Posted by KKAJI in Uncategorized.
Hey guys,
This is just a quick post to let you know that I’m moving my main posts out of this blog and to my official author blog: jadebennett.wordpress.com
So if you enjoy my posts, please come and follow me there! That’s where my updates will be from now on.
Thanks so much!
Posted by KKAJI in All about me.
Tags: ass, author, hindsight, kick, own, writing, your
Get used to it.
If you plan on writing for a living, you’re going to have to do a lot of this.
I’m in the process of doing it as we speak. It’s easier said than done. Excuses pop up left and right like weeds, and they take root in the same manner too. It’s like the weed poking through the concrete of your brain, saying “well, but then youcould ignore all that and just do this”.
It goes right back to my post about distractions.
Andthen there’s something even worse than distractions: self-doubt.
You know what I’m talking about. “Why am I bothering with this idea right now? If I write it like this it’s just going to sound crappy. I should wait until the idea is fleshed out”.
Let me tell you something, if you wait until it’s fleshed out to write it, you will NEVER get around to doing it! I’m learning that the hard way. And I am literally kicking my ass (yes literally) over it. I’ve wasted all of May pining away after ideas for my June Camp NaNo plot instead of drafting some! And that whole hindsight thing? Yeah, incredibly true. I’m looking back saying “Well, I remember I had an awesome idea on May 12th, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was. Why didn’t I write it down?” Oh. Right. Because at the time, I deemed it too lame to fathom as a real idea.
Write. Everything. Down.
There is no such thing as a bad idea when you’re a writer. Anything can turn into something worth writing!
So get rid of those ideas that there’s no point. Get rid of all that self-doubt and all of those “what-ifs” and JUMP IN! It’s time. Put on your writing gloves and kick some ass, even if it’s just your own!
Posted by KKAJI in All about me.
Tags: characters, development, distractions, new, stories, story, writing
Ahem, what I was saying before I was uh, detained… Was that writing is an incredibly important part of your every day life, if you plan on being an author.
But more on that another time. Today I’m going to write about distractions.
When you sit down to write, it should be simple to focus on the plot, storyline, characters of that project, right?
Oh, so very wrong.
Personally, it seems that every time I try to do that, I’m making new characters and new stories, getting distracted by music choices or something on the internet. Or, using the current example, drawing entirely new characters for an entirely new story aside from the one I NEED to be focusing on (which, if I’m honest, is a distraction from the novel I need to be editing).
It’s a vicious cycle for me. I can’t help that new ideas pop into my head constantly. I see something and I say “OH it would be so fun to write about that. I know exactly what to do *scribbles endlessly on ideas*”
I’m starting to think I have writer’s A.D.D.
I doubt I’m the only one, but a little confirmation would be appreciated.
Over and out, for the time being.
… ooh… Maybe a new story about a military team.
NO! STOP THAT!
Posted by KKAJI in All about me.
Tags: advice, assholes, author, criticism, friends, writing
“Art is parasitic on life, just as criticism is parasitic on art.” – Harry S. Truman
I had a little, ahem, fun experience this morning. I woke up and went to check out my messages on email, art sites, the dreaded Facebook, etc., and was delighted to see that I had a new comment on one of my art sites! Only to find… that it wasn’t a comment so much as a complete and utter backhand slap to my ego.
I had recently entered a writing contest that required you write less than 500 words, which is (I am willing to admit) not my forte. I’m certainly more of a novel, type of girl. My “short stories” are all at least 50 pages. At least. I’m working on it, all right?
But I decided, hell, I’ll give it a shot!
But the feedback I received was detrimental to my mental, emotional, hell, even physical health (because I choked on my drink when I saw it). My pride was crushed. And I have a lot of pride (I’m a Leo after all). The commenter, a judge on the competition who had spoken with me once before saying that a 500 story weeded out the good writers from the crap ones [I’m probably paraphrasing a little heavily there, but that’s what I got from it], asked if English was my second language because “I try to make allowance for ESL”.
I realize that perhaps he wasn’t trying to attack me (Or maybe he was, in which case, I hope he falls on his own pen and dies), but to ask me that… it left me shocked, and utterly broken in terms of confidence. My mind reeled. For about ten minutes I considered stopping writing altogether.
But then my cousin, my wonderful cousin, piped up. ” I am thinking that with all the arts that the world and competition can be cruel. Keep you’d head up, do what you love, produce what you are proud of and ignore the cruelty. Don’t give up because someone is mean. Ignore them and move on! Hugs to you!”
