New Tunes - Alina Baraz & Galimatias "Maybe"

Hi my Peeps! 

I'm trying something new. I was thinking it would be nice to be able to reference my original post explaining my musical choice at a later date. Right now, you can click on a past song choice and it will take you to the video on YouTube and I just thought this way would be way better. So, I'll post a duplicate of what can be seen on my Tunes tab here in a main post so I can have a link to use later when I change the song. Make sense? LOL! Hope so!

Let me know what you think about this mini-change in the comments. Until next time :)

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This has been my musical OBSESSION lately! The lyrics are crazy perfect in relation to Jane and her feelings about Alex. Seriously, if you want to get a glimpse into Jane's story before it's released (which, I'm so sorry that I still have no set date!) lookup the lyrics ;) I'm tempted to just list them below instead of the little bit that I usually post :D For now, have a listen with me and enjoy. 

Happy Listening Peeps!

Why do I let you cross the line every time?
Why do I stay if I know you're not mine?
Ride on your skin, I know that love used to glow
How can I let you go if I know I'm so close?

 

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Writing Tips: The Brain Dump

Hi my Peeps! It's been too long since I've written you guys, and I am so sorry for that! It's been a busy time for me lately. In truth, it's going to be a busy year, but that is something to dive into in another post.

Today, I bring you a guest-post from my very good friend, Cherlyn! Recently, we were discussing my writer's block, due to my mind/imagination being stuck in a different story/world from the one I am trying to write (Jane's story), and Cherlyn tells me I need to "brain dump". Somehow, I had never heard of this amazing concept until this very conversation. Crazy, I know! Anyway, I knew as soon as I learned what "Brain Dumping" was, I knew I had to share it with you all :) Enjoy and Happy Writing my Peeps!

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Brain Dump

The art and discipline of writing can take on many different forms depending upon the individual. For me, writing is equivalent to healing. I am able to work through feelings and experiences, and turn them into something I hope is beautiful or at least useful for this world. Even if it’s not beautiful or useful to others, my heart and mind are closer to a feeling of peace once it’s all out. While I’d love to say I am letting my introspective self-run wild full time, that isn’t the case in my current stage of life. This creates an internal tension almost daily (if not hourly) and I’m constantly struggling against thoughts, feelings, hang-ups, hurts, and bundles of inspiration that beg to be written. In order to focus on whatever task or other responsibility is at hand, I practice a nifty thing called the Brain Dump.

I’ve read about the concept of the brain dump many times over the years. The practice is often used in forms of meditation, stress reduction, or as a time management strategy. While it can serve all of those purposes, I have inherently always used it in close relation to my writing. A brain dump can be a list, lyrics that inspire a certain feeling or scene, notes about a character, or a journal entry in a character’s point of view, to name a few. Below are a few ways the brain dump has been a useful tool for my writing so you can evaluate if you’d like to add it to your own writing toolbox.

·       Future Material

Rarely have I sat down to write a piece without it having first been born in a notebook or journal as a brain dump. At first dump an idea is generally all sparks and no structure. When there isn’t a good chunk of time to flesh out an idea, dump it. When an idea strikes and you’re working on something else that demands your attention, dump it. Whether it is a line of dialogue, a magical dress you see your character wearing while dancing into the night with her love, or the skeleton of scene, get it out of your brain and onto the page. You’ll have it to come back to once you are sitting down to write.

·       Inspiration Isn’t Static

An inspiring idea may not wait around for you to give it the time it deserves. Many times I’ve neglected to write something down, only to have it slip through my fingers. As writers we’re often told we should write regularly and not rely upon inspiration to guide our way, because inspiration won’t always show up when needed. What a bummer when inspiration does come around and we ignore it! Continual brain dumping not only captures our ideas; it helps keep the ideas coming. Creativity begets creativity. Don’t let an idea go, dump it. You may soon find you’ll be dumping many more.

·       Dump to Diamonds

I’m certain a huge part of every one of us desires to write a brilliant first draft, never having to go through the painstaking process of editing. Unfortunately this is not a desire rooted in any form of reality! However, I do think the brain dump can move us a little bit closer to solid first drafts. As a pre-writing practice somewhere in the middle of outlining I like to brain dump about my characters. I put myself in their shoes and write out thoughts, feelings, and reactions to different events within the story. Keeping these dump drafts handy once I’m actually at the page can add depth to a scene. While writing a scene I may be driving the characters, but the brain dump material allows the characters to show me where we should be shifting gears towards the best possible way to tell their story. This helps a first draft immensely.

