous as the attending authors. They don’t want to break our hearts – they aren’t sitting at their computers with devious grins and rubbing palms waiting to crush all hopes and dreams. They don’t even always know best, and many of them admit it when you sit down and talk to them.

They are people just like you and me, doing a job that they may or may not like. Just like you and me slave away at a day job we’d rather not be at, some agents feel the exact same way.

It’s a stressful job, and many of them don’t particularly like breaking hearts and even failing at submitting to publishers once they pick up a great book they believe in.

So while it may look a certain way from the corner you’ve backed yourself into, please try (in any situation, not just the one above) to see it from the opposite extreme. Believe that it can be possible because it can.

This industry is not a race. It’s something you build over time. It’s something that can help you succeed if you respect it. Don’t let negativity and doubt cripple you before you start. Find another way because there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Believe. You can do it.

Loving Someone You Don’t Know

Have you ever listened to a song and been brought to tears, read a book that seemed like it was written about you, or watched a film that moved every fiber of your being? I have these moments once a month and, believe me, when this happens, I run that song into the ground on repeat (my neighbors probably think I have dementia) and am sure to share the memorable books and characters I come across.

What makes these moments so unique is that they are the only times where I think, “Hey… someone made that.”

I use so many items per day that I don’t even think about – iPhone, work desk, my lunch, subway, sidewalks, apartment, etc. Not once do I ponder who made such a brilliant and useful tool. However, when I find something beautiful and inspiring, I automatically fall in love with the creator, someone I don’t know. On command, I love everything about them, and I want to know what makes them tick. What was the thing that made them create that masterpiece? Did they know how good it was when they created it, or was it just another mind dump, experiment, or pastime?

I fall in love with strangers. While it may sound strange, I’m OK with that. That’s what humans are supposed to do.

We are meant to connect with each other in ways that we cannot fathom until the moment is just right. It’s that tear-jerker at the end of a movie, that musical “drop” at a concert, the flowing foot work of a dancer, and the whines of a violinist. It’s unique to every one of us, and it is what makes us feel like, even when everything else is chaos in our lives, there will be someone who will make you feel at home.

They might be a loved one or an acquaintance at times, but for most of those moments, it will be a complete stranger. I believe this is our true sixth sense: to be able to reach out to those in need and lend them the support they need. In our digital age, the ease of sharing this sixth sense will be the thing that holds us together in a cluttered, over-stimulated world. It will bring us peace and ground us.

For those of us who are too afraid to share their talents or to speak up, now is the time to speak up. When you feel as though your voice doesn’t matter, think of all of the people who you could be saving from themselves. Think of all of the people you could be providing an escape, and all of the people who are looking to fall in love with you.

First Stop on Blog Tour: 10 Minute Interviews

Hi all,

I am excited to announce my first author interview on my blog tour. I stopped by Ten Minute Author Interviews to discuss my dark crime thriller, FIGURE 8, in more detail.

Check it out here: tenminuteinterviews.com/lillian-graves/

Read about my inspiration from growing up in a small town, details and secrets on my favorite and most frustrating characters, and what is in store to come in November!

What My Critique Partner Taught Me

I made leaps and bounds a year and a half ago when I decided I’d allow someone to come into my life, read my blood on paper, and give them the option to stab it a million times over with red pen.

It’s terrifying. It’s brutal. But it’s completely necessary.

To make matters worse, I took the plunge on Reddit, a site known well for its uncouth comments. These traits are no different in writing subs, so I had my doubts about finding a CP who was a.) at my writing level, b.) honest but constructive, and c.) finished with a manuscript that made sense.

I am proud to say he met all three criteria. Actually, we joked that Reddit aligned the stars somehow for us. Here’s what we taught each other:

Writers Have Different Strengths
My writing is very condensed, but this makes my action scenes blurry. On the flip side, he’s overly descriptive to the point where he digs himself holes later on in the story. We ended up balancing each other out and calling bullshit on things that didn’t fit or make sense.

Different Perspectives
I honestly believe every writer should have one CP of the opposite gender. While I am an advocate for equality, men and women do communicate differently and it’s nice to have someone say, “Eh, not quite. Here’s how he/she would react.”
Similarly, it’s nice to work with someone who knows, and has worked with, what I call your specialty characters. In my WIP, one of my canon characters is an autistic boy. It just so happened my CP was a social worker who had experience with special needs students. That character is stronger because of it.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas
Ideas are a dime a dozen, but it’s nice to hear how someone else would back themselves out of a corner, especially if they put you there. There were plenty of times where critiques messed up the entire flow of the story. Having someone there to offer escape routes felt like I wasn’t alone and I wasn’t stuck.

