EVERYONE WANTS TO BE AN AUTHOR

Hi all my faithful family and friends:


Today, I want to talk about writer's block. Everyone experiences it, and I suspect there are as many solutions as there are writers. So, what is an effective method to overcome it?

I often experience writer's block because I don't get a chance to write every day, thus I lose track of what I wrote last and where I intended the story to go.

The method that I find that works best for me is to go back two or three pages and begin reviewing what you last wrote. By the time you get to where you left off, you should be able to remember what you intended to write. Only, this time, I'm at a total block.


Before, I had a critique group to bounce ideas off of. But I don't have that support any more (Hint to myself: join another group).


I'm dealing with how to write the sequel to Bridgetown High, and only get to write about every two weeks or so. That makes it hard to keep track of what I last wrote and where I left off. Does anyone know of a "good" critique group?


Oh, and by the way, I'm still considering doing another blog tour, but I'm hoping they are worth the money -- something around $100.00. Does anyone know of a "good" blog tour company?


So, until next week,  as always, if you like this blog, please "Share" and "Like"it on Facebook , and "Tweet" it on Twitter. Then PLEASE, take five minutes to write a short review of "Bridgetown High" and post it on my correct author page at Amazon.

Also, remember to sign up for my email letters on my Blog Site. I would love to see you there and have you introduce yourself and give comments to this blog. Have a wonderful week.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

... to all my friends and family -- yes, that includes you.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and the beginning of a 4-day holiday weekend. I truly hope  you have a wonderful day, considering all the blessings Heavenly Father has given you and yours. I know I'm very grateful for my family, my wife, my children, and my grandchildren. I'm also thankful for my mom and dad, my sisters and brother, and their families. They are all special to me, even though I don't get to see them very often. I'm grateful for Heavenly Father's plan for us, that we can be an eternal family. In my mind, heaven wouldn't be heaven without all of them there with me -- assuming I make it, lol.

Today I finished reading a novel for review. It was horrible. I won't go into detail, but lets just say the writer needs a lot of help. I'm not saying this to be critical, I'm sure someone could criticize my writing too. But his grammar, syntax, and punctuation were horrible, and his story line was hidden behind many info-dumps, over done descriptions, and cliche's. His story didn't even begin until about chapter 4. The first chapters were all info-dump, descriptions of the setting, etc.

I only mention this because as I know you all want to be authors, I urge you to get some professional editor or a good critique group before exposing it to the world. It took me nearly 25 years to get Bridgetown High right, and I still get criticized for some of the characters' dialogs. Well, I've mentioned that before, that some of the characters, to be true to the their personalities, their speech patterns were crude. Face it, a high school drop out probably doesn't speak as fluently as a college professor.

I hope, Steven Welch, author of this next review comment, won't mind my using his words to illustrate my point:

"I attended high school in Crockett with the Author, and while this is fiction he leaves you with the feeling that perhaps it may not be. The book is hard to put down, the characters are interesting, and Paul provides enough background to bring the 1960's community of Crockett and Rodeo to life. I enjoyed the way Paul included many of the characteristics unique to the community but still not difficult for someone who's unfamiliar with the area to imagine. He brought back memories of the fog drifting on the bay, the emergency and noon whistles, the C&H Sugar factory, The Dog House, and the well traveled road between Crockett and Rodeo. Let's hope we hear more from Paul about Bridgetown and perhaps other stories he has to offer."

Anyway, I'm sure you've heard about the sale I'm running for Bridgetown High. It's FREE until Saturday. So, if you haven't got a copy of Bridgetown High yet, Go to Amazon and get it at https://www.amazon.com/Bridgetown-High-Paul-W-West/product-reviews/1680583093/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop/156-3883310-2205657?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=recent#R2USXC6G2G8RJW. When you do, after you're read it, I hope  you'll find it in your heart to write a short review. Then we'll all have something to be "Thankful" for; you for getting my book, and me for the satisfaction that someone is interested in it.

