RiseUp! discussion

I know a lot of us are interested in writing, and some have posted stories here on goodreads, or other websites. So, here's a thread where we can post links to our stories.

I would love for some of you to come visit my blog www.miracleslora.com I write about the way God touches us in our daily lives. I'm constantly searching for new stories and would love to have you share how God has helped or changed you.

I am in the process of writing my very first novel. It's a Fantasy YA fiction and I've already posted 6 chapters of it online (I think it's 6 chapters...)


It's called Knightly Braves and it's part of a book series "Knights of Chevalis"
http://bit.ly/4Knights

My plan is to publish it by Winter 2014 or Early 2015. I do NOT want to waste another time on it, lol. But writer's block has not been my friend and I've been ill recently.

I also have so many other writing ideas besides this series. Just hours ago I came up with a really good plot for another writing piece: this one is more of a mystery fantasy thriller and is also YA. It's like Andrew Kavlan and Sara Shepard combined with the 39 Clues series and a dash of the best action movie you can think of...

Hello, Chris! I sent a friend request to you. It sounds like we could be good resources for each other. I've been writing for almost 10 years and am just now deciding to publish. I have done massive research on publishing and can give you a lot of advice (might as well learn something from my mistakes :) ) I would also love to help you with editing and writing book proposals. YA is a fast-growing genre with a huge need for more authors. Is it a Christian book as well?

Lora wrote: "Hello, Chris! I sent a friend request to you. It sounds like we could be good resources for each other. I've been writing for almost 10 years and am just now deciding to publish. I have done ma..."

Thanks! I've accepted the request. I definitely need help on publishing and especially editing for my story. I have updated versions of my chapters on my computer that weren't updated on the site, so I can send them to you for review if you'd like. I appreciate it.

No, it's not a Christian book. And that's ironic since I'm also a Christian. I did have an idea on writing one not long ago called "Gospel Hearts". That story takes place in Ancient Rome after Paul was imprisoned, and that's all I had. x.x

Oh, cool, more writers! We should put our heads together about publishing. I've taken a few online classes, one of which, covered publishing a bit.

Yay! I need to pick your brain Mojo. Right now I've decided to self-publish through Create Space. I'm not worried about royalties or anything, I am concentrating on building my platform and getting reader feedback as I continue to write. What are your thoughts about self publishing?
Oh, and what are you writing?

I need to make a "writing technique" section...

Lora wrote: "Yay! I need to pick your brain Mojo. Right now I've decided to self-publish through Create Space. I'm not worried about royalties or anything, I am concentrating on building my platform and gett..."

Self-publish has its pros and cons. The class I took basically said, grab all your friends and acquaintances, and force them to rate your book five stars on amazon.com, and beg them to leave positive reviews. Having a budget to advertise your works on sites like goodreads wouldn't hurt either.

I'm currently writing a YA-esque, medieval fantasy story. It's up over 65,000 words, and I'm trying to write the "final conflict" right now. I've many open projects, but never finished a story yet.

@mojoboy That's awesome. I can't wait to read your story. I too want to self-publish but I also want to work with a professional. But it all comes down with the money, and I need to pull as much as I can from school that I recently finished and my dead-end minimum wage job... >.<

I'm also considering getting published, but have no direction whatsoever with that. I really ought to read those books I bought ages ago on the subject......

@Gwen: yes, read those books! then share your wisdom with us, lol

I wrote 30,000 words but lost them all. So I am back to square one.

Demonhunter777 wrote: "I wrote 30,000 words but lost them all. So I am back to square one."
You can do it, DH!

Mojoboy31 wrote: "@Gwen: yes, read those books! then share your wisdom with us, lol"
Uuuugh... No time... lol. Someone give me a Tardis so I can have more time! haha...

If I had one, I'd give it to ya, lol.

Ah, but you have to know... I'd end up travelling through space and time endlessly... lol.

Yeah, probably not the smartest item to loan out, is it? lol

hahaha...

Jennifer wrote: "I'm also considering getting published, but have no direction whatsoever with that. I really ought to read those books I bought ages ago on the subject......"

Jennifer, I've read a great deal of those books. The two most important things I've learned is 1) The quality of your writing is most important 2) These days the success of your book is very dependent on "word of mouth" because with the Internet, we mostly buy books that are rated or reviewed well or by a friend of ours.

