How to Write a New Book for New Authors..Pt.3

In part 2 it was pointed out that having a great ending in mind might be a great place to start when writing your new novel. That way, you can drive your readers to a big finish from the first page of your new book. Another idea to discuss is how to keep the readers attention. We have all read (at least I hope so) a book we just couldn’t put down. We couldn’t seem to read fast enough. Time went by and we were in the book not just reading it.

How do authors do it? And, more importantly, is it possible to enthrall a reader on the first try of your new book. Of course, it is. It’s like surfing or snowboarding. You need to know the trick to staying up. It seems everything has a trick and writing a new novel is no different. Remember this: Anything unusual, surprising or incongruent keeps peoples attention. You need “Oh my God” where the reader puts their hand over their mouth (why people do this I don’t know, but they do) and gasps for air. These little writing gems (tricks) are golden. These keep the reader wanting more and therefore needing to read on. You can do it, too. You just need to get in that mindset.

It reminds me of Larry the Cable Guy and other comics. They do this with almost every joke. “My big ol’ girlfriend is a runway model,” Larry would announce. Pause. “You know, out there at the airport.” Laughter. It’s misdirection. You expected a high class fashion show in your mind but “runway” was used in a different context and you were surprised. In a funny way, yes. But, still it worked and you need to figure out how to do this type of misdirection in your writing. This is one trick at least.

Another thing readers like is the unusual. They like unusual situations, cool abilities (McGiver stuff) and unusual confrontations. If your new novel can incorporate some unusual ideas and character development then this will keep the reader involved. Your new book needs to be interesting. Even biographies are written to be interesting. Think about making your characters interesting, too. If your characters are boring your new novel might be a little sleepy, too. It isn’t hard to develop interesting characters. Good writers can do it in a screenplay. If you haven’t read a screenplay, you should. They are a good way to see a long book like The Da Vinci Code broken down to a few lines. You can find screenplays to look at online with no problem.

So, it boils down to writing a good new book needs good misdirection and the unusual. If you write about boring people that are as predictable as the rising sun, your new book may not be as big a hit as you would like. Here’s another tip. Grab one of your favorite books and read it again. Look for misdirection and the unusual and see how the author did it. You may not have even noticed what was going on. Good writers are doing that. Gosh, even listen to Larry the Cable Guy or other comics. You will see what I mean. Good luck and don’t ever get discouraged. Be persistent. Persistent people always beat the most talented or most educated. Kick some booty.

How to Write a New Book for New Authors..Part 2

Now that we have established that we need to take new novel writing business seriously, let’s start talking about how to begin the process. The beginning of any novel is always the idea. Drrrr. You say. I know. It seems so obvious but it isn’t for many people. There is the trap of falling in love with just one idea. You will need more.

                                                      

The book PRESS RELEASE works with many ideas. The first is obvious by the definition and the setting is in a public relations firm. But, it works on other levels, too. So, there was a lot of thought that went into the main idea. Sometimes, a writer will begin by thinking of the ending and then it is easier to get started at the beginning. If your book is going to be suspenseful, this is a great way to start. Get the trick and unexpected ending all worked out and then you can figure out how to lead up to it.

If you are writing a mystery thriller, for example, you will need plot twists and clues with foreshadowing. Figuring all this out in your head without knowing where you are going would be a very difficult task. It might be a great idea to know exactly how the book is going to turn out so you can start giving clues from the very beginning.

I have noticed most movies, and screenplays, do this very thing. Usually, there are very definite clues within the first five minutes of a movie that will give you great insight as to how the movie is going to go. Or, there are false clues which lead you to believe the movie going to go a certain way but then it switches at the end. Either way, it is a good way to write a book this way, too. Give the reader some clues at the very beginning and drive them into thinking what you want them, too. But, you can’t drive them to a destination if you don’t know where you’re going.

If you are having trouble trying to develop and ending, then think about your main idea and what would be a big surprise to the reader at the end. Better yet, if you can think of numerous surprises throughout your new book that would be even better. Readers want to be entertained. That’s why they are reading fiction. Although non-fiction can be entertaining too, there is often much less left up to the imagination. Try to think of your idea and what would be a jaw-dropper at the end. If you can do this, then it will be much easier to write the first chapter because you will know how to foreshadow the ending. It will be subtle and many readers won’t even notice you did it. But subconsciously, they will remember.

So, to get started writing your novel, figure out a surprise ending. It may seem donkey backwards, but it really works and it will be more fun to drive the reader instead of drag ‘em.

How to Write a Book Series

During the writing of my first book PRESS RELEASE, I learned a great deal about the process. I took me quite a while because I didn't know some of the basic concepts of actually writing a book--like, you actually have to sit down and write. I learned that writing a book is not the hard part. The hard part is actually sitting down to write. Wow. That was an eye opener. Sounds blatantly obvious but it wasn't for me.