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EVERYONE WANTS TO BE AN AUTHOR

Just a short note today, I just got two new reviews for Bridgetown High. I thought I'd share then with you.

This one by Kim Smith, author of the Shannon Wallas mystery series. "As a child of the 60s I could identify with the characters of this book. Mr. West knows his setting and situates the reader in it like wrapping us in a blanket. The dialog fits the era of the story. And the story, a young adult novel, has everything that teens care about: revenge, regret, young love, and the promise of a future. Mark Wilkerson is a captivating character, totally believable. When his family is killed in a fiery crash on the Carquinez Bridge, his life is forever altered. Will he find out who was responsible?"

And this one by an unknown reviewer: "Love the book. I would recommend it to all my family and friends. It is definitely a page turner."

Short but sweet.

If you have read Bridgetown High and would like to write a review, please go to https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680583093/ref=cm_sw_su_dp and scroll down to a button that says "Write A Customer Review." You can read some of the other reviews my book has received.

I'd love to know what you think.

I'll try to  write my usual weekly blog tomorrow, but no promises. I'm going on vacation for the next two weeks, so stand by. I'll be back -- God willing.

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EVERYONE WANTS TO BE AN AUTHOR

Good afternoon, all my family and friends.

Today, I thought I'd talk about a different aspect of writing -- beginner's faux pas.

Recently, I have been purposely reading books by self-published authors. I'm doing that in an effort to find good, well written, literature.

Frankly, I'm not having much success. I recently joined a web-based book review site in hopes they might review my novel, "Bridgetown High." I really need reviews on Amazon and thought this site may provide one or more (preferably more). I volunteered to do some reviewing in return.

Honestly, it's a bore.

Almost all of these books by self-published authors (and I'm using that term "authors" loosely) begin with a huge info dump, all the background, on the first two or three pages. Then they SCREAM "Look Ma, I c'n rite." The books are full of misspelled words and punctuation errors.

Then, as I read on, the story lines do tend to be well thought out, and somewhat entertaining, but there are always inconsistencies that drive me crazy, making the read not as enjoyable as I expect.

For example, in the book I'm currently reviewing, the main character says she's 14 years old. Then, in a later chapter she says she's been doing something (I won't say what to not give it away) for two years, making her 16. Then she goes back to having the girl be 14 again. Near the beginning she gives her life's story, thus far, which goes pretty smooth. However, she gives that same story at least 3 other times - boooorrrrriiiinnnnngggg.

I don't mean to be critical, but I'm trying to warn you, regardless of how you want to be published, self or traditional, don't do what this lady, and many others like her, have done. Get a good editor, beta reader, or at least a good critique group. I believe you can be successful which ever route you choose, but get the professional help you need.

Keep that in mind when you are writing your best selling fiction.

And, until next week,  as always, if you like this blog, please "Share" and "Like"it on Facebook , and "Retweet" it on Twitter. Then PLEASE, take five minutes to write a review of "Bridgetown High" and post it on my author page on Amazon.

Also have you signed up for my email letters on my Blog Site? I would love to see you there and have you introduce yourself and give comments to this blog. And also keep in mind "Bridgetown High" is still available at Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes&Noble and several other places I can't remember, both in kindle e'book, and paperback. You can read some GREAT reviews of Bridgetown High on Amazon and Goodreads in case you need more info about it

See y'all next week,

Paul W West, Author

Bridgetown High

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Hi again to all my family, friends, and followers,


I thought from now on, I should begin addressing these blog posts to my family members as well as everyone else. I'm sure 1 or 2 of them are following this, ha ha.


Today I thought I'd give you all a word of warning. This past week I read what I thought was a stand alone novel which will remain nameless, and author-less. For the most part it was somewhat boring in the first 4 or5 chapters, but it got more interesting as I kept reading.


The first thing this author did wrong was NOT starting with the main character getting into some kind of trouble, or "terrible trouble," as Dean Koontz often said in his book, "How to Write Best Selling Fiction." The story begins with a lot of background information, or an "info dump" as we writers call it. Maybe I could have tolerated it for a while, but it went on for several chapters. I was about ready to give up on it. The real story didn't begin until the main character went to a party where the hostess was someone who hated the MC and vice versa.


