While most of my favorite books to read are usually fiction, specifically horror and science fiction novels, I’ve been enjoying reading
memoirs and nonfiction books more in recent years than I ever did before. After reading and reviewing Viv Albertine’s memoir,
Clothes…Music…Boys…, I really enjoyed reading that kind of book, and since I’m also a fan of and a part of the YouTube community, the
next book I’d like to read is Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending To Be A Grown Up. Written by one of my favorite YouTubers, gracehelbig,
this book looks to be hilarious, and filled with funny and honest experiences from her life and her advice for anyone who’s ever had to
grow up fast or anyone still struggling to grow up. This is #1 on my list of memoirs to read, and I look forward to the day when I get my
hands on a copy of this amazing book.
Tag: writers
Character Development #1: The Antagonist
Developing your characters is an essential part of the writing process when creating a new story. While most people might think that flushing
out your protagonist is the first step in the process of creating your characters, for me, I find developing the antagonist a lot more essential
to the creative process. As I’ve talked about before, without a problem or central obstacle, there is no plot to the book. The same goes for
character development. Without an antagonist to facilitate that problem or obstacle, there would be no need to create a protagonist whatsoever.
An example I can give would be from my own book, I was a Teenage Killer. For those who haven’t read the book, beware of some spoilers. In
this novel, I created an evil teenage girl named Lisa Etron. I created her before I created the two heroes of the story, because she is the
central focus of the plot. She is a serial killer, born without empathy or regret, and who lives to torment and kill. She hides behind a
false identity as the girl next door, who spends her days cheer leading and dreaming of going to the prom with her supposed love. I created
her first because she is the driving force for the central obstacle, and because of her, two heroes are created to solve the problem that
becomes Lisa Etron.
The antagonist is just as important as the protagonist. When developing your characters, I recommend finding out who your antagonist is and
what their driving force is. Once you know this, then you can flush out your hero of the story, and from there the rest of the cast can
come into place. Remember, the central obstacle and the antagonist go hand in hand.
Review Wednesdays: Watchers by Dean Koontz
Watchers by Dean Koontz was a phenomenal read. Speaking as a pet owner, (particularly a Golden Retriever owner), this book really pulled on the heart strings while building some great suspense and terrifying horror. The mystery of the stories unknown creature, The Outsider, was very well done and I thought it was a smart move not to include parts of the book where we were taken into the point of view of both The Outsider and the Golden Retriever, Einstein, both whom become the central focus of the story. The action was equaled by the intense drama and emotional struggles of the characters, and Einstein is one of the most beloved animals in the written word. For anyone who loves Dean Koontz, horror/mystery books, or emotional stories about pets, then I recommend Watchers by Dean Koontz!
Developing Plot #2: Deciding The Main Obstacle
When you decide to write a story, whether it be a short story, a novella, or a full book, deciding what the main obstacle or problem of the
book is important. No matter what your genre is, what the characters are doing, or who your characters are, the main obstacle is what brings
the entire story together. Bottom line: if you have no obstacle, you have no story.
For instance, let’s take a popular book and see what it would like look without a central problem. For instance, the Hunger Games by
Suzanne Collins. The series’ main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, lives in world where the planet’s government has not only divided the
country into twelve districts, but has put into motion a yearly ritual in which a boy and a girl are chosen to participate in deadly games
in which you must kill or survive until you are the last person standing, like a modern day gladiator ring. When her young sister is chosen,
Katniss steps in and volunteers to take her sister’s place, putting herself in danger in order to protect her sister.
Now what would have happened if her sister hadn’t been chosen? Katniss would never have had a reason to volunteer for the Hunger Games. Without that, she never would have gone on to become the central figurehead for a revolution. She never would have saved her friend/love interest, Peeta, and would never have gone on to be the first couple to survive the games. She never would have broken the entire Hunger Games system, and never would have helped the rebellion take down the antagonist for the series, President Snow. Without that central obstacle in the first novel, without her sister being chosen, Katniss never would have had a journey worth telling.
This is why the central obstacle is important for any book or book series. Without that first and main obstacle, there is no start to the
story. There’s nothing for the story’s protagonists to overcome. There’s nothing tangible to hang onto, and therefore the story collapses.
Question: What is an example of a story that lacked a central obstacle?
Inspiration Mondays: Christmas Time
For those who have read my books before, you guys know that I in general write horror based stories, filled with good men and women having to overcome great evil, (both human and non-human), and from the outside, that probably looks like most of my inspiration for writing comes from horror movies, true crime novels and a questionable childhood. However, that is not the case. While I’m a huge fan of the horror genre and love horror movies, shows, games, books and more, I’m also a sucker for romance and feel-good stories that touch the heart. One of the big inspirations for me when I try to be creative in both my writing and my filming is the holidays. Halloween is a big creative push for me, but one of my favorite times of year that truly inspires me is Christmas time.
