In celebration of her upcoming book release I have author K.C. Blake here today to talk a little to young writers, first though here is a snippet of her upcoming release:
A magical game of Hide N Seek begins.
Find the missing player and win.
The game resets, everyone forgets, and they start to play it again.
No one can hide a secret from teen reporter Starr Hughes, not for long. She will go to any lengths to uncover a good story. Hiding under the headmaster’s desk, planting listening devices, and breaking into a person’s locker are just a few of the ways she gathers information. Nothing drives her crazier than an unsolved mystery. That’s why it bothers her so much that Jade Wilcox killed herself without leaving a suicide note. Why would a popular sixteen-year-old do that?
Jade’s sudden death isn’t the only mystery in the small New England town. There are a group of kids at school—the It-Squad—and they are about to play a secretive game at school. Starr is determined to uncover everything about them. She has to. The boy she loves is one of them and if he’s up to something wicked, she wants to know. In the end Starr will get her story, even if she winds up like Jade.
This April I will be releasing the second book in my Witch-Game novel series. In case you forgot, the first book was Crushed. Witch Hunt has a new set of characters and a new game.
Advice for Young Writers
One of the most frequent questions I hear writers asked is about advice for beginning writers. That’s why I decided to do this post. There are a variety of things new writers need to know. I was twelve when I first started writing, and I found things out by trial and error. It would have been so much easier if I’d had a writer to talk to or a good book on the subject. Now there is no way for me to tell you everything you should know here and now, but I want to at least get you on the right path. Here are the best pieces of advice that I can give.
Know Your Characters: It’s important to know your characters before you start to write. Some people may disagree with me, but I’ve found that knowing everything about my characters before I begin chapter one helps me to keep going. I keep a notebook filled with details about each character. Little things like how they sleep, what they eat for breakfast, and what they do when they get upset help me to get to know each one. Of course every writer is different. You will have to learn what works the best for you. Me? I enjoy the details.
Read as Many Book as You Can: This is a given, right? You’d be surprised at how many writers push aside the need to read in favor of other activities, but reading is extremely important. Sometimes I read for fun. Sometimes I read to learn. When you do the latter, pay attention to how you feel while reading the book. If a certain scene pulls a strong emotional response from you, ask yourself why. What did the writer do to achieve this?
There are also times when you’ll be yanked from the story. The writer uses flowery prose that make you laugh. Or they put something that is ridiculous in the book, something that makes you shake your head and say, “That couldn’t happen.” Pay attention to when these things happen and make note of it. Then you’ll know what to avoid in your own writing.
To Outline or Not To Outline: This another thing that every writer has to figure out on their own. Some writers claim they don’t even use an outline and just write from start to finish, allowing the story to unfold without a lot of careful planning. Personally, I always make a detailed outline. I write scenes on index cards and put them on a bulletin board. Then I can move them around, shuffling scenes until things make sense. Looking at the board also helps me to see the holes in my plot.
Be Visible Online: In these days of online networking you MUST put yourself out there. Join social sites like Facebook and Twitter so you can meet new people, people who might be interested in reading your books someday. Join places like Goodreads because the people on Goodreads love to read, hence the name. Don’t be shy. It’s fun, and you can make friends with people you never would have met otherwise.
Study Your Craft: I’ve already pointed out the benefits of reading, but you should do a few other things too. Take a class in creative writing, go to seminars and workshops, and most of all you should write. Even if you don’t think it’s going anywhere. Even if you don’t think you have a good idea... write. Practice makes perfect.
And that’s my advice to beginning writers. I wish you lots of luck. Thank you for reading my post. :)
Crushed
K.C.'s Goodreads author page K.C. 's Twitter
A magical game of Hide N Seek begins.
Find the missing player and win.
The game resets, everyone forgets, and they start to play it again.
No one can hide a secret from teen reporter Starr Hughes, not for long. She will go to any lengths to uncover a good story. Hiding under the headmaster’s desk, planting listening devices, and breaking into a person’s locker are just a few of the ways she gathers information. Nothing drives her crazier than an unsolved mystery. That’s why it bothers her so much that Jade Wilcox killed herself without leaving a suicide note. Why would a popular sixteen-year-old do that?
Jade’s sudden death isn’t the only mystery in the small New England town. There are a group of kids at school—the It-Squad—and they are about to play a secretive game at school. Starr is determined to uncover everything about them. She has to. The boy she loves is one of them and if he’s up to something wicked, she wants to know. In the end Starr will get her story, even if she winds up like Jade.
This April I will be releasing the second book in my Witch-Game novel series. In case you forgot, the first book was Crushed. Witch Hunt has a new set of characters and a new game.
Advice for Young Writers
One of the most frequent questions I hear writers asked is about advice for beginning writers. That’s why I decided to do this post. There are a variety of things new writers need to know. I was twelve when I first started writing, and I found things out by trial and error. It would have been so much easier if I’d had a writer to talk to or a good book on the subject. Now there is no way for me to tell you everything you should know here and now, but I want to at least get you on the right path. Here are the best pieces of advice that I can give.
Know Your Characters: It’s important to know your characters before you start to write. Some people may disagree with me, but I’ve found that knowing everything about my characters before I begin chapter one helps me to keep going. I keep a notebook filled with details about each character. Little things like how they sleep, what they eat for breakfast, and what they do when they get upset help me to get to know each one. Of course every writer is different. You will have to learn what works the best for you. Me? I enjoy the details.
Read as Many Book as You Can: This is a given, right? You’d be surprised at how many writers push aside the need to read in favor of other activities, but reading is extremely important. Sometimes I read for fun. Sometimes I read to learn. When you do the latter, pay attention to how you feel while reading the book. If a certain scene pulls a strong emotional response from you, ask yourself why. What did the writer do to achieve this?
There are also times when you’ll be yanked from the story. The writer uses flowery prose that make you laugh. Or they put something that is ridiculous in the book, something that makes you shake your head and say, “That couldn’t happen.” Pay attention to when these things happen and make note of it. Then you’ll know what to avoid in your own writing.
To Outline or Not To Outline: This another thing that every writer has to figure out on their own. Some writers claim they don’t even use an outline and just write from start to finish, allowing the story to unfold without a lot of careful planning. Personally, I always make a detailed outline. I write scenes on index cards and put them on a bulletin board. Then I can move them around, shuffling scenes until things make sense. Looking at the board also helps me to see the holes in my plot.
Be Visible Online: In these days of online networking you MUST put yourself out there. Join social sites like Facebook and Twitter so you can meet new people, people who might be interested in reading your books someday. Join places like Goodreads because the people on Goodreads love to read, hence the name. Don’t be shy. It’s fun, and you can make friends with people you never would have met otherwise.
Study Your Craft: I’ve already pointed out the benefits of reading, but you should do a few other things too. Take a class in creative writing, go to seminars and workshops, and most of all you should write. Even if you don’t think it’s going anywhere. Even if you don’t think you have a good idea... write. Practice makes perfect.
And that’s my advice to beginning writers. I wish you lots of luck. Thank you for reading my post. :)
Crushed
K.C.'s Goodreads author page K.C. 's Twitter
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