Now, that perked up my interest a little bit.

But the unforgivable sin she left with was ending the story with a cliffhanger, then told reader he/she had to purchase the sequel to find out what happened next. She dropped the story off right at the climax, leaving the reader hanging. Of course, I'm not going to purchase the sequel. The author blew it in my mind and I will probably never read another book of hers. I'm just glad it didn't cost much.


So, two words of warning:

1) Always begin your story with the main character being hit (figuratively) with some kind of "terrible trouble."


2) Never end a story at the apex of the climax with no resolution and expect the reader to purchase your sequel.


In my mind, it ain't gonna happen.

So, until next week,  as always, if you like this blog, please remember to "Share" and "Like"it on Facebook , and "Retweet" it on Twitter. Then PLEASE, take five minutes to write a review and post it on Amazon. Also have you signed up for my email letters on my Blog Site? I would love to see you there and have you introduce yourself and give comments to this blog. And also keep in mind "Bridgetown High" is still available on Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes&Noble and several other places I can't remember. You can read some GREAT reviews of Bridgetown High on Amazon and Goodreads in case you need more info about Bridgetown High.

See y'all next week.

Paul

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EVERYONE WANTS TO BE AN AUTHOR

Hi again, to all my faithful friends and followers.

So, how are you doing with your writing. Did last week's post teach you what not to do? I ran my review past the author of the novel I was reviewing and she agreed with my rating of 3 stars out of 5 and understood why: that I wasn't trying to be critical, but helpful. Maybe she's following this blog??? If so, I'd love for her to comment.

This week, I'm going to talk about what it takes to be a best-selling author. A long time ago, 1972, Dean Koontz published a very helpful book titled: "How to Write Best-Selling Fiction." I cut my writerly teeth on that book and wish I had a copy of it, even today. But I did take some notes that have helped me a great deal. Over the weeks I'll share some of them with you.

The first notes I have, he quoted his high school teacher who said the following: "The average reader demands eight things of a novel: 1) a strong plot; 2) a great deal of action; 3) a hero or a heroine or both; 4) colorful, imaginative, and convincing characterizations; 5) clear, believable motivations; 6) well-drawn backgrounds; 7) at least some familiarity with the rules of English grammar and syntax - the more familiarity the better, of course 8) a style which embodies at least a trace of lyrical language and as many striking images as possible, for good writing is always vivid and visual."

I could write a college thesis on each of those subjects. Maybe I will go over them in greater detail in the coming weeks. I think they give a lot of food for thought - to spin a cliche'.

One thing Mr. Koontz didn't cover was how publishing has changed from the old find an agent who will find a publisher for you. Today, agents are still around, but difficult to find, and most traditional publishers these days require authors to do most of their own marketing, and independent self-publishing requires writers to do pretty much the same (a lesson I still haven't digested).

Take a close look at the list of eight things readers demand and see how they can help with your writing.

In the meantime, please "Share" and "Like" this blog post on Facebook , and "Retweet" it on Twitter yet. Also have you signed up for my email letters on my Blog Site? I would love to see you there and have you introduce yourself and give comments to my posts. And also keep in mind "Bridgetown High" is still available on Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes&Noble and a few other places I can't remember. You can read some GREAT reviews of Bridgetown High on all of these sites.

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EVERYONE WANTS TO BE AN AUTHOR

 Hi to all my good friends and followers. I hope you're writing is progressing.

Before I begin, please "Like" and "Share" this blog post on Facebook , and "Retweet" it on Twitter yet. Also have you signed up for my email letters on my Blog Site? I would love to see you there and have you introduce yourselves and give comments to my posts. And also keep in mind "Bridgetown High" is still available on Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes&Noble and a few other places I can't remember. You can read some GREAT reviews on all of these sites.

So to begin, do you have any questions about how to craft a good novel?

Today, I'm going to let you in on some things you need to know if you are going to craft a quality novel.

