Dwayne’s Comments (group member since Apr 01, 2017)

Dwayne’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

Anna Faversham wrote: "It's very good. The use of puns was lost on me ..."

The effect I'm hoping for is that since most people have no idea what roguing corn is or what suckers are, they'll assume the title is meant as a jab at the characters, some being victims, some being villains. And that is true. Early on, though, it is explained what those things are in agricultural terms. And eventually the characters start realizing some of them are suckers in life and some are rogues.

Jane wrote: "It can’t get any worse..."

Hmm... hmm... HMMMMMM... I thinks I likes it.

My current work in progress can be summed up in a few words: Teen years are miserable years.

Themes I come back to quite often in my writing, in very broad terms, would be bigotry, cruelty, religion, mental health, and death. Since most of what I do is meant to be humorous, I guess another theme might be: Human beings is kinda silly things.

J. Daniel wrote: "I think you should include some phrase indicating Ben is an ordinary person."

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

J. Daniel wrote: "I’m kidding!"

Oh. Okay, then!

Reading it over, I see one thing I hate. "Insane" is a stupid word to put in there. "Strange" or "odd" would make more sense. Gonna fix it.

Yeah, it's kinda hard to slip the definition of agricultural terms into the blurb and keep it interesting. Suckers and rogues also pertains to the crew members. I'm hoping people will take it that way.

Still may be some time before this one is done, but I think I have worked out a blurb I like.

Ben Starn has always told anyone who would listen that roguing corn is the easiest job in the world. However, in the 1985 season he and his crew experience bullying, torrential rain storms, sexual assault, a strange field that seems to defy logic, and a boss who is both immature and irresponsible. And that's just in the first week.

It can't get any worse, the crew members tell themselves.

Famous last words?

Kirsten wrote: "Hello, I would like to request some assistance with the blurb for my next horror novel, titled 'Doctor Perry':

It's not bad. My biggest complaint would be the quote at the start of the blurb. It does a good job at setting the tone for the book, however, Don doesn't seem to be a major player in the book as he's not mentioned anywhere else in the book. Is there a similar line about Elijah you could use?

I might move or lose the line about the Hippocratic Oath. Most people have a general idea what it is and it slows the blurb down. Maybe combine the second and third lines to give them more punch. Maybe: Doctor Perry reassures his elderly patients that he will stay true the Hippocratic Oath and will offer warmth, sympathy, and understanding. Doctor Perry is a liar.

Seems a bit wordy.

What would you do if you found yourself living with a psychotic who believes he is in love with you? You stop dating out of fear of what he might do. That's what I did, until I met Dorian. I'm willing to take a chance with him, even if we both suffer.

Argenis wrote: "...according to Stephen King, you must do two things above everything else. These are: read a lot (100 books a year)..."

According to On Writing, King reads about seventy to eighty books a year. Reading is a great exercise, yes, but I wouldn't worry about the number of books you read. What you get out of them is more important.

Norma wrote: "The best way to start writing is to go into it quickly. Write what you want and self publish it right away."

That might work for some, but certainly not for all. I enjoy taking my time with a piece, working it and reworking it, making it the best it can be. I can't put my name on something I rushed through. I made that mistake a couple of times and refuse to let it happen again. Readers deserve better. I have a novel I wanted to publish in June, but it wasn't ready. It still isn't. Like I said, to each his own, but it seems that if you rush a work, you're missing out on the fun and the magic of it.

Rebecca wrote: "Your personality should already give you some clues. If you are highly organized and plan your life you're probably a planner."

You could be right about most people, but this is not true of me at all. My professional and home life are pretty structured. I have schedules that I have to go by at work and it's all fairly rigid. Regardless, I like to keep my writing very free and lacking in any detailed planning. I just go with the flow and then work and rework a story until I feel it makes sense.

Beaudry wrote: "No, I haven't written before, I've thought about it though I just always feel like I should plan out the story more before I start writing but from reading the advice I've been given I might just give it a shot even if it doesn't turn out great. Thanks "

Some do a great deal of planning before writing. I do a lot of planning in my head, but do not write anything down until I start the rough draft. I think of that as my outline. There's no right or wrong here, whatever you find works best for you.

Since you've never written before, I would encourage you to read a few writing guides or take a workshop on creative writing. You don't necessarily have to wait with the writing until after you've done these things, but it should be done before you finish your first project you plan to publish.

No, your first attempt probably won't be great, but that's fine. Keep working at it! It's a craft that none of us will ever truly master. There's always something to learn. And have fun! Let your characters entertain you.

Joanna wrote: "Hi Beaudry, I am amazed that you've gotten all this advice without anyone asking you whether you have ever written anything before."

I asked that. Haven't had an answer, yet.

No links please. Thanks.

Is there one scene that is really intriguing to you? Maybe one or two of the characters you're dying to get fleshed out by writing them? If so you could start with that, even if the scene or characters will not be in the book until later. You can always add in the other scenes and flesh out the book later on.

Have you never written a story before? If not, do not expect this one to be good enough to be published. Write it, get it out of your system and learn from it. And if you do want to publish, be sure to show it to others first and get their opinion on it.

Comment deleted for bookwhacking and other reasons. PLEASE read the rules!

J.D. wrote: "You know who I am and I'm sure that you've read articles about me and what I do."

All I really know about you is you've been booted from the group more than once, but you keep coming back and I'm baffled as to why.

J.D. wrote: "SIA moderators, whose books rank in the millions on Amazon ... can't even give away their content"

Col. John,

Due to the tone and verbiage in your initial post, I regarded you as a flim-flam artist. We've all seen adds and have all gotten emails with the same sort of message... "well, you've written a book... now comes the hard part... visit [dubious website address]... blah blah blah..." Forgive me. Perhaps you're straight as Robin Hood's arrow. Maybe I'm misreading you.

Taking pot shots is petty and low. Not really a tactic I'd expect from someone who understands marketing and not the kind of behavior we endorse here and does not display "support" in any stretch of the imagination.

Comment deleted.

J.D. wrote: "Have you seen any posts about the joys and satisfaction of marketing? "

Many, actually. I've also seen many posts from authors who find certain aspects of writing to be frustrating, difficult. We have had posts from people who are actually considering quitting because they find it too hard.

J.D. wrote: "Writing is the easy part."

J.D. wrote: "No one, not even me, said that writing is "easy.""

Oh?

C.B. wrote: "How do you know that writing is the easy part and marketing is the hard part if you don't do one of those things? "

I'm wondering the same. Writing is a bit more than tapping away at a keyboard until you've hit x number of words and hit publish. There's rewriting, editing, proofreading, beta reading, more editing, more rewrites, more rewrites... it can be a long process and can take a great deal of mental acrobatics. This isn't even to mention the time spent reading, taking courses on writing, studying books, etc. It's a skill that you can spend a lifetime working and never truly master. There have been some wonderful novels written, but none have been perfect. Writing is a great deal of fun and satisfying work, but it's not easy work.