That was my saving grace. So I’m going to keep writing (honestly, I think it would be harder than that to stop me for more than a few days, but now I can continue on as usual faster). So I’m very thankful. But it made me think,Wow, this is not the only asshole there is going to be.
So it’s time for me, for anyone who wants to write, to prepare for the assholes of the world, as well as the understandable amount of rejections we will face from publishers and the like.
Put on your armor, don your war paint. It’s time for battle.
Posted by KKAJI in All about me.
Tags: author, Life, sucks, writing
Why must you constantly get in the way?
Understandably, as I am alive, I must live. However, you continue to shove happenstances and plot twists into my life as though you were the author of my (relatively boring) story. I was content to sit around and write, on the side of looking for jobs. I was content to plan my plots and characters. Hell, I was content to scribble out random ideas!
But no. No, you said. “That kind of life is too dull”. Well, screw you! I like my life perfectly well like this. Stop trying to shove me into uncomfortable situations. It only causes me to get sidetracked from my dreams. ._. Screw you.
Sincerely,
Your annoyed character [Jade]
—
So, let me start by saying that is NOT about one of my characters, this IS about me. T_T I haven’t posted in a little while simply because I got distracted by things. But the author in me is annoyed by what I’ve been doing (even when it was fun), so I just had to write this and get it out of my head.
I, as a person, want, no need to live life differently than the hermit I’ve been portraying. And admittedly, I’ve been doing better. But my author-brain keeps beckoning, “You should have hit 15k by now~”.
I’m starting to believe that I need to make a solid schedule to follow. D: Bah.
Posted by KKAJI in About the Book, All about me.
Tags: control, novel, publisher, quote
All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. – Havelock Ellis
I have always had trouble letting go.
Letting go of people who are close to me, letting go of an idea or character, but most of all I hate giving up control!
I’ll admit it, I’m a little bit of a control freak.
All right, I’m a huge control freak. I actually hadn’t realized this until a few days ago. I want to controleverythingabout everything. It’s a little extreme. I think that’s why I have such issues with certain parts of my personal life.
But I took a step today, by relinquishing control and leaving it up to the universe.
Today I sent in a sample chapter and a synopsis to a publisher. I’ve taken the first big step, and I’m leaving it up to the universe to decide whether or not this is my break.
Wish me luck!
Posted by KKAJI in Interviews.
Tags: author, book, dragon, interview, runners
So, a friend of mine who is aspiring to become a journalist came to me with a proposition this evening. I was, as per usual, having troubles getting myself to stop procrastinating and get to writing, and she offered me a reason to procrastinate further. “Why don’t I interview you? We could make it a monthly thing.”
So I thought I would share with you what went on:
Jaclyn [JK]: When did you first realize you wanted to write professionally?
Jade [JB]: Probably when I was around 16. I’ve been writing since I learned cursive, but I never realized how much I wanted to make people fall in love with my stories until I really hit adolescence.
JK: Do you usually plan out your stories, or do you “pants” them?
JB: They all start as a “pants” deal, but once I write a little, I can’t help but plan. Not that I actually follow the plan one hundred percent, ever… But I find it really comforting to have an idea of the direction I’m going in.
JK: So, is it usually just a brief “I think this is where it’s going” plan?
JB: Uh, usually, yes, but for this particular project I’ve been working on an annoyingly extensive outline. Like, it’s already ten pages and it’s only six chapters in. It in no way began like this. It started as “dragons are pretty awesome” and then I pantsed the first five chapters. Now I find myself rewriting the first chapters already and I’ve created this huge monster of an idea.
JK: What is Dragon Runners about exactly?
JB: The basic concept is that only people with royal blood are able to tame dragons, and they’re also called “Dragon Runners” (a little joke in my head about how they can run beside them without getting stepped on). Anyway, so it’s been that way forever. Royals come of age – 18 – and a baby dragon is born. The first thing the hatchling sees is their “master” or “partner”, however you’d like to define it, and then the dragon is named. It creates a bond. However, everything kind of goes haywire when a mere serving girl stumbles upon a dragon egg of her very own.
JK: Ooh, sounds interesting. How long have you been working on it?
JB: Well, I got the idea in the beginning of April, four weeks back. But I’ve only been working on it for about two weeks.
JK: Do you have any big plot twists planned for this wonderful novel of yours?
JB: Oddly, I don’t. I usually have several huge plot twists looming on the horizon but I haven’t been able to figure out how to properly make the reader’s head spin in this story…. yet.