Christmas means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For those of you guys that are religious, this holiday holds a special
meaning to you guys. For others, this is a time where you get free gifts and get to eat your favorite foods. However, since I’m not religious
and since I don’t really focus on the gift portion of the holiday, Christmas has a sort of different meaning for me. To me, Christmas is a
time to be with family. The actual traditions associated with the holiday, (i.e. decorating, baking, wrapping presents, putting up the tree,
listening to Christmas music, watching holiday movies and shows, and even playing games and reading books), these are all a part of the same overlaying tradition, and that’s spending time with family. Family not just by blood, but the families we create as well, whether its significant others and friends to your pets.
These things and the act of being with friends and family is truly inspiring. It lifts my spirits, and boosts my creativity ten fold. Being
around all of these traditions and my family reminds me about the power that family, friends, hope, and love can bring about. It reminds me
of what it is my protagonists are fighting for, and what it means to be connected to one another. No matter how dark things get, the power
of hope and love is strong enough to get you through that darkness. That is what the holiday means to me, and why Christmas is a huge
inspiration to me around this time of year.
Question: What does Christmas mean to you?
The Poet’s Corner #1: Isolation
Bugs, crawling along my skin,
Disappearing before I can catch a glance.
Trapped, locked within a bin,
While I dream of adventures in France.
I watch the world, but it doesn’t watch back,
I sit motionless as time passes me.
The walls are closing in,
The air seems to escape my lungs.
So many things have changed,
So much, yet I remain the same.
I claw at the walls, yearning for the light,
Hoping to feel its warm embrace.
Just when the darkness seems to consume me,
A warm hand grips me.
My eyes adjust, and I stare into true beauty,
And feeling loves embrace, I am free.
The Importance of Dreaming
OK ladies and gents, its time for some life lessons. Today I wanted to talk about the importance of having dreams. I don’t mean the dreams you have when you are asleep. I’m talking about dreaming about the future. I’m talking about hope.
As I strive to achieve my goals of becoming a writer that can earn a sustainable living doing so, I think about the things I want to do in the future and use that as a means of motivation. It can be trivial things, like I dream of having year-long passes to Universal Studios and Disneyland. I dream about owning a PS4 and Xbox One. I dream about being able to go out on weekends to hang out with people.
It can be big things too. I dream about moving to my own place either in or near Los Angeles. I dream of having my books adapted into another medium, like a web series, television, or even a film or video game. I dream of finding love. I dream of meeting that special someone, and falling in love, finding that one person that gets you completely and understands what kind of person you are.
Whether your dreams are big or small in the grand scheme of things, they are all equally important, because dreams are what keep us going. They give us the drive to go forward in life. They help keep us motivated and strong. Dreams are a vital part of what makes us human, for dreams are what keeps hope alive, and hope is what keeps us going every day. So don’t forget guys, no matter what it is, always keep your dreams at the forefront of your mind.
What is the importance of dreams to you?
Day 2 of NaNoWriMo is on!
I’m in the thick of it guys. I’ve written another 2,000 or so words so far today, bringing up my total word count for NaNoWriMo to 5269. I’m going to write a bit more later tonight but for now I gotta do some marketing for my other books I recently published.
Character Insight #1: Lisa Etron
Something I want to do on my personal blog is talk about some of the characters I wrote in my books. The first character I want to talk about comes from my best selling book, I was a Teenage Killer. That character is Lisa Etron.
Lisa Etron is one of the most sinister and twisted characters I’ve ever written. In all outward appearances, she is a normal high school girl who is considered the most popular girl in her school. She has the looks, the brains, and the talent that most people strive to have in their lives. However, she harbors the personality of a deranged serial killer, looking to kill for no other reason that the sport of it and the sheer amount of joy she gets from her murders.
In the I was an Evil Teenager series, I showcase the evolution of evil in all it’s forms. In the first book, I was a Teenage Killer, I showcase the mind of an evil person, and show that evil resides in all shapes and sizes. In I was a Teenage Zombie, I showcased how evil can encompass a persona physically, and the toll it takes on the body. In I was a Teenage Demon, the final book in the series, I showcased the toll evil can take on the human spirit, and how that spirit becomes so corrupted by evil that it twists into something unimaginable.
To learn more about Lisa Etron and to follow her adventures, check out my Amazon Author Page and check out the entire series! Be on the lookout for the next Character Insight.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=la_B003ACFI2U_af?rh=n:283155,p_82:B003ACFI2U