Currently, I'm reviewing a novel for a lady who contacted me to share reviews of our novels. I won't give you her name or the title of the novel she wrote. I will say this, even though it's a published novel it needs help.

It's a murder mystery, but I have to admit she did a masterful job of making the murderer the sympathetic main character. He kills for money without remorse, men, women, even children. How does one create sympathy for for a mass murderer? I'm not sure but she did it and I'm still wondering how?

I think my main complaint is with the editing and formatting. There are numerous spelling and grammar problems which tended to ruin the story's experience for me. The book is written in first person, but she often goes between present tense and past tense, further making the book difficult to enjoy. To a writer with 30 years of experience in writing, editing, and critiquing (me) these things also ruins the story for me.

Also, she makes little or no indication of who is talking. There are many times when dialogue beats would have helped, you know "he said," or "she said," or "named individual, said." I found myself having to go back a few paragraphs to see if I could follow who was talking and who was thinking (of course being in first person, the thinking part was always the MC).

Like I said, the story line is great, with interesting twists. Near the end, however, and I'm close to that, she dumps a bunch of twists that are not logical based on what went on earlier in the story. I'm a stickler for logic. Whatever happens in a novel must make sense.

Now, the question is. How do I post this on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Smaswords, etc. All her previous reviews gave her 5 stars out of 5. The best I can do would be 3 stars, only because the novel was a fun read. I feel bad being the only bad score she has, but to be honest with her and my writing profession, I have have to post the way I see it. Maybe I'll tell let her about my review first and she can decide whether or not she wants me to post it.

What do you think?

See you next week,

Paul West, Author

Bridgetown High

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EVERYONE WANTS TO BE AN AUTHOR

Hi again to everyone.

Do you really want to be an author? I have to admit, though it's been a rough row to how, it's been a lot of fun too.

Did you enjoy reading that excerpt I posted last week? I must have written and rewritten that scene 30 or 40 times. As I said before, I started this novel some 30 years ago. Hopefully it won't take you that long. Most of that time was spent trying to find an agent, but I also spent a lot of time writing and editing and rewriting until I got the book as good as I could.

It helped having a critique group. My "Writer's Pen" group was a huge help. The members were all great writers. Some of them, like me, were eventually published. Some wrote fantasy. Some wrote horror. Some wrote science fiction. Some like me, wrote young adult coming of age.

So, how did I begin? I think I started writing about this in my post a few weeks ago, but I'll take the chance I won't repeat myself too much.

I began with a strong desire to write something. So, with a pad of paper and a pen, I began. At first, the only time I had to write was during my lunch breaks. And that has pretty much been the way it was ever since. Before I had access to a computer, I would leave my office and go down to my car and with oldies playing on the radio, I started jotting down some ideas.

At first, I just wanted to write about my life in high school. But that idea didn't go very far. I had a pretty boring high school life, ha ha. Soon, I realized I was writing about my high school days, but no one in particular. Mark and Gary, Charisse and Genie, and Jeff and Bobby are all made up. I suppose if you were to examine these characters closely enough you'd see something of yourself in one or more of my characters, but I suppose that's the way it is with every novel. We all tend to identify with one or more of the characters in the story.

So, where did I begin? I know I've said this before, but I started with a rough idea of a beginning and struggled to come up with a logical climax and ending. I read with relish a book by Dean Koontz called "How to Write Best-Selling Fiction." His training (if I can call it that) was wonderful. I read "How To" books from several other writers as well. All of them said to begin by plunging your main character into some kind of terrible trouble. Then, as they try to solve their trouble, they get into deeper and deeper trouble, until the ending when everything is resolved, hopefully happily.

This post is getting kind of long, so I'll save more of this for later. I hope this gives you some hope and an increased desire to write. Like I said, it's fun and rewarding, even if it's a struggle at times.

Good luck. Please remember to "Like" and "Share" this post if you're reading it on Facebook, or "Re-Tweet" it if you're on Twitter. Also, for those who have read "Bridgetown High" or are in the process of reading it, a review on Amazon would be much appreciated.

