Abrupt Endings; In the Event of a 3 Day Novel Contest Emergency.

We have just under 12 hours as I sit here and write this blog (PDT) and I know a lot of us are feeling the heat. I don’t have time to sugar coat this in my usual weeping humor, so with out further ado:

The Main Character Wakes Up: Everything that happened up until this point was only a dream, and thus so random and inconsequential it does not need a true conclusion.

The word ends: Explodes. combusts, ceases to exist. There are no more characters to tell a story about.

Flashback of doom. As it turns out your whole book was a flashback seconds before your MC is actually killed off. Turns out there wasn’t time for the whole thing.

For the romance: The love interests suddenly discover they are actually related. You are no Cassandra Claire and your book is now entirely pointless—but done.

For the mystery: The MC realizes he is the one who done it. Oh crap.

For the Werewolf Book: The MC is killed by vampires.

For the Vampire Book: The MC is killed by werewolves.

For everything else: And then they all died. The end.

No one isn’t finishing their 3 Day Novel on my watch!

If You’re a Writer NOTHING is Unimaginable

How to survive the 3 Day Novel Contest & Other Impossible Deadlines.

When I tell people I’m doing the 3 Day Novel contest, the typical reaction goes something close to this: They start by sharking their heads, and then follow up with, “I can’t even write a book in year—month—week—whatever.” Even from other writers, that I know for fact have written other books.

Since I have done the 3 Day Novel Contest before, I can tell you that it really is impossible—if you think about it too much and don’t just write. Don’t get my wrong, I spend a fair amount of time on the color coded outline (that I am still not done with) but I don’t obsess over the writing process, that would make you insane. That would make you quit before you ever even start.

Let’s break it down.

Make and outline or don’t make an outline?

People tout one or the other as the way to go, but I can tell you it’s really both. Go with which one you are most comfortable with, or the way you get the most success with. If you *never* outline, trying to make yourself stick to one now will only waste time and give you a serious headache. No matter how many people SAY you should do this even if you don’t normally you know what works for you.

Sleep, or don’t sleep?

Sleep, at least Saturday night. Want to maximize your hours? Take a nap after an early dinner Friday night, and wake up at 11:45 PM (earlier if you have trouble rolling out of bed) and don’t sleep until a slightly earlier bedtime on Saturday. In your coffee induced, adrenalin rush haze you might be tempted to just stay up, DON’T! It’s always easiest the first day. Plan on sleeping a normal amount of time on Saturday night. That way if you need more time you will be in better shape to stay up Sunday night.

Make a plan, or wing it?

If you are making an outline, even just a very basic one, you need a plan. Otherwise you can wing it. Note, a plan is not the same thing as an outline. You need to think of your book in terms of the beginning, the middle, and the end. Now since the 3 Day Novel Contest is 3 days that sounds like it’s almost perfect. Only you need to expect to be most productive on Saturday than any other day, and Monday being the day for playing catch up.So your numbers should look more like this as opposed to being 1/3, 1/3, 1/3

<-----------Saturday-----------><----Sunday--------><—Monday-->

<-----Beginning------><-----The Middle-----><-------The End------>

Drink water, not wine.

Or you know, drink wine in moderation, but don’t forget the water. I tend to drink an unhealthy level of carbonated beverages while doing the three day novel contest. Then I follow all those down with my weight in coffee. All that drinking usually makes me forget water until I am already dehydrated.

Change your scenery, or live in a cave?

Live in a cave until you can no longer take the stench of it, then change your scenery. If I get stuck, I don’t sit there staring dumbly at my notebook—or computer screen. I change the song on the playlist, and if that doesn’t work I pick myself up and go somewhere else. That might just be to the living room sofa or the dining room table—but it might be to Starbucks or In n’ Out Burger… it depends on how stuck I am. Usually by the time I get up then get back on track I have come up with a solution or I forgot why I was stuck to begin with.

To Tweet, or to NOT Tweet?

I ask that question a lot, and for me the answer is always YES, TWEET. But if you have any doubts at all, don’t do it!

Stay calm or freak out?

There is never any need to freak out. I will even be shelling out some last minute alternative endings Monday if you run out of time. (Unless I run out of time)

Unplug from the Internet, or keep up with Angela Write Now for all of your 3 Day Novel Contest needs?

Trick question.