Happy brain dumping!
~Cherlyn Tom

Writing Tips: Too Much Exposition

Little Sally

Say, Officer Lockstock, is this where you tell the audience about the

water shortage?

Lockstock

What's that, Little Sally?

Little Sally

You know, the water shortage. The hard times. The drought. A shortage so

awful that private toilets eventually become unthinkable. A premise so

absurd that -

Lockstock

Whoa, there, Little Sally. Not all at once. They'll hear more about the

water shortage in the next scene.

Little Sally

Oh, I guess you don't want to overload them with too much exposition, huh.

Lockstock

Everything in its time, Little Sally. You're too young to understand it

now, but nothing can kill a show like too much exposition.

-Urinetown Musical-Too Much Exposition, The Musical Lyrics

You couldn't be more right, Officer Lockstock, and the rule applies to books as well! 

Ever start reading a chapter or passage and you find yourself swimming in a sea of details? The author makes the easy mistake of over-describing the scene and all you want to do is get to the next "good" part, the drama.

What most readers do next is skim the page, in irritation or some other sort of negative feeling. This is absolutely what you as an author do not want. This negative feeling will forever be associated with your book in their minds. Especially, when they go to write a review.

Worse, it could carry over to you as an author.

The reader might take one look at who the author is of some book they happened to stumble upon and see your name there and immediately that negative feeling creeps back in. They start to think maybe that's your writing style in all your books. Yikes!

I'd be willing to bet, more often than not, they'll breeze past your book eager for a more positive experience. And let's face it, that is typically why someone chooses to read in their spare time. They want to escape for a little while. But who can escape when they're stuck reading two pages about the same meadow, house or how Little Sally is feeling in that moment?

Already, by this point, you might start to wonder when I'm going to get to the advice part, right? Well, without further ado, I give you my 4 easy steps to avoiding too much exposition.

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1. Write your rough draft with all that exposition. Include every tiny detail until you're satisfied and sure there isn't any possible way someone could not picture what you're picturing.

2. Read the passage for yourself as if you are a reader NOT an author. If you have to, print the page(s) and read it the next day or after you've had a chance to turn off your writer's mindset. **

3. Read the passage again, but this time turn your writer's mindset back on. Think about what parts bothered you as a reader and highlight them. If you didn't print out the passage and you're reading on your computer/laptop, DO NOT delete just yet. At least not permanently! **

4. Read the passage a third time, omitting the highlighted sections (If you're on your computer, I would recommend using the dark gray color so it's easier to skip over). How did the passage read? Feel? Did you still get the concept of what you were trying to convey? Probably. And you got it in less words! Now, go ahead and delete those highlighted words. I know, scary, but it must be done!

**If you're in steps 2-3 and you can't find anything to highlight, ask someone else to read it for you. Ask them to highlight parts of the passage that they feel are redundant or is just too much explanation. Try not to give them a hurt or angry look when you get it back. :) Now, move on to step 4.**

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As writer's, every single time we write, we have to try to remember that our readers are intelligent beings. They can create the scene just as well as we can. They can get the gist of what kind of person your character is by the things they say, their little quirks or the decisions they make.

We can't be so controlling over our story, no matter how much we want to, because we're inviting readers in. We're asking them to go on this journey with us and so we have to allow them to use their imagination as well! It's part of the fun of reading. And by relinquishing some of this control, you will be giving your readers those positive feelings, so that when they see your name on a book they won't even have to read the summary on the back or in the description box to know that they're going to LOVE this book just like they loved the last one!

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I truly hope this post helped you in some way :)


Happy Writing My Peeps!
~Melissa

****Giveaway Time!****

Hi my Peeps!

Thank you for liking my post on Facebook and coming here to get two more points!** I would have done this on FB, but apparently they don't like us asking you all to share something on your personal timelines...Silly! Any-Hoo. Follow the instructions below to earn yourself 2 more points for a total of 3 points (1 pt. for liking the post on FB and 2 pts. for sharing this picture)!

• To earn 2 more point share the picture below to your Facebook page using the hashtags #UnexpectedlyOutofFocus #eBookDeal and tag me (Facebook.com/authormelissaaragon)

**If you came here through other means, go to my Facebook page (click the little icon to the right or use the link above) and like my post of this picture for 1 pt. then follow the instructions above for 2 more points!

Good Luck!