Mojoboy31 wrote: "Lora wrote: "Yay! I need to pick your brain Mojo. Right now I've decided to self-publish through Create Space. I'm not worried about royalties or anything, I am concentrating on building my plat..."

LOL Yes, force and beg them to give you ratings! I've been researching publishing for a while now. I have an friend who is an literary agent and a relative who publishes books. Self-publishing is becoming huge, especially since large publishing companies are looking for the successfully self-published books instead of contracting untried authors. I was talking to a publisher the other day who said that 5,000 is the magic number. Once you hit 5,000 copies or downloads, the big agents and companies take notice.

Demonhunter777 wrote: "I wrote 30,000 words but lost them all. So I am back to square one."

So sad! But, writing is an art so I bet the next 30,000 words you write will be even better! You can do it!

Hmmmm...
I am a little bit wary of Createspace, only because I was told that if you turn out having a bestseller... it's not as much of a profit for the author on the business side of things.

Jennifer wrote: "Hmmmm...
I am a little bit wary of Createspace, only because I was told that if you turn out having a bestseller... it's not as much of a profit for the author on the business side of things."

This is true--in a way.

If you went the traditional route of publishing and waited for a contract from a major publisher you get a front end payment of a few thousand dollars (maybe) then the publisher will pump a whole bunch of money into promoting you and your book and you won't see much in the way of money until the publishers expenses are paid off and even then you will have to share that with your agent. However, when you went to write your second book you would usually have a stronger contract that guaranteed you more royalties due to the success of your first novel.

If you self-publish, you don't get a lot of money for your books in print, that is if you want to sell affordable books, but you can make a lot of money on the digital copies.

Jennifer wrote: "Hmmmm...
I am a little bit wary of Createspace, only because I was told that if you turn out having a bestseller... it's not as much of a profit for the author on the business side of things."

Yep, I've heard horror stories about bestsellers on createspace as well.



@Lora:

Yep, digital is where it's at for the self-publish authors. I don't know about create-space though. Googleplay and amazon are some other options.

I have to keep this all in mind... I've long wanted to pick the brains of a [successfully] published author, to learn all of this, but... where to find one...

Yeah, really... I should sign up for another online class by that teacher. He's a successfully published author, and offered to answer questions.

LOL Successfully published authors who have and are willing to share their extra time are hard to find.

Mojo, what online class did you take? What was it like?

Lora wrote: "LOL Successfully published authors who have and are willing to share their extra time are hard to find."

I actually had a dream once, where I was at a writers' workshop led by Ted Dekker. Course, that was a dream. If it happened in real life, it'd be... well... pretty awesome. Not to put him on a pedestal, but he is one writer I would love to learn from.

I took a beginners writing course, and then I took an advanced one. Both were done by different teachers. I didn't know it, but the second one I did was far more advanced (as that teacher has his own beginning courses; though, I did do okay in the class.)

I actually took the classes through my local library. They have a free resource for online classes. With a valid library card number, I have access to free classes.

What was it like?... Hmmmm....

Basically, I'd read through a five chapter lesson, doing writing exercises periodically through the chapters, and then there'd be a quiz on the lesson, and then a certain assignment. The assignment could range from anything from 'introduce yourself' to 'write a three paragraph scene involving certain things'. You would post the assignments in a message board similar to this one, and you'd get feedback on your work from other students, as well as, the teacher.
If you had any questions, you could post them in the board, and get feedback from the teacher and students.

What was it like?... Hmmmm....
I don't remember much of it... but it was interesting. Classroom setting, but not such a large group as to make interaction difficult. Sorry –– that's all I can offer on that... lol.

My only hesitation with taking classes is... I don't like working with formulas. Suggestions are helpful. Formulas are not.

agreed. I don't care for formulas.

I forgot to mention that there two five chapter lessons a week for six weeks.

@Jennifer I'd love to get into an online class with Sara Shepard and Andrew Klavan concerning vivid descriptions and character point of views sections of the workshop. That will be awesome sauce.

Here is something worth sharing:

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2010/...