FIGURE 8 Free on All Channels for Limited Time

FIGURE 8 (A Dark Crime Thriller)

Tagline: Title is given. Honor is earned.
Price: Free (limited time)
Links: Kindle

An undergrad and off the streets for six years, Victoria still can’t forget the day the police failed to bring her justice. Now Detective Gates crawls out of the woodwork and asks her for a favor. Her old gang leader Chains is back to his old ways, selling dope and laundering money through his downtown bar.

Against every instinct, Victoria agrees to help Detective Gates catch Chains but arrives to the party too late. She finds her family dead on her lawn, Chains’ crest carved into their foreheads.

Before she dries her eyes, she knows her chance at a new life is over. Victoria just heard an all too familiar calling – revenge.

********

Notes:
As an author, I appreciate feedback. So, let me know your thoughts by leaving a review or hitting me up on one of the following channels listed below. I’d love to hear from you.

Twitter: @Lillian_Graves
Email: Lillian.graves.books@gmail.com
Facebook (author): http://www.facebook.com/lilliangravesbooks

FIGURE 8 Free on Kindle for Limited Time

Tagline: Title is given. Honor is earned.
Price: Free (limited time)
Links: Kindle

Blurb:
An undergrad and off the streets for six years, Victoria still can’t forget the day the police failed to bring her justice. Now Detective Gates crawls out of the woodwork and asks her for a favor. Her old gang leader Chains is back to his old ways, selling dope and laundering money through his downtown bar.

Against every instinct, Victoria agrees to help Detective Gates catch Chains but arrives to the party too late. She finds her family dead on her lawn, Chains’ crest carved into their foreheads.

Before she dries her eyes, she knows her chance at a new life is over. Victoria just heard an all too familiar calling – revenge.

Notes:
As an author, I appreciate feedback. So, let me know your thoughts by leaving a review or hitting me up on one of the following channels listed below. I’d love to hear from you.

Tweet me at: @Lillian_Graves
Email me at: Lillian.graves.books@gmail.com
Visit my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lilliangravesbooks
Subscribe to my mailing list to hear about new releases:https://www.facebook.com/lilliangravesbooks/app_100265896690345

Loving Minor Characters More Than the Main Character

I loved Luna Lovegood and Fred Weasley more than Harry, Hermonie, and Ron.

Finnick more than Katniss and Peeta.

Candor better than Tris and the Dauntless.

These authors have something in common: they took the time to flesh out every character by making them think they’re the main character.

They Think They’re The Most Important

Just like in real life, each character thinks they are the most important. Outside of mothers and immediate family, who else spends most of their time worrying about someone else’s problems and not their own?

Side characters have their own life and back story which influences their decisions away from the main story. When you hang out with friends each person is the main character in their perspective. What you do are MC actions in your mind. But they are also side character actions to everyone else sitting and talking.

They Are Mysterious

Especially in first person narratives, readers don’t get a chance to be inside side characters’ heads. We can analyze their decisions and dialogue for clues, but we aren’t run through their thoughts and feelings like the main character.

This intrigues us because they remain mysterious.

They Are Amplified

Most classic protagonists are rather boring- they usually take the moral stance, represent what is good, and the side character is the reader’s voice, asking the questions the reader ponders while reading.

The side character act as the catalyst and questions strict moral decisions of the protagonist in a world that isn’t black or white (Gale from the Hunger Games).

While your protagonist should always be front and center in the conflict, your side characters will more often than not jump first to stir the pot.

Above are signs of a good author. When you can empathize with even the smallest character, the author has done her job in fleshing them out, giving them mystery, and making them amplify the conflict by testing the beliefs of the protagonist.

When Characters Interact With The Scene

There’s a rule in theater – occupy every space on the stage. The same should apply to writing but unfortunately it is usually the first thing we overlook.
 
The excitement of the fight scene, budding romance, dialogue, and turmoil take precedent because, let’s face it, it’s not the part that’s skipped over. Those scenes need to be tight. However, failing to utilize descriptions of scenes can prove detrimental to your story.
 
It sets up guidelines
When your characters interact with their setting, it acts as guidelines. They become part of the reader’s imagination instead of just background that fades away as the scene progresses.
 
Oh, the robber went through the living room to get to the kitchen. The gun was placed in the drawer. Their fights always happen by the couch and stop when they both get too cold from the dying fire.
 
You orient your reader so that the house isn’t just some house, and the gun doesn’t just appear. They can visualize it and remember where it is.
 
The little details add value
Little details can tell tremendous details about the setting. Which window is broken. What books are on the shelves. Where the draft slips through the cabin.
 
Many beginners over explain things because they don’t utilize the weight of subtlety. Don’t tell me she’s an avid reader of literary fiction or she doesn’t have enough money to turn the heat on. Show me.
 
Good scenes often utilize the setting. It stabilizes the imagery in the story as well as shows little details.