So, I decided to write some articles on what I learned about writing my first book in the hopes that it may help some others see what is staring them in the face. Writing is a fun process--at least for me. Anyone who plans on writing a book better have a similar attitude. Another grain of obviousness.

Here it is. The first installment.

How to Write Your First Book for New Authors    Part 1

Writing a new book is a dream for many people. It sounds so romantic to think of oneself as a new author having in their hands a published work of art. Today, it is not that difficult to get published because you can do it yourself. You can write new book, edit it yourself, format it yourself, create the finished art for the cover and get a copy in your hands in a couple of day. Createspace.com can really do this for just a few bucks for a proof. So, getting a new book for a new author is literally no big deal today.

The problem, therefore, is not getting the book published, but rather writing the new book in the first place. If you have never written a new book and you want to become a new author, then getting started can be a huge obstacle. We have all heard the stories of novelists sitting at a desk in the dark with a single light bulb dangling from a wire over a cigarette smoke hidden Royal typewriter plucking out the words “It was a dark and stormy night.” Well, this may have happened at some time, but the reality is that writing a new novel or any type of new book requires work and dedication. If you think it will be easy to write a new novel then you may be surprised at how much work it really takes.
When I first started my new novel I thought it would have been done in about 60 days and I would be off making money. Oh, my word. I was so wrong. It actually took years to write. It wasn’t because I didn’t have the ideas or the ability—it was motivation and discipline. I was treating my new book like it was some sort of game and not giving it the serious attention it needed to get ‘r done. I was kidding myself. Finally, I got my stuff together and decided this is stupid. I can do this. I had about 25% of the new novel done and did the next 75% in 45 days.
How? Well, I got serious. So, the first thing I would advise all new authors trying to write a new novel or new book is to get serious. You probably go to a job everyday to make money so you can eat and get air conditioning (I’m in Vegas). You get up, get ready and get to work on time. You have to do it or you won’t last long. You need to figure out some way to treat your writing the same way.
You need to find a time to get ready and go to work writing your new novel. I remember reading something about Steven King one time and he said he tried to write ten pages a day. Sounds easy, huh? If you did that you would have a 300 page book in about a month. The point is you need to get serious. This is the first step in getting it done. Take it from someone who went down the wrong road to writing a new novel, you can to so get serious and do it.

Getting the Right Guitar Sound

I spent some time today trying to get right guitar sound again. I moved the amp into the loft so I could hear the monitors more clearly in my "studio" :). Didn't do as much good as I had hoped so I did some work with the Digitech PR150 amp modeler and sending the sound direct to the deck. Better luck there. With technology today it is much easier sometimes to go direct. Yes, you do lose some of the power sound from the live amp crunch. But, there is so much tweaking you can do with the modeler settings that the time saved can be significant.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about placing the guitar in the correct frequency range when I track. Using the equalizer correctly is really important here. A big mistake a lot of home recording engineers like me make is to not separate the individual frequency ranges of the instruments. That makes for a really muddy and unprofessional sound.

When you listen to really well engineered recordings, you can pick out every instrument and what they are playing. It sounds great, huh? Anyway, here is a really basic chart I use to get the process in the right direction from the beginning. Click on the chart to see a bigger one so you can read the freq ranges.

Playing and recording is fun. And, playing the engineer role is too. I will need someone soon to listen to what I am doing in rough to see if it sucks, but for now it is fun.

This is where you all come in. I want to place clips online and get feedback, too. My fans are my greatest (hopefully friendly) critics and I want to know what you think. Stay tuned for some Sped up Tunes.


Oh, and don't forget my book. It's cheap and a fast and funny read. You will get something out of it for sure.

Click on the book to see what it's all about. Thanks much Speedsters.

Tracking the Guitar Today

Made a valiant effort at getting the guitar and mics all set up today. But---I just couldn't get the sound I was looking for. I had my amp modeler going to my Randall tube amp but just couldn't get it right. I am looking for a very specific gritty rock sound for the "A" part of the song. "A" part?

I have written this song using a different formula than, say, The Beatles did when they wrote their hit after hit back in the 60s. Back then, there were extreme time constraints for AM top 40 radio and songs had to fit into the puzzle. Many Beatles songs back then were written to a formula. "A" was a verse, "B" was a chorus and "C" was a bridge. So, A A B A B C A and out was not uncommon.

This song, "Can't Be Trusted" uses the formula A A B A A B C and out. Not dramatically different but non the less different. So, the "A" part needs a certain guitar sound and so do the other two parts.

I love the old band 10cc. If you haven't heard them--do. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Their ability to switch around in a single song is fantastic. I, in my own little way, am going to try to emulate their style a bit in this song.

Anyway, more tomorrow on the progress and keep speedin' up.

Oh, and don't forget to buy my book PRESS RELEASE. Click the link and get into it. Thanks
QFPMZSFNDUQH