 Red Room Writer Profile
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Lisa Shearin's Blog
September 16, 2009
- Rose asks: "I was wondering if you could give a budding author some advice. Since the age of five, I've been writing stories. However, I haven't been able to finish any; writer's block gets me every time. Any advice on how to over come writer's block?"First of all, a question for you. Do you plot out your stories and have an ending in mind before you ...
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August 11, 2009
- A reader question: How do you keep your mind focused on one project at a time? I find that my mind wanders to new ideas. Is that an omen that the current project is no good? Sometimes I just have too many ideas, not all in the same genre, but not enough time to dedicate to them. How do you make sure you don't lose your focus? Great question! And to tell you the truth, a great problem to have. My ...
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July 27, 2009
- Another reader question: What if, when I decide to send my manuscript out, I only get rejections? How many rejections do I need to get before I should start thinking about how to fix my project? How many rejections does it take to say that I should move on to something else?Great question. And the answer is that there is no definitive number. I've never heard of an author who queried an agent ...
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July 24, 2009
- Today's reader question is actually four questions. (cracks knuckles in preparation). It's Friday, so I think I'm up for the challenge.1. How much time should you spend developing a character?2. Am I moving my story forward?3. How do I figure out what happens next?4. Keeping your hopes up while looking for an agent.Character development -- Back when I started writing, I'd do the character ...
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July 15, 2009
- How do you keep motivated to write after rejection?Answer: It ain't easy. Rejection hurts. Self-doubt happens. Writing is personal; it's a part of you. To have a part of you rejected hurts. There's no getting around that. However, to keep going in this business (and yes, it is a business), you have to change that part of your thinking. Yes, what you write is a part of you, but you can't take that ...
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July 13, 2009
- Another great reader question: When sending a story to an agent is it best to pitch to a number of agents at a time or is it polite to approach them individually and wait for a reply?It's accepted in the industry that when you're contacting agents you'll be submitting queries to multiple agents at the same time. Most agents are pretty quick to respond, but even they can get bogged under by the ...
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July 10, 2009
- Another reader queston: So, what if you're writing a book that's not a series? Since fantasy readers like series books, how big of a problem is it for a writer to be writing a non-series fantasy book? I know Guy Gavriel Kay and Brandon Sanderson have done it, but I also know that just because someone else has done something doesn't mean it will work for me. And yet three of my four books in one ...
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July 9, 2009
- A reader question: What is the best way to set up a series when you may only be able to sell the first book? Should I tell agents it's a series? And how cliff hangery of an ending should one do if there may be a chance that book one will have to stand alone?When I submitted Magic Lost, Trouble Found to agents, I told them flat-out that it was "the first novel in my fantasy detective ...
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June 18, 2009
- For me, coming up with a plot for a book and writing a synopsis isn't quite the same thing, but one leads to the other by necessity. (Editors like to see before they buy.) I'm highly organized and methodical -- my writing brain is the exact opposite (kinda like Felix and Oscar for you fans of classic TV). Books come to me in snippets of dialogue, pieces of scenes, chunks of chapters. I know ...
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June 9, 2009
- When it comes to magic in my books, I'm from the KISS school (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Either that or make it logical. When I'm reading a book, I'll buy almost anything if the author either makes it easy to understand or logical enough to believe.Whenever I find myself questioning whether I can do something of a magical nature in my books, I always say: "If Jim can have a re-aminated, zombie ...
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June 4, 2009
- A co-worker of mine sent this to me yesterday. Considering I'm in the last week of writing Bewitched & Betrayed, I thought it was perfectly timed. And I thought it was great advice for any of us who work too hard and play too little. Enjoy.A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked'How heavy is this glass of water?' Answers called out ...
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June 2, 2009
- Come over and join me today at Bitten by Books. I'm doing an interview and live chat where I'll be answering your questions and of course chatting with you. (The link above will go live when the interview and chat begin at 10:30 Central US time.)But in the meantime, you can enjoy the fabulous review of The Trouble with Demons posted on Bitten by Books this morning.But what I can give away are ...
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May 28, 2009
- I've recently been asked how do I know when I'm ready to start writing a book.Before I dive in to start Chapter 1 of a book, I do a LOT of brainstorming, fine-tuning my plot, expanding on some ideas, and doing some general "what if?" brainstorming. I have a massive (almost 300 pages now) notes file that I've been piling scenes, dialogue, ideas into for years.In my story arc, I know the ...
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May 27, 2009
- I've received a lot of emails from writers ready to start submitting their work. A word of warning, this process can take longer than your eventual agent finding a publisher for your book. But getting the perfect agent for you is so worth the wait and work. Now, how to go about finding a good agent. While there are tons of good agents, you want to find the right ...
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May 20, 2009
- I'm hard at work on Chapter 24 of Bewitched & Betrayed -- though that's the ultimate understatement. I have two chapters to write in two weeks, plus some tweaks throughout the manuscript, then put the 25 separate chapter files together into one file. Then comes spellchecking, formatting, adding headers, page numbers, and generally making sure it looks good before I load it into an email for ...
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