The Writing Process

The Writing ProcessK.N. Lee

In this article I will describe the writing process, what I do when I get stuck, whether I prefer to kill a character, and how I determine if a book is YA, NA, Romance, or Paranormal.

Writing has always been my greatest pleasure in life. I have been doing it since childhood and plan on continuing until I am too old to type or wield a pen. There is a process when it comes to writing, and it is quite magical. 

For me, it all begins with a dream. My eyes close and I drift into a parallel universe of my subconscious. There characters are crafted and fantastical stories are viewed like a film in a theater. When I wake up it is my job to translate what I witnessed in my dream, so that I may share the wonder with others. Rarely am I ever in my dreams. Characters take center stage, and so they are the ones truly in control. I start the first sentence, and let them lead the way. I am always amazed by the way the characters flesh themselves out with their own unique personalities and desires. I create characters that were formed by my mind. It is this fact that makes me realize that each character has a very special piece of my own true self. 

Koa in The Chronicles of Koa series is this tiny girl that no one would ever think could have any power, but she surprises those that doubt her with her strong resolve and ambition. I believe she is a nod toward who I want to be. Lilae, from my Rise of the Flame series is timid and withdrawn from others, too afraid to even look into someone’s eyes for fear that she will be judged. She is my most cherished character, for she depicts my struggles with shyness and insecurities as a child.

Since it is the characters that lead the way through a novel, I let them help me when I hit a snag. Whenever there is a chapter or scene that I continuously stumble on, or it keeps me from reaching the finish line, I consult with my muses. A walk through nature seems to help, music, or picking up another book I enjoy, and read for awhile. My greatest aid is the moments before I drift to sleep. I will focus on the scene that troubles me, fall asleep, watch these issues become resolved, and wake up with a smile. 

Voila. I am back on track.

To kill or not to kill a character?

I tend to go with the latter. However, death is one of the most primal of fears. Killing a character's loved one can make a dramatic shift in their character arc. Seeing them persevere makes them real to the reader.

When it comes to determining which genre my book is in, I simply analyze the overall theme, and determine which audience it will appeal to most.

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Three Steps for Filling That Blank Page #writingtips

Three Steps for Filling a Blank Page

K.N. Lee

What is your goal when sitting down for a writing session? It should be to do whatever it takes (within reason) to fill the blank page! That doesn't mean to ramble nonsensical words and try to string them together into something coherent. It means that you should find new practices that'll urge you out of that writer's block or moment of desperation. 

Lately I've been struggling to stay focused and meet my word quota, but after utilizing my tried and true little writing tricks, the inspiration and the words are flowing once again! I wanted to share three of my tactics. They've always worked for me, so I hope you can benefit as well.

Three Steps

1. Write from another character's POV

Sometimes changing it up a bit will inspire you. Give that character that makes you draw a blank a break, and write from one of the other main character's point of view. This is effective when writing from 3rd person. If writing from 1st person, the second tip should be helpful!

2. Work on a different scene

Stuck on a part of the story with nowhere to go? Move on to that awesome battle or love scene you've been thinking about...or dreaming about. You'll be surprised by how this opens up your mind and keeps the story flowing.

3. Write a jot list with your ideas for dialogue and scenes

Jor lists are great! You simply write out everything you'd like to capture with your story. Sometimes writing out what your character's motivations are, or their backgrounds, your goals for the story, and so forth will fire you up and put you back on the right path.

More tips on defeating writer's block here!

How to Start an Author Platform #writingtips

How does one start building their author platform? This is one of the most important steps an up-and-coming author can make in their career. 

I suggest starting work on your author platform before you even get published. 

Why? Well, many agents and publishers appreciate an author that has already started the hard work of getting their name out there.

But where does one begin? All of this can sound like a foreign language, but it is really quite easy, and fun!

Here are a few tips to get you started:

•Start a Facebook author fan page 

•Start a Twitter account and become an active user (tweeting, retweeting, and sharing your posts and interesting posts about your craft)

•Start a blog

Let's take a moment to talk about this. An author that I'm mentoring asked, "What would I blog about?"

Well, let me tell you a story.

My first book, "The Chronicles of Koa," started out as a web series on my blog. I wrote a chapter each week, and promoted my posts on Facebook and Twitter. After each post I had a surge of overwhelming interest in the series. Friends and strangers from all over were commenting and looking forward to the next installment.

Next thing you know, I had enough content to complete a book and it is now a bestseller around the world. Use your blog to display what you love: writing, book reviews, poetry, etc.

