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Diane Rinella
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Hi Diane,
I've often considered myself a "good writer" but every time I start a new project I can't quite seem to get it all the way across the finish line. Any tips?
James
I've often considered myself a "good writer" but every time I start a new project I can't quite seem to get it all the way across the finish line. Any tips?
James
Hi James,Thanks for dropping by. When that happens to me I find my self-esteem has crashed and I just force myself through. Eventually my groove comes back. I'll then delete about half of what I wrote during the crash, but it is worth it. Sometimes I find I'm really wanting instant gratification, then getting bored when I don't find it. I'll go for a "quick fix"—something short and sweet then move on.
There is an old saying in Dixie that the peaches are never too high on the tree to reach.
Cheers!
Hi Diane,I notice that you are writing a sequel. My co-author and I are in the middle of a planned eight-book series, so I know how exciting it can be to continue working with familiar characters and within a certain world of your creation. My question (and maybe it's not all that deep) is did you know you were going to, or needed to, write a sequel from the beginning, or was the decision based in part on how the first book was received?
Cheers,
Brian
P.S. - I grew up in the Bay Area myself, so it's nice see another California kid here. Also, when I'm not writing novels I freelance for music publications, so I enjoyed reading about your background in those areas. Nice to meet you!
Hi Brian,Nice to meet you too! There is no place like the Bay Area when it comes to the cool and quirky stuff!
Eight book series! Impressive! That's a lot to keep track of!
Honestly, no, I had no clue when I was starting. Originally I had a very distinct arc. Eventually I realized that if I wanted to get a stronger message across, I had to do it in stages. If I didn't, it would be like cramming a one pound steak in your mouth at once. The only way to properly digest it was was to make two meals out of it.
Upon finishing the story, I went back through and added little things that I could work off of in the next book. This was done not just to make the reader leave with curiosity raised, but also to make my job easier and give me more to play with. Mostly I added personality quirks, a minor character, and a few tiny mysteries that could make people wonder but not aggravate a reader that may not have interest in a sequel. I also made notes of all the doors I opened so I can be sure to close them all.
I found your book on Amazon. Impressive rating! I didn't find it on Goodreads. Am I missing your author page?
Cheers!
Diane wrote: "Hi Brian,Nice to meet you too! There is no place like the Bay Area when it comes to the cool and quirky stuff!
Eight book series! Impressive! That's a lot to keep track of!
Honestly, no, I had ..."
Agreed on the Bay Area being cool and quirky, though the longer I live in the Northwest I am finding there is plenty of that to go around if you know where to look!
Thanks for the great answer. I'm always interested to know what drives authors to write multiple books.
As for an author page...well...I'm still figuring out how Goodreads works so maybe this will sound silly but, how do you create an author page? The book is actually here on Goodreads, but I'll just message you the link since this is your discussion thread, not mine. :)
Cheers,
Brian
Brian wrote: "Diane wrote: "Hi Brian,Nice to meet you too! There is no place like the Bay Area when it comes to the cool and quirky stuff!
Eight book series! Impressive! That's a lot to keep track of!
Honest..."
The Northwest has been notorious for their music scene for decades! Some of the best stuff has come out of there going back at least 50 years. I wish I could have experienced that stuff.
I can't remember how I did my author page. I think I had the option when creating my account. There has got to be some info on here somewhere.
I'll check out that link. Thanks!
Diane,If you put together your dream cast for the movie version of Love's Forbidden Flower, who would choose?
Such a brilliant book!!
Autumn
Autumn wrote: "Diane,If you put together your dream cast for the movie version of Love's Forbidden Flower, who would choose?
Such a brilliant book!!
Autumn"
Hi Autumn! It's always so good to hear from you!
That question has been the bane of my existence. I honestly don't know how to answer that. My husband makes indie film and we have talked about doing another promo trailer that features actors and dialog, but I can't seem to suck it up enough to cast even for that! Maybe I'll do one with voiceovers only. The last one is music only. I want something more captivating!
Got any suggestions to answer your own question? I really need to get an answer for that!
Diane,Hello again! I was hoping to learn about your process of writing and the different ways you get ideas for your books.
I would also like to know if you have any new ideas for books and if we could get a little peek at what they may be?
Thanks a ton!
Kayleigh
Kayleigh wrote: "Diane,Hello again! I was hoping to learn about your process of writing and the different ways you get ideas for your books.
I would also like to know if you have any new ideas for books and if w..."
Hi Kayleigh! So nice to hear from you!
The first draft I pound out every thought that comes to to mind, be it verbose or scant. If I don't do it that way then by the time I get to the middle of a chapter I have forgotten the end. For the second draft I review and cut like crazy. Then I start refining. After I'll add little touches, like maybe a clue or question to deepen the mystery, or enrich a character. Then I step back and read everything and tweak in a bunch of revisions. In the third draft I'll make everything flow. Then I'll read the whole thing again and smoothen the edges. After that I send it to beta readers who shred it! I'll patch it, reread it, and possibly beta it again. After that I am usually done.
As for ideas, in the case of Love's Forbidden Flower I saw an old, obscure 60's film called The Buttercup Chain. It had a similar situation between cousins, but we never learned why the guy was so freaked out. It played in my brain that there had to have been a deep, dark secret. After a few nights of insomnia, Donovan was born. Then I stayed in bed one morning watching a documentary on The Hollies (my fav Brit band!) and Christopher sprung up.
(Can you tell I have a thing for music and film ahead of my time?)
For the future, a few months ago I had an idea about a fangirl, a dead rockstar, a Oujia board, and the mob. Funny thing is this idea just came up in conversation less than an hour ago with a friend on Facebook. Maybe the universe is telling me something...
Thanks for asking!
Wow, Diane, sounds like you put a lot of work into your book! It was well worth it though, your book has some well deserved awards coming soon, I can feel it!That sounds like a very interesting story! I bet it will turn out amazing.
Cheers!
Kayleigh
Kayleigh wrote: "Wow, Diane, sounds like you put a lot of work into your book! It was well worth it though, your book has some well deserved awards coming soon, I can feel it!That sounds like a very interesting s..."
Thanks, Kayleigh. You have no idea how much I appreciate that.
Thanks for asking. Some of the readers have brought tears to my eyes in beautiful ways. Recently a lady contacted me stating she appreciated my sensitivity and that my work was more important than I realize. Others have told me they look at love and the world differently now. The beauty of these things I will take to my grave.
Cheers!