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Hi again, all my faithful followers.

Did you like my expose' on Charisse Davis, one of the main characters in "Bridgetown High?" If so, I hope you will "Like" and "Share" and/or "ReTweet" This post. I have a goal to make this novel into a best-seller. Ha, ha, I even had a couple of readers suggest it could be a movie. Not sure I would go that far.


A few days ago, I finally got some time to work on "GERTA!" I have 45 pages written so far. I know. I have a long way to go. But, I need to confess, this is a 4th or 5th edit of this part of the book. It's the ending that I can't seem to get.


That brings me to a technique I learned in a creative writing course in college. For my Communications requirement I signed up to a Communications class (imagine that). The professor had one requirement -- write 1000 words (real tough). It could be about anything as long as it made sense and communicated some idea. Seeing my work, he suggested I enroll in a Creative Writing class. It was half way through the semester, but I agreed. I didn't get much in the way of lasting ideas, but one thing he taught me is this:


For the final test in the class, he wrote two seemingly unrelated sentences on the chalk board. He told us we had to begin a short story (500 words) with the first sentence and end it with the second sentence. That, I have to admit, was a tough challenge. The two seemed to have nothing to do with each other. But I began, knowing I had to connect them somehow. Well, to make a long story short, I got the only "A" on the test, and one of the few in the class.


So, since then, I've tried to write all my fiction that way. Create a hook for the opening, then work toward the final that I've pre-created for the story.

Maybe that bit of advice will help you too.

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Got back the first round of edits from my editor at Limitless Publishers. So far, he hasn't identified much in the way of content. He's mostly found punctuation issues. I think he is using a different standard than I've been taught. He only sent me the first 100 pages. That's about 1/3 of the total pages. Now, all I gotta do is find time to review the edits and agree or disagree with them.

So, for all you faithful followers who want to see what's involved in getting your novel published (either indi or trad) hang in there with me and I'll show you all the horrors (ha ha ha).

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For all of you faithful followers (all 2 or 3 of you) who have been following me faithfully to experience with me the struggles and frustrations of a would-be author, first you followed me through the querying process that took several years and still did not bear any fruit, but I got a publisher anyway by using a reference from a published author - and I thank you Tressa Jones.

Now, wow! It's been over a week and I'm feeling overwhelmed by what Limitless is asking me to do to get my novel ready for publication. I've had to go over my manuscript and format it to Limitless's requirements, and doing pre-edits, and they're giving me a tight schedule to get it done. Next, I will need to go over their editor's comments and edits and approve or change or reject them.

Marketing is going to be the next big effort. I'm anxious to see how they do it, and what they will expect me to do.

Hang in there my faithful followers. It aint' over 'till it's over.

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Back in October I asked: If any of you (1 or 2 of you) would like to review my novel, I'd be very open to letting you do that, but I need an honest critique and I can't pay anything. However, I would be open to paying a percentage of the advance and royalties, assuming there are any.

Any takers?

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After my last post, it occurred to me that some of you (all 1 or 2 of you) might not get what I was talking (writing) about. They didn't get that I was talking about publishing my novel, that I still prefer to have a traditional publisher publish my novel.

A lot of writers are self-publishing lately, but when I consider the quality of self-published books, there's a much greater chance the book will not be a quality work. Publishers (at least most of them) know and only accept quality work to publish. With self-publishing there's no guarantee.

Sure, some self-published work is great, well done. But I tend to think most are trashy with little or no editing. Let's face it. Hiring an professional editor is expensive. I can't afford it. And that's a huge reason I need to go traditional.

On another subject, sort of. I've sent out nearly 20 query letters so far in the past month. Here's to not holding my breath. I intend to send out more. I've heard back from 3 or 4 of them, all negative with no helpful notes, but I ain't given' up.

Wish me luck.

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Reworking my query - again. I hate writing query letters, but I guess they're a necessary evil if you ever want to be published.