Blogs are important, and fun! Use them to your advantage and to gain notiriety in the writing community. Another great use of your blog is to post guest articles and blog tours.

Now, back to our list.

•Become an Ezine expert by writing articles on what you know (writing, art, crafts, movies, etc)

•Create a YouTube Channel where you can video blog about your experiences as a writer, what drives you, and what obstacles you have encountered.

•Start a Pinterest account and share your blog posts there

•Get on Google Plus and share your  Facebook fan page and blog posts.

All right. That sounds like enough to get you started! Enjoy this time, and remember that what you do from here on will be out there for the public to scrutinize, so make every post represent you in a positive light.

Cheers!

K.N. Lee

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Author, C.P. Mandara's Top 10 Authors! **Mature Content Advisory**

Author Bio:
Christina Mandara was born in the UK, but has spent most of her life travelling the world. She speaks three languages and has been chiefly employed in the fields of finance and travel. Her favourite city is Sydney and her favourite holiday destination is the south of France.

She loves keeping fit and enjoys running, cycling and water sports. No, not those kinds of water sports; think surfing or sailing. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t enjoy BDSM in all of its glorious forms, be that pony girls, bondage, edge play, orgasm denial or a damn good spanking. Her favourite item in the toy closet (a box simply isn’t big enough) is her riding crop.

In her spare time she’s usually cuddled up with a good book, exploring the countryside or baking in the kitchen. In fact, she loves her kitchen so much she’s one of few woman who wouldn’t mind being tied to it! Her first and foremost love is writing, however, and more often than not you’ll find her on a laptop spinning tales of romance, erotica or dark, paranormal fantasies.

Here are C.P. Mandara's Top Ten Authors:

Top 10 Authors:

1). Anne Rice

2). Anne Stuart

3). J. R. Ward

4). Deborah Harkness

5). Erin Morgenstern

6). Louis de Berniers

7). Colleen Gleason

8). Bruce McLachlan

9). Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

10). Gena Showalter

Check out C.P. Mandara's Sultry Novel, A Rough Ride

Who will have the pleasure of training Petal? By rights, the honour should go to Mark Matthews, but the cowboy has other plans. The matter is not settled until the stable owner is brought into the fray. 

It is to be a monumental first week for Albrecht's newest trainee. The pony girl will have two days to find a way of coping with her new latex bodysuit and the rigorous buzzing and pumping of the never-ending 'device' which torments her every waking moment. She will then find herself shipped off as a sex-slave, chained and caged, to the mysterious high-bidder from the auction. 

It doesn't take Petal long to realise that her chances of escaping from Albrecht are slim at best, but her defiant nature won't let her give up hope just yet. There is a way out for her, but she may have to give up more than her sanity in order to achieve it.

And don't forget to enter the giveaway!! There are some super prizes to be won!

Universal Amazon Purchase Link: http://mybook.to/ARR

Social Media Links: 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/CPMandara

Twitter: @cpmandara

Blog: http://christinamandara.wordpress.com/

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An Interview with Author, Stephann Ibrahim

An Interview with Author, 

Stephann Ibrahim

Where are you from?

I was born in St. George’s Grenada, in the Caribbean. However, I grew up in Frederick, Maryland  

When did you start writing?

I started writing at about the age of five. I began to keep journals in composition notebooks after an elementary school teacher gave me a notebook. Since then I haven’t stopped!

What is your favorite part about writing?

My favorite part about writing is having the ability to express myself and create a world through words.

What have you learned from writing your books?

That it’s not as easy as I thought it would be, getting all of your thoughts and ideas or a story plot into one book can be tough. Sometimes I get new ideas and I’m more than halfway through writing a book so I have to find a way to insert that idea. But the main thing I’ve learned is that sometimes a story evolves into more than you initially imagined and you just have to roll with the inspiration that comes your way.

How long does it usually take for you to complete a novel?

It takes me about a month, sometimes a few weeks if I dedicate all of my time to it. I originally wrote the first chapter of Hearts of Larceny years ago but it wasn't until last February I decided to start where I left off and complete it. It took me about three weeks to write. However with my upcoming novels there’s a longer time frame because the word count will be larger.

What was the inspiration for your book, Hearts of Larceny?

  My main inspiration for this book came from the main character I created, Jordan Thatcher; the rest came from my obsession with the Investigative Discovery Channel. I love watching shows that have a good scandalous mystery and I thought since I love mysteries so much why not write one? I developed the characters based on people I have encountered in real life and Jordan is based off of a combination a different women. She ultimately the woman that every female loves to hate and I based the majority of the book off of that idea.

Are you working on any projects right now? Can you share a snippet with us?

