Pushing The Boundaries
I like it when authors push the boundaries in books. What do I mean when I say that? Well, when an author writes a very dark and sadistic story full of torture and gore (similar to Saw style movies), I find that very fascinating. Not necessarily because I'm into torture and gore, but because I'm intrigued that they can weave a story around those elements.
That also got me thinking about cussing in writing again. Looking back on Crush, I didn't intend to cuss at all. However, the more I wrote the character Dell, the more I felt it was necessary to develop his character. I think the same can be applied to Bow. Bow (in version 1.0) was kind of evil and twisted, but I want to push the boundaries and make him/her even MORE sadistic and psychotic. I'm going to try to do that by digging into Bow's thoughts. Why is Bow killing people? Is there a reason? Why does Bow kill people a certain way?
Truth be told, Bow is starting to actually scare me with how evil and psychotic he/she is. Somebody hold me!!!
Can I Get Published In A Year
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Page Count
Red Bow 2.0
So I started with 90 pages and knocked out six pages this afternoon. I'm starting to feel bad for all these characters that are dying off in my book. They never saw it coming. Well obviously, they're not real. *Ba dum cha*
A-hem!
Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 96 pages
I write because I care and drugs are bad....
Can I Get Published In A Year
So I started with 90 pages and knocked out six pages this afternoon. I'm starting to feel bad for all these characters that are dying off in my book. They never saw it coming. Well obviously, they're not real. *Ba dum cha*
A-hem!
Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 96 pages
I write because I care and drugs are bad....
Can I Get Published In A Year
Day - 243
What Scares You?
What makes a book scary? That is a loaded question. I think that different things scare people. Personally, I think things that happen in real life are scary. For example, I've talked about "Snapped" ad nauseum. The reason for that is because I find it truly disturbing seeing people "snap" and commit heinous murders or crimes. I mean, who in their right mind would feed their spouse soup mixed with antifreeze? Or who will murder their spouse and then cut up their body into small pieces and stick it in the trash? The fact that someone took the time to do these actions scares me.
So how do I write a scary book? Is "Red Bow 2.0" really a horror book? Is it a thriller book? What type of book is it? I don't know that I can accurately define it. What I can say is that it follows a serial killer and his/her murders. Additionally, one person appears to be taunted by the killer, Mason. To me, being taunted by someone who is killing people around me scares the crap out of me. Sure, this is fiction, but the scarier thought is that stuff like this actually happens. If you don't believe me, go watch the 11 O' clock news or read the newspaper. That is some scary stuff.
What I'm trying to convey through the revamp of "Red Bow 2.0" is a mix of fiction and real life type crimes. Could the stuff in "Red Bow 2.0" actually happen? Yes! Matter of fact, it probably has in some form. The thought of a serial killer running rampant and avoiding the police is scary.
Then again, maybe the serial killer, Bow in this case, is just misunderstood. Maybe there is a reason he is killing people, kind of like Dexter? I guess you'll have to wait and find out.
"Bow" is coming for you.......so you better sleep with one eye open.
Can I Get Published In A Year
What makes a book scary? That is a loaded question. I think that different things scare people. Personally, I think things that happen in real life are scary. For example, I've talked about "Snapped" ad nauseum. The reason for that is because I find it truly disturbing seeing people "snap" and commit heinous murders or crimes. I mean, who in their right mind would feed their spouse soup mixed with antifreeze? Or who will murder their spouse and then cut up their body into small pieces and stick it in the trash? The fact that someone took the time to do these actions scares me.
So how do I write a scary book? Is "Red Bow 2.0" really a horror book? Is it a thriller book? What type of book is it? I don't know that I can accurately define it. What I can say is that it follows a serial killer and his/her murders. Additionally, one person appears to be taunted by the killer, Mason. To me, being taunted by someone who is killing people around me scares the crap out of me. Sure, this is fiction, but the scarier thought is that stuff like this actually happens. If you don't believe me, go watch the 11 O' clock news or read the newspaper. That is some scary stuff.
What I'm trying to convey through the revamp of "Red Bow 2.0" is a mix of fiction and real life type crimes. Could the stuff in "Red Bow 2.0" actually happen? Yes! Matter of fact, it probably has in some form. The thought of a serial killer running rampant and avoiding the police is scary.
Then again, maybe the serial killer, Bow in this case, is just misunderstood. Maybe there is a reason he is killing people, kind of like Dexter? I guess you'll have to wait and find out.
"Bow" is coming for you.......so you better sleep with one eye open.
Can I Get Published In A Year
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Writing Exercise (CH2EX4)
This writing exercise is about revealing a character's personality/traits through a means of communication. I chose to stick with the Tim/Amber theme.
Ch2-EX4
Can I Get Published In A Year
Ch2-EX4
Can I Get Published In A Year
Day - 242
Method Writing?
Some actors like to use "Method Acting" when they take on a new role. This typically involves immersing themselves into the character and trying to think and act like them. This can sometimes create a more powerful performance from the acting perspective.