The UPGRADER Blog Tour

I received UPGRADER for free in exchange for an honest Angela review. I rarely do these because I don’t like feeling obligated to be positive; but as this book was written by fellow NINJA Terry Tibke I made and exception. Lucky for both of us, I get to rate upgrader 4/5 REAL SUNS.

                                   

Angela WRITE Now doesn’t do false sunshine, and UPGRADER boasts some serious star power. Action MolBuses from the first page on, and there are never any lulls. I felt like I was reading the best bits of comic book—only better.

Dylan Kent is your average unassuming teenager. Not so average as to make him Clark Kent but average enough that you figure out early on he’s not a vampire or a werewolf, or anything extraordinary at all. Then that changes; and not by any of the usual means. There are no toxic waste dumps, or over turned semi trucks of radio active ooze in UPGRADER, but there is intriguing plot, and an epic fantasy world looming at the seam of our own dimension.

UPGRADER is not to be missed for the action alone! Pick up your paperback copy or Kindle edition then upgrade your experience over Terry’s blog where you can enter to win some awesome and unique prizes: http://www.terrytibke.com/blog/

That do writers do on Friday night? The same thing they do every night….

I’m told even Ninjas procrastinate, but I don’t believe it.

Angela WRITE Now is not a procrastinator by nature, putting things off gives her anxiety, anxiety gives her heart burn, and it’s never worth it. But sometimes I enjoy working at a less frantic pace, and usually it looks like this:

I don’t believe that twitter= procrastination. I tweeted my way trough the 3 day novel contest and not only finished, but had the desire to do it all over again this year. I understand some of you don’t know when it call it quits though, and this blog is for you.

Every writer knows what they do while they blow something else off. Be it Twitter, Bejeweled, or organizing their twenty-seven different colors of post-its.(Yes I did count thanks) The key to cutting yourself off is in your attitude as a writer. See this post to get your attitude adjustment.

Self control is your number one tool as writer. With out it, you have nothing but a desire you can’t act on as you lack the ability to make yourself write. As I have stated before though, you can control this by learning routine. It takes just two weeks to make something habit. Small changes can make a big impact on the product you turn out.

Think about something you would like to take two weeks to change about yourself, or who you are as a writer. Post here what that is, and if you achieve your goals I will enter you to win a prize. (Here is a hint, it involves books) One winner for my two week challenge. I will give everyone until the 14th of September to let us know what you achieved, and on the 15th I will post the winner along with a big announcement!

Put this button on your blog so we know who is taking 2 weeks to be strong!

I’m a CAMPAIGNER (only not that sort)

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Angela you don’t believe in “Platforms” in the same way other writers do. The in crowd knows this; because they remember this blog:

WHY DO I NEED A PLATFORM? THIS SOAPBOX WORKS FINE

“If you are a politician, and you campaign on health care reform, that is called your platform. If you are a nonfiction writer you would need something that would make you an expert in your field, or qualified to write about your subject. Do you have a cooking blog that reaches 100k? That would be your platform. Are you a show dog judge with years of having your name out there? That would be your platform.

So how does any of this relate to the fiction writer?

It’s not like Amanda Hocking is qualified to write young adult vampire novels because she is a young adult vampire. I mean she could be, but I don’t know her business.

The more information I see on platforms for fiction writers, the more I realize they are using platform in the place of something else. A combination of audience, fan base, and followers. I see some people ask “What is your platform?” But what I hear is, “Who is going to buy your book?” Who, not what is the important part…”

While I still believe that, Rachael Harrie is an awesome writer type who likes to help other writers. Since I dig the cause, and love the opportunity I won’t be arguing about the verbiage. (I don’t really like campaigns either, I mean seedy politicians? No thanks )

See the deets on where you can get in on the awesomeness here:

http://bit.ly/mWdhUn

What is the Campaign?
Basically, the Campaign is a way to link those of us in the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Campaigners are all bloggers in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others' online platforms while at the same time building theirs.

Mike Mullin Guest Blogs "How to Get 100 Monkeys to Write Your Novel"

Today on Angela WRITE Now, Mike Mullin is visiting. If you haven't heard of him, you--are rock dweller, and the rest of you know how I feel about those! Mike is a fab friend and a fab writer, read the deets bellow then comment on the AWESOMENESS.