  

  I am currently working on Part 2 of Hearts of Larceny as well as another book, Diary of a Femme Fatale. I’m creating a series called The SIN Series and Hearts of Larceny is the debut book for that series. Here’s a small snippet for Diary of a Femme Fatale:

      

June 1

     

     The blistering sun covered my forehead as my auburn eyes hid behind the shades of my over-sized sunglasses. I could feel it already; this summer was going to be a scorcher. After taking a much needed sip from my water bottle, I picked up the shovel that lay next to my right foot and began to dig. The hole was not yet large enough, at least not large enough to fit a body…

If you could choose any actress to play the main character in Hearts of Larceny, who would you choose?

I would choose Michelle Trachtenberg, because she is great at playing a mentally unstable bad girl. The main character, Jordan Thatcher, has bad girl written all over her.

Do you have any advice for other authors?

If you have an idea for a story just start writing it down even if you think it’s silly. It’s a great way to brainstorm. Sometimes the lack of inspiration can get frustrating, but once you get it hold on to it and see where it takes you.

Is there anything that you want to say to your readers?

The main that I want to say to readers is that I hope that they get the same experience I get from reading. As a child I loved to read because reading took me to another world. Being able to give someone else that experience is the reason I wanted to become an author.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I hope to be an established author with a large reading base. Ideally I would have wanted to become better at my craft by then. Call it dreaming big but in ten years I can see myself on a best seller list if I work hard enough for it. 

Purchase Links

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Social Media Links 

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Author Bio

Stephann Ibrahim is a writer of many genres including mystery, romance, fantasy, and children’s literature. At the young age of five she knew that writing would be her calling. After ghost writing for several small publications and pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in English, she decided to follow her dream of writing novels and novellas. Her goal is to captivate the mind of readers and allow them to get lost in another world just by reading. It has been a long term aspiration for Stephann to give readers the same wonderful reading experience she received not only as a child but also as an adult. She believes that everyone needs a mental escape even if it is just for a few hours. When’s she not substitute teaching, she spends her days writing. Stephann currently resides in Maryland with her husband.

Adam Dreece's Top 5 Pieces of Advice To Writers

Author, Adam Dreece's Top 5 Pieces of Advice He Gives to Budding Writers

1. FINISH IT
2. Get real Beta readers
3. Learn how to listen to feedback
4. Set deadlines & make them real
5. Hustle or die

Discover More About Adam Dreece and his Emergent Steampunk Series, The Yellow Hoods!

Adam Dreece

Author of emergent Steampunk series  The Yellow Hoods

Young Adult written for everyone

Book 1 - Along Came a Wolf at Amazon, Amazon.ca, Kobo, Smashwords, The Yellow Hoods Store

Book 2 - Breadcrumb Trail at Amazon, Amazon,.ca,  Kobo, Smashwords, The Yellow Hoods Store

3 Chapter free samples available

Blog: AdamDreece.com

Twitter: @AdamDreece

K.N. Lee's Ultimate Writing Playlist

I was challenged to post my writing playlist by  Author, Jeané Elliott Bennett. 

Well thank you, ma'am! I love to share!

The following is just a fraction of my ULTIMATE WRITING PLAYLIST!

1. Cursum Perficio- Enya

2. Closing In- Imogen Heap

3. Violet Hill- Coldplay

4. Gates of Instanbul- Loreena Mckennit

5. Battlestar Gallactica soundtrack- Bear McCreary

6. Blade runner Sountrack- Vangelis

7. BYOB- System of a Down

8. Pax Deorum- Enya

9. Into the Trees- Zoe Keating (cello!!)

10. Last Days- Max Richter

11. La Sonadora- Enya

12. Nocturne- Secret Garden

13. Let Me Lie- Hayley Westenra

14. Army of Me- Bjork

15. I Am the Day- Libera

16. Into the Night- Julie Cruise

17. Heart's a Mess- Gotye

18. One of Us is the Killer- The Dillinger Escape Plan

19. The Lightning Strike- Snow Patrol

20. Ri Na Cruinne- Clannad

Social Media Utilization For A Strong Fan Base

Social Media Utilization For A Strong Fan Base

Building a strong fan base can seem daunting at first, especially to a new writer. Social media utilization is something that is essential to your success. What most agents and publishers want to see, even before you are published, is that you can gather a real following and self promote.

Where do you start?

Two words. Social media.

One of the things that many people don't understand about social media is that it is less about the numbers of followers and likes that you have on Twitter and Facebook, but more about the relationships you create with these followers.