Because of the rewrite of my novel, a new query is needed. I think what I have could work, but I'm still open to comments and critiquing. I've posted it at a couple of sites that do query reviews. I'm hoping they will help me get to a quality query.

Wish me luck, all 1 or 2 of you.

Thanks

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Finally finished the rewrite of my novel I'm calling "Vengeance and Vindication" (V&V) for now. It's about 490 pages, 85,000 words. It's about a young man who loses his family in a fiery automobile accident on the Carquinez Bridge and struggles to be accepted at a new high school in the shadow of the bridge where his family died, while trying to discover who caused the accident.

I think I'm ready to resume sending out query letters now. Wish me luck, all 1 or 2 of you.

If any of you (1 or 2 of you) would like to review it for me, I'd be open to that, but I need an honest critique and I can't pay anything. However, I would be open to paying a percentage of the advance and royalties, assuming there are any.

Any takers?

You can contact me at paulwwest@q.com.

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Not a whole lot has been happening in the writing arena. I'm working on some final (???) edits to my novel I'm now calling Vengeance & Vindication. Does that title have a nicer ring than Bridge to Destiny? Let me know, all 1 or 2 of you, what you think. Personally, while it's a bit big, I think it coveys the main theme in the story better.

What do you (all 1 or 2 of you) think?

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I think I posted about a company, that will remain nameless, that wanted $700 to market my novel to agents and publishers. As I'm going through my novel, making major and minor changes, I'm realizing more and more that this company is a scam. They claimed to have read my novel and made some comments (that I agree helped a little). But as I'm going through my novel, I'm becoming more and more aware that they couldn't have read the entire thing. In their comments, they totally missed the meaning of the novel. I really think all they wanted was my money, regardless whether or not the book is publishable.

Fat chance!!!

Keep following (all 1 or 2 of you). I'm sure I'll have many more exciting adventures along the publishing trail as time goes by.

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Hi Fans (all 1 or 2 of you),

This week I don't have much to comment on. I've been too busy to do much of my writing, just the writing I need to do for my "real" job.

I have, however, found a few minutes here and there and I'm still working on the revision of my novel. I think this revision is going great! I can feel it coming on the way it was meant when I first started to write this so many years ago.

I can't wait to finish it so I can, once again, start marketing it.

Then, I'm anxious to resume work on GERTA! and Johnny Sweeting's Story.

More about them later. Keep with me. It's got to get better.

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I'm so glad I have so many followers (all 1 or 2 of you), ha, ha, ha.

Oh, well. Keep posted and I'll let you know about the progress I'm making with my first novel, Bridge to Destiny. Yesterday, I decided to change the title to something more catching. I'm not calling it "Retribution and Vindication." You'll have to read the book to discover why the name change. Frankly, it fits the story better, but I may change it again.

Following the advice of that group that wants to charge me $700 to market my book to agents or publishing houses, I am revising the story. I've completely done away with the first chapter where I described in some detail the accident that started the ball (story) rolling. Now, Mark, the MC, starts by describing his sadness over losing most of his family but he doesn't remember any of it, even though he was there. Eventually, he will start remembering, but the whole accident won't be revealed to him until the climax of the book.

I won't bore you with those details, ha, ha, ha. But reading it earlier today, I still find it very suspenseful and even frightening.

Wish me luck as I revise the entire novel.

And in the meantime, my two other novels are sitting on the proverbial shelf.

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For all of you (all 1 or 2 of you) who are new to this site, just a word of explanation. I have written one complete novel and am working on two others. The first novel I am tentatively calling Bridge to Destiny, or B2D for short. It is set in my childhood community of Crockett California and in particular my alma mater, John Swett High School, in 1965, the year I graduated. It's about a young man (seventeen) who loses his family on the Carquinez Bridge and vows to get even with whoever cause the accident that killed his family. Of course there is a lot more to it than that, including a love story, but that should give you some idea of what my novel is about. I'm currently searching for an agent and/or publisher if anyone knows of one who might be interested in handling my novel. I'll fill you in on the other two novels later. Stay tuned.

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