Mike Mullin’s first job was scraping the gum off the undersides of desks at his high school. From there,
things went steadily downhill. He almost got fired by the owner of a bookstore due to his poor taste in
earrings. He worked at a place that showed slides of poopy diapers during lunch (it did cut down on the
cafeteria budget). The hazing process at the next company included eating live termites raised by the
resident entomologist, so that didn’t last long either. For a while Mike juggled bottles at a wine shop,
sometimes to disastrous effect. Oh, and then there was the job where swarms of wasps occasionally
tried to chase him off ladders. So he’s really hoping this writing thing works out.

Mike holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats.
ASHFALL is his first novel.


About ASHFALL

Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don’t realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying
geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano. It has erupted three times in the last 2.1 million
years, and it will erupt again, changing the Earth forever.

Fifteen-year-old Alex is home alone when the supervolcano erupts. His town collapses into a nightmare darkness, ash, and violence, forcing him to flee. He begins a harrowing trek in search of his parents
and sister, who were visiting relatives 140 miles away.

Along the way, Alex struggles through a landscape transformed by more than a foot of ash. The disaster
brings out the best and worst in people desperate for food, clean water, and shelter. When an escaped
convict injures Alex, he searches for a sheltered place where he can wait—to heal or to die. Instead, he
finds Darla. Together, they fight to achieve a nearly impossible goal: surviving the supervolcano.


The first two chapters are available on his website: www.mikemullinauthor.com. You may reprint the
first two chapters in whole or in part on your website so long as you do not charge anyone anything to
access them.

How to Get 100 Monkeys to Write Your Novel

Step 1:

Buy beer. This is actually a generic step 1. Assembling a grill? Buy beer. Cooking a cake? You guessed it, buy beer.

The type of beer matters. You want a classy brand, like Budweiser. It’s the King of Beers. There’s nothing classier than that. You’re not going to lure any monkeys to your writing cave with that Natural Light crap.

Also, if this plan fails horribly, at least you have beer.

Step 2:

Use beer to lure monkeys out of zoo. Bring extra for Zoo Security.

Step 3:

Share smuggled beer with Bubba, your new cellmate. Offering Bubba Natural
Light is even worse than offering it to a bunch of monkeys. You’ll be glad you
bought Bud.

Step 4:

Buy 100 Mac Air laptops for your monkeys. Émile Borel’s monkeys may have
been content with typewriters, but modern monkeys don’t work on that crappy
outdated equipment.

Step 5:

Buy a snowshovel. Yes, even if you live in Las Vegas. It’s for cleaning flung monkey
poo off your walls, not fluffy white stuff off your driveway.

Step 6:

Dig a basement. Or lure 100 gorillas away from the zoo to do it for you.

Step 7:

Give up, drink the beer yourself, and hire Angela Kulig to ghostwrite. She cranks
out 10,000 words a day. What do you need monkeys for anyway?

Angela & The Weekend of Overwhelm

This weekend seems never ending, and it only just stared. If you know me, you know I view success in the form of completion of my goals and piles of checked off to do lists. If you were paying attention, you would notice that I was absent for most of the week.

The first thing that went wrong was, Heroes & Vallenez mysteriously got unformatted. I opened it a few days prior to copy and paste the first 3 chapters of it for an agency that requested it. When they then requested the full I opened it again and everything was wrong! There was no paragraphs, the line spacing was right in some places and insane in others, there was random indention through out. IT WAS AWFUL.

I cried.

Well the stress may have tanked my immune system, because right after that I got sick. The kind of sick that knocks you out, and then drags you back to its cave of disease until you are strong enough to fight it off.

So I am better now, and I still have a manuscript to reformat so I can submit. Lucky the fantastic lady who requested it is very understanding and told me not to rush. I also have a guest blog post due for early next week, a anthology piece that needs to be edited, all that writing I didn’t get done this week, and OH the outline for my 3 Day Novel Contest entry.

Really hardly anything at all. {Chokes, gags, faints.}

If you were wondering where the last installment of HOW TO BE A BETTER WRITER was last Sunday, you should know Windows Live Writer—my usual blog editor of choice—would absolutely not work all week. It basically ate my soul, and being sick and over worked did not lend it’s self to finding a replacement. Don’t worry, it will be up tomorrow—or maybe even later tonight.

OH and I just remembered, I have to read a book and write a review… oh boy. See you later, Angela needs more coffee WRITE now.