Now, obviously, I'm not going to go around and kill people since I'm writing about a serial killer. What I can do is try to create a dark mood. How can I do that? Well music is a very powerful thing. Different styles of music can invoke different feelings. Additionally, watching dark stuff like episodes of "Snapped" or reading darker books, like "Heartsick" can also help.
What I'm driving at here is that I am trying to think like my characters think. Trying to put myself in their position and if I were them, how would I think and act? If I can do that, I may be able to create a tighter integration between the characters and the characters coming to life.
This should be interesting....
Can I Get Published In A Year
Some actors like to use "Method Acting" when they take on a new role. This typically involves immersing themselves into the character and trying to think and act like them. This can sometimes create a more powerful performance from the acting perspective.
Now, obviously, I'm not going to go around and kill people since I'm writing about a serial killer. What I can do is try to create a dark mood. How can I do that? Well music is a very powerful thing. Different styles of music can invoke different feelings. Additionally, watching dark stuff like episodes of "Snapped" or reading darker books, like "Heartsick" can also help.
What I'm driving at here is that I am trying to think like my characters think. Trying to put myself in their position and if I were them, how would I think and act? If I can do that, I may be able to create a tighter integration between the characters and the characters coming to life.
This should be interesting....
Can I Get Published In A Year
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Day - 238
Red Bow 2.0
One thing that I didn't do a very good job of with Crush was outlining. I had an outline, but it was sloppy. Toward the end after I had written all of the scenes, I had to go back and reshuffle and fill in scenes. It worked, but it was a pain to do. Taking that little gem of information into consideration, I've started a new, more thorough, outline for Red Bow 2.0
What does this outline have? Details, details, details! Did I mention that it has details in it? Ok, just checking!
As I've mentioned before, the guts of Red Bow are good. A lot of clean up and polish is necessary though. In addition to that, I've thought of some new plot twists and turns to add. Not to sound cocky, but I've managed to amaze even myself with some of the new scenes I've thought of. I want Red Bow 2.0 to be dark and grittier than the first version. One of my favorite authors Chelsea Cain does such a good job of creating a dark tone/mood in a lot of her scenes. That is what I want to try to do as well.
Hid yo kids, hide yo wife, because "Bow" is coming for you!!
Can I Get Published In A Year
One thing that I didn't do a very good job of with Crush was outlining. I had an outline, but it was sloppy. Toward the end after I had written all of the scenes, I had to go back and reshuffle and fill in scenes. It worked, but it was a pain to do. Taking that little gem of information into consideration, I've started a new, more thorough, outline for Red Bow 2.0
What does this outline have? Details, details, details! Did I mention that it has details in it? Ok, just checking!
As I've mentioned before, the guts of Red Bow are good. A lot of clean up and polish is necessary though. In addition to that, I've thought of some new plot twists and turns to add. Not to sound cocky, but I've managed to amaze even myself with some of the new scenes I've thought of. I want Red Bow 2.0 to be dark and grittier than the first version. One of my favorite authors Chelsea Cain does such a good job of creating a dark tone/mood in a lot of her scenes. That is what I want to try to do as well.
Hid yo kids, hide yo wife, because "Bow" is coming for you!!
Can I Get Published In A Year
Day - 237
So It Begins.....
I have reread Red Bow and I'm amazed at how much progress I've made in a year's time. I'll be completely honest....Red Bow needs A LOT of work. The guts of the story are good, but I need a life sized buffer to add some polish to the story.
Stay Tuned....
Can I Get Published In A Year
I have reread Red Bow and I'm amazed at how much progress I've made in a year's time. I'll be completely honest....Red Bow needs A LOT of work. The guts of the story are good, but I need a life sized buffer to add some polish to the story.
Stay Tuned....
Can I Get Published In A Year
Monday, November 22, 2010
Day - 236
Don't Call It A Comeback
Funny how time flies when life happens. So what have I been up to? Writing, obviously! This last month especially. I now present my first completed goal....Crush.
So now what happens? I take a moment to regroup and get back to writing. I'll be completely honest and say that finishing Crush was a HUGE personal achievement. Is my writing getting any better? Meh, we'll see. Am I able to write in a more consistent manner than say 100+ days ago? Yes! My life pretty much consists of working, coming home and writing, eating, exercising, writing some more, then going to sleep. Next day = repeat. Throw in some TV time and waving "hi" to my wife and that is my life right now. It's working though. With each day that passes, I'm gaining more confidence with my writing.
What can I possibly do for an encore after getting all angsty, emo, and lovey dovey with Crush? Psssh, I can go dark and write some really twisted, serial killer morsels of writing goodness. We are going to go old school and revisit Red Bow. That's right, the first "novel" that I tried to write. The good news is that I have a partially started template for the story. Now, I need to look at what I've written, reevaluate, tweak, and add more.
So I'm going to watch some episodes of "Snapped," watch the evening news, and skim through some Chelsea Cain and Ted Dekker books for some inspiration.
Stay tuned....
I write because I care and drugs are bad....
Can I Get Published In A Year
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