When writing a character driven novel, let your original character speak to you like the way you speak to a real life person. Neat huh? :D

Yep. I keep trying to tell my brother to loosen up a bit in his narration. Let the character's voice in some. It doesn't have to be so clinical.

Of course. And the character doesn't have to be a clone of the author either. I struggle on that everytime.

I don't much problem with that. The character might think a little like I do, but they're usually more the things I wish I was, rather than who I think I am... Know what I mean?

Yeah I totally get that and that's true with most writers I've known. So far two of my four teen knights characters Rian (pronounced Ree-Hen, not Ryan) and Jace from my story are demonstrating the qualities of a leader and a people person--like laidback, cheerful and open--respectively. And those are the qualities I so wish to get in real life rather than shy and reserved, lol.

But then I read this article and we could totally get those qualities too!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/...

It basically says that those who lose themselves into the mind of a fictional character when reading can actually change their thoughts and behaviors to match the character's in real life.

Chris wrote: "Yeah I totally get that and that's true with most writers I've known. So far two of my four teen knights characters Rian (pronounced Ree-Hen, not Ryan) and Jace from my story are demonstrating the ..."


The best writers don't follow formulas. They actually live the story they are writing while they are writing it, discovering the depth of the plot while they get to know their characters. Have you ever noticed that it seems like your best writing comes when you let the story go on a tangent and you end up somewhere unexpected? And, the parts of my novels where I do the most gutting is at the beginning when I'm figuring out backgrounds of character and personalities.

I think that's where the formula part comes in handy: only at the start of the story writing process to help the writers create a 3rd dimensional character and set them in an enticing story. But then again I usually don't follow formulas myself when I'm writing. They at times make me feel like I'm doing homework. So good to know I'm on the right track of not using them in the first place.

And the unexpected part we come up with always makes me jump with excitement. :D

Chris said: It basically says that those who lose themselves into the mind of a fictional character when reading can actually change their thoughts and behaviors to match the character's in real life.
Considering some of the characters whose heads I get into... I'm not sure that's a good thing. lol.

@Gwen: lol, really!... I'll admit, I struggle with this. I worry about what people will think of me (due to the heinous acts of my villains). My problem here is that I'm just very self-conscious, so I'm constantly reminding myself that it is fiction. These characters are not real, and I do not condone their actions in any way-- quite the opposite-- that's why they're villains, lol!

I'm not saying that we should never look to fictional characters as examples, or that we shouldn't strive towards things we admire. But blurring the line between fiction and reality is dangerous.

My characters good and bad live in my head but like Mojo said you can't let the line between fiction and reality be blurred.

Exactly. Course, the trouble starts when you do something, such as playing a ruthless game of chess against yourself –– pieces flying off the board the entire time –– and you wonder, "Is this how ______ would play chess?" Yes, that did happen...

haha, yeah, I've been there. "I wonder what _____ would say?"

I have a poem on GR called My Poem Book. The poem in it is called Authentic Bliss. Check it out!

Sammmmmmi wrote: "I have a poem on GR called My Poem Book. The poem in it is called Authentic Bliss. Check it out!"

Sami, I would love to read it...but I couldn't find it. Not your fault, I'm just super new to Good Reads. Where exactly is the poem? Is it on your page?

I have a question for everyone. Ok... My book is in the editing process which means it is being read by about half a dozen people who will send it back to me, I'll revise, and send it out to another half-dozen people. One of my editors who is unfamiliar with Christian Historical Fiction suggested a sex scene. It would be between a man and his wife, but my gut instinct says no. It is unnecessary and would turn off a lot of readers from this genre.
I know most of us in the group are more into fantasy but I thought you could still give me some insight as Christians as to how you would feel about that.

Ummmmm....click on my name, then try scrolling down until you find something about writing.............or you can go at the top of your screen to "explore" and click the down arrow until you find "creative writing". Then search for authentic bliss in the search thing......try that, im not good at explaining things....:)

Trust me, i have read many books where this happens.... It will turn away readers in their teens immediatly, or at least it does for me. Don't base your decision on my sole opinion, but i say no go. What age is it for? If its for younger readers, no; maybe for adults or older teens. Even if its for adults, young readers might actually make up the majority of readers. Especially if its a Christian book, i recommend you go with your gut and leave it out. Get others' opinions before you decide though!!!!