~Melissa :)

Writing Tips: Using the 5 Senses

I've touched on this subject in a previous post, but only as it pertained to me. Now I want to write about it as what I hope will be a very useful tip for other newbie-writers to improve their literary masterpieces as it did mine. So here it goes...

Using the 5 senses in your writing is so very imperative to drawing your readers into the world you've created. By describing the scents, the plethora of sounds, and especially the feel of things, tangible and non-tangible, you're giving your readers an all-access pass to your imagination. They don't just get told what is going on in the scene, but they get to experience it.

The first thing I hear from readers/fans of Unexpectedly Out of Focus is that they felt like they were watching a movie. They could feel and see every emotion Mary experienced as if it were playing out before them. The key there ladies and gents is that they "felt". By making your readers feel everything your character(s) goes through helps them to connect with not just your story, but the character(s).

 

This is a major! You want your audience to connect with your characters, because this is what creates fans! And if you're anything like me, you don't just want fans, you want to give someone that love for reading that some great author gave you when you first fell head-over-heels in-love with the many worlds of reading. :)

Now, time for some examples...

I remember my HS English Teacher, trying to teach us this concept and he used this example that has always stayed with me. He said, "The man walked down the alley. Or, The drunken tramp stumbled down the darkened, cobble-stone alleyway filled with the sounds of the night." Then, after us silly adolescents stopped laughing over the use of the word "tramp" in a classroom by our sophisticated professor, he asked: "Which do you prefer? They both explain the same scene, but doesn't the second one transport you into the alley with the man?" 

not the best example, but close enough

Yes, it did. I immediately imagined a scene in my head of a tall, dark-haired man dressed in a three-piece gray suit. Streetlamps casting a dim yellow hue every few feet, leaving pockets of pure pitch night. The alley, I imagined it was home to hobo's, trash cans with garbage littered along the edges and stray cats meowing and hissing as they skittered away. It seemed like a scene right out of Sherlock Holmes for some reason! I'm sure you created a slightly different scene, unless your imagination is as peculiar as mine, in which case lets be BFF's. :)

Another example...

I was reading a book recently and I had to put it down. I felt awful. This is someone's hard work and I wanted so much to like it, to give it a chance, but I just could not connect. Maybe because it felt like the author was telling, not describing. For example, the protagonist is talking about moving into her new place and the way it's written is like reading a manual. Boring! Spice it up! Tell your readers how she found the things she decided to fill her new place with....

They look like they're dancin'

Ex: Tired of unpacking, I was in desperate need of a break and the bakery I had spotted on my way into town was still calling my name. Sluggishly, I slipped on my coat then checked my appearance in the tall standing mirror I had yet to move into my bedroom. My hair resembled a birds nest, I could definitely use a little makeup to conceal dark circles under my eyes and my clothes had tears and holes. All in all, I looked like a hot-mess, but I was far too exhausted to fix all of it. Instead, I pulled down my hair, finger-combed it and called it a day. Soon I was out, breathing in the fresh air of the outdoors and following my nose down the street to Heaven's Baked Delights. It was in the middle of my second helping to a honey-glazed doughnut when I saw them. Two eclectic lamps that made my heart skip a beat!


Maybe it was here in this funky furniture store that she meets a dashing, sexy as sin hunk of a man that begins the hot, hot romance? Haha! What can I say, my thoughts are never too far from love, romance and a sexy alpha-male! ;)

My point here is when we decide to open up our imaginations to the world we should always be cautious of falling into the trap of only telling instead of painting the picture. Get creative and describe every single detail, then go back and tone it down a little. Leave only a few descriptive sentences that set the scene so well the reader feels like they've just been transported right next to the hero/heroine of your story! 

I hope this post helped you, if even just a little! I will be posting more writing tips and self-publishing  tips soon, so stick around. :)

Happy writing my peeps!

~Mel

Inspiration for my next book...

Give In To Me sang by Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund is the song that really expresses the emotion in my next book. I'm so excited to begin this story. It's been with me for a while, forming and expanding every day.


I'm still working on a summary and prologue, but just as soon as I have that I'll post it here for you all to feast on ;) For now happy listening my Peeps!

Unexpected Rule of Thirds Song - Justin Timberlake - Dress On

I just can't get this song out of my head! 

It's the song I listened to most at the end of writing Unexpected Rule of Thirds. The lyrics were so perfect for the mood :) 

My suggestion: Listen to it while you read Unexpected Rule of Thirds and get lost in the hot, steamy romance!

Happy Listening and Reading ;)