Think about it. Who is more likely to buy your book once it's published? The 100 followers that you've never said a word to, or the 10 Twitter followers you greeted and started a genuine conversation with? I think we all know which one that will be. Once you start using Twitter, you will quickly see that there should be an even exchange. Another important part of utilizing Twitter properly is following back.

Do it!

Why? Because if you don't, they will unfollow you, and you will have lost a potential reader.

So make it a point to not only follow back your Twitter followers, but start a friendly conversation with them. A simple "Thank you for following," goes a long way.

They will remember your name, and your kindness.


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Tweets by @KNycole_Lee

The Wizard's Writing Tip: Let Your Manuscript Rest

The power of letting a manuscript rest gives you the ability to cut and scrap large chunks of what you once thought were necessary. 

I learned this in Stephen King's book, On Writing, and from personal experience with various manuscripts. When you're working on a novel, you're so close and attached to it, that the thought of parting with any sentence is out of the question. 

 

You simply cannot keep everything. 

You must tighten, revise, and polish your work. Putting your manuscript in a drawer, or taking a time out to work on something new lets you separate yourself and revisit it with fresh eyes. 

So, give it a try, take out that red pen, and get to work! 

Find more writing tips here.

5 Ways to Not Lose Your Mind When Writing a Novel

Writing a novel can be a daunting task. One can begin the journey with vigor and enthusiasm and still end up incredibly overwhelmed. Whenever I sit before my computer to begin a novel, I am filled with joy and excitement.

 Just imagining the characters that I will create, and the worlds that they will inhabit makes me giddy. Pages get filled with wondrous prose and complex plots. Chapters are produced and the novel starts to take shape. 

Then...the nerves set in. I start to fear opening the document and pressing forward. One might begin to doubt whether all of those pages are utter dribble. I know that for me I get to a point in the story where I feel such anxiety that I will start a new story...just to reclaim that initial enthusiasm and hope.

What if no one else thinks the story is as clever as you believe? What if your imagination runs dry before you actually finish the story? These thoughts plague many of my fellow writers, but one must push forward. No matter what. 

Here are ten ways to not lose your mind when writing a novel. 

I hope this helps.

1. Read what you've already written. Sometimes this can help you reclaim that vigor and excitement. You've worked hard to put those words on the page. Don't let them go to waste. Just try not to start editing just yet. Wait until the story is complete.
2. Take a walk and sort through your thoughts. Imagine your characters and let them take the reigns of your thoughts. Sometimes it can play out like a movie inside your mind, and the characters inevitably take over. I bet you'll be running back home to write out what you've imagined. There's something about fresh air and nature that always clears the mind.
   
   
3. Create a jot list. A jot list is a form of graphic organizer where an individual writes down a list of information that will help them write an essay, article, story, etc. This will help you sort out your thoughts and remind your mind of what parts of the story excite you, prompting you to press forward.
   
4. Download the software Y Writer 5. You won't believe how helpful this software is. It is a word processor that breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you keep track of your work while leaving your mind free to create. Trust me, being organized is a life saver when you are writing a novel.
5.  Listen to soft music in the background, light candles or incense, or anything that relaxes you during your writing session. Sometimes this can transport your mind and open it up to more creativity. I also like to get a massage here and there to help with the stress and the inevitable strain on my wrists from typing so much and sitting at a desk all day. It's not for everyone, but it definitely helps me out.
   
    

When All Else Fails, I Must Write

Despite the pressing issues of life and the obstacles that one might face, there must be an outlet for everyone. For me, that is the ability to create worlds and pen characters into creation. It is this gift that keeps me sane. 

The launch of Dark Prophet came at the perfect time. Emotional turmoil gave way to a revelation. After weeks of procrastination and fretting over the completion of the highly anticipated sequel to The Chronicles of Koa: Netherworld, it took a moment of heartache to set my pen ablaze and finish the story. I admit, I put Koa through a lot of suffering. I made her feel my pain and was delighted to see her triumph.

Truly, pain can be awfully inspiring. 

Writing is therapy for the soul. 

That was the title of an English paper I wrote in college. The assignment was to write about your favorite activity and why you love it so much. Is it the fact that writing creates an escape from reality? Or, is it the fact that it gives the soul an outlet for its desires and dreams? I think it is both. 

And so, when all else fails...

I must write.

Stay tuned for more works by author, K.N. Lee in 2014.

The Chronicles of Koa: Netherworld

Dark Prophet ( Book Two of The Chronicles of Koa)

Rise of the Flame- Coming in January 2015

Her Haunted Shadow- Coming  July 2015