JK: So you like to use multiple plot twists? What’s the usual amount for one story?
JB: Haha, usually only 2-3, but I remember when I was little I had a story where it was just constant plot twists, like a soap opera.
JK: Yeah, soap opera stories aren’t as fun to read as they are to watch. What is the genre you typically write?
JB: Fantasy, all the way. I’m a huge fantasy nerd.
JK: What’s your least favorite to write?
JB: Non-fiction. I find nothing more boring than real life. I’ve always been a daydreamer; there’s a reason for that.
JK: Ick, I agree. So, how often do you usually write within a week?
JB: I try and write a little bit every day. It doesn’t always happen that way, but it’s important to flex the writing muscle.
JK: Is there a certain person that influenced you to begin writing and flexing that lovely writing muscle?
JB: Not that I can remember. I’ve always just loved it. I was, however, influcenced to try and publish and share my writing because of wonderful authors that I loved as a teenager, like Holly Black, JK Rowling, and Shannon Hale. Oh, and Heather Dixon!
JK: That’s great that you have always enjoyed it. Too many people are interested in just the money. On that note, you have one hour to write about anything you chose. What is your topic of choice?
JB: Oh crap, that’s a toughie. I have a lot of loves right now, and currently dragons ranks pretty high…. but I’m going to go ahead and say either fae or modern magic.
JK: Oh, those are the best kinds of things to read about. One last question, If you could meet one of your character in real life, who would it be? What is their personality like?
JB: Huh, another tough one. I’m going to say Ein, from my Mechanical Maladies series. He’s a bit rough around the edges, and he ABHORS pocket watches, but he’s a stand-up guy.
JK: He sounds quite interesting. I’m glad to have had the chance to ask you about all these wonderful things. I hope everything goes great with Dragon Runners.
JB: Well, thank you. I look forward to seeing how it develops myself.
It was certainly an interesting experience! If you want to support her and her writings as well, please visit her site http://stealmedead.blogspot.com
Posted by KKAJI in All about me, The Basics.
Tags: NaNoWriMo, pitch, publishing, quote
“The majority see the obstacles; the few see the objectives; history records the successes of the latter, while oblivion is the reward of the former.” Alfred Montapert
I first saw this quote upon the front page of my favorite writing tool: the chat where I get to talk with my author friends from NaNoWriMo.
And for some reason, today it just hit me out of nowhere. I’m the former!
What the hell?
And I guess that’s why I’m starting up this new blog, to gain followers so that I can complete one of my biggest objectives of all. More than anything in this world, I want to write and publish a book that will be loved by hundreds, thousands, millions.
I’ll admit it, I’ve never been very good at self-promotion. It’s probably from a – blah, blah, blah, psychological analysis, blah – but I need to stop seeing that as an obstacle and see it as a new objective.
So my first order of business with this blog is to introduce you to the topic of choice and to share with you my new list of objectives/sub-objectives.
To start, the topic:
My new book has just begun, and it is entitled Dragon Runners. I had just been writing this for fun and to get the idea onto paper, so to speak, but then my good friend Kit posted something amazing on Facebook. She was participating in a live-pitch event on a publisher’s blog. She was going to get her work out there. And, despite my shy attitude, and my craziness, I actually threw my hat into the ring, too. And you know what?
I got a reply that asked me to send a synopsis and sample chapter(s). So I spent all of last night trying to rewrite my first chapter (to no avail), and then woke up five hours later, realizing that I needed to start networking. The dreaded “n” word! Well, my dreaded n-word.
So, I’m about to send in my chapter and synopsis and I decided to take a break to share with you, whomever may read this, and ask that you keep an eye on me. Because, guess what, I’m going to be big. Even if it takes a hundred more years, I’m going to keep at it until I make it because I know this is what I’m meant to do.
So, onto objectives.
- Biggest one: publish my first book, get everyone to like it
- Participate in more pitch-events, send my queries to agents, and get myself out there
- Speaking of that, start networking like crazy. Get everyone to read my blog and my samples, and get everyone to fall in love with my characters the way that I have.
- Continue to write, write, and write.
- Keep strong bonds with my NaNo friends (because they kick my ass into gear when I need it)
- Develop even further
- Take my spot on top!
I’m going to say it now: that list is probably going to grow. I honestly just want to finish up so I can throw some finishing touches on my sample chapter so I can send it in.
Wish me luck on my first step towards my first real objective!
Dragon Runners Kick-Start! 