On Friday I went to the library and  found TWO James Patterson books I had not read yet. So, I checked both out and read them this week-end.

Whenever I’m in the mood for a fast-moving, thrill-a-minute read, I go for a James Patterson book. I’ve never been disappointed and I wasn’t disappointed this week-end.

The two books I read were NOW YOU SEE HER by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, and KILL ME IF YOU CAN by James Patterson and Marshal Karp.

The protagonist in Now You See Her is a female lawyer who is also a single mother.  She has a secret from her college days that catches up with her eighteen years later. I loved the relationship between the mother and her daughter. As with most Patterson stories, there’s a twist at the end most readers won’t see coming.

In Kill Me If You Can the protagonist Matthew Bannon is an art student who falls in love with an art teacher. This story kept me guessing from page one to the end. Of the two books I liked this one the best. It seemed like every chapter brought a new surprise. The one thing I really liked about this story is how many layers there were to the protagonist’s character.

Neither of these books will disappoint. Both are solid plot-driven stories that are hard to put down once you start them.

In case you are wondering, both of these books are available for purchase on Amazon.

]]> http://faithfnelson.com/2012/02/05/i-spent-the-weekend-with-james-patterson/feed/ 0 Faith Now You See Her Kill Me If You Can http://faithfnelson.com/2012/02/04/blocking-or-beating-a-story/ http://faithfnelson.com/2012/02/04/blocking-or-beating-a-story/#comments Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:28:56 +0000 Faith Friese Nelson http://faithfnelson.com/?p=3078 ]]> This week my writing has focused on two stories. I’m blocking out the sequel to Windfall (Windfall is currently for sale on Amazon.). And I’m in the middle of writing a new novel, Finding Verity.

Another word for “blocking” a story is “beating” out a story. In essence, I’m working on a type of outline. I block out a story by writing a paragraph about each scene. Writer’s choice! The paragraph can be  detailed or general. I  think of blocking as a kind of map. I have a starting point and an ending, but I need to list the steps that get me from Chapter One to “The End.”

Blocking Windfall’s sequel has been interesting. Because I know many of the characters I’ve been able to focus more on the plot. While I plot the story, I let the new characters “bake a little in my brain.” Like I did with Windfall, I will write the screenplay first and follow that screenplay with the novel.

As I write a paragraph about each BLOCK or BEAT of the story, I ask myself several questions. The first two questions are: WHO will be in the scene and WHAT will happen in the scene. The next question is: what is the scene’s PURPOSE. Why is the scene necessary?  If the story can be told without the scene, then maybe it’s not needed

The scene might introduce a new character or locale. It might create conflict, provide a transition, or do any number of other things. But, in all cases, each scene should (1) reveal something about a character or (2) move the story forward.

The way I write will not work for everyone. Many writers “write by the seat of their pants.” They start with a vague idea or a colorful character and then begin.  If this works for you, then HOORAH you don’t have to do as much work as I do. I’ve tried to write this way but find, without some kind of an outline, I get confused, my writing becomes unfocused, and I eventually get frustrated and lose interest in the project.

My progress on Finding Verity is steady because I know the story and it’s just a matter of getting it into my laptop. And, I know the story because, before I began writing, I blocked it out, and now I’m using that work as a guide. Every day I try to work on Finding Verity for two solid hours. I begin each day of writing by editing the previous days work so, in some ways, I’m working on the first and second draft at the same time. Right now the word count on Finding Verity is 29,347.

I’d love to hear how other writer’s approach their projects. Do you do a lot of prep work? Or do you write by the seat of your pants?

1910 – Reading in a Fire Station

I don’t believe Tim (the main character) lost anything. “Lose” means “to displace” and that is not what happened because Tim walked away from everything. When you read this story you might disagree, you might think he lost everything, and that is fine because this book will mean different things to different people.

Mr. Ferris’ writing is exquisite with breathtaking descriptions and emotional astuteness. While I read the book, I experienced both hate and love, and there were times when I was thinking, okay, enough already, get to the point. But, I suppose, if a book has the ability to draw out strong emotions, it is one of the things that makes it a good read.

I’m not going to get into the details of the storyline. I can only say it is a unique story and I will let you experience it firsthand. To me The Unnamed is a story about bravery but, also, about being afraid. It is a story about believing in the unbelievable, and it is a story about family. To me, The Unnamed is a love story along the same lines as The Time Traveler’s Wife (which is one of my all-time favorite books). And when you get to the end, I promise you, you will wonder if anyone loves you the way Tim’s wife loved him.

I read this book on my Kindle. And someday I will read it again.

Tell your friends. Tomorrow it goes back to $6.95.

Here’s the link!

The first novel is titled FINDING VERITY.   Its progress is solid and the current word count is 26,299 words.

The second novel I planned to write I’ve referred to as CURRENT NOVEL because I don’t have a title for it yet. But its progress has not gone well. Therefore, I’ve put Current Novel on the back burner.

But, my goal remains unchanged… I WILL write two novels in 2012.

My second novel will be WINDFALL’s sequel. (Windfall is currently available in Kindle or paperback formats on Amazon.)

I do know the sequel’s title but I can’t share it yet. Before I write the novel, I’m writing the screenplay, and I’ve entered the screenplay’s logline in MoviePoet’s logline contest. In this contest, the story’s title and logline are judged and, since entries must remain anonymous, I can’t reveal the title.

Wish me luck!

“W” is for Writing 

Enjoy!

If you are interested, here’s the link!

This book surprised me with its original story line and, I had a hard time putting it down once I started to read it. Upfront I’ll warn you, it’s not a book for everyone but I do believe there are a lot of readers who will enjoy this story.

Here’s the premise:  imagine you’re married with a child. One day you wake up but, instead of being in your own bed, you’re in a seedy hotel in another state and you have no idea how you got there. You try to call your spouse but you have no luck connecting. The action ramps up when you discover a message written in blood: LET THE GAME BEGIN.

And then you discover this game is a variation of one of our childhood favorites, “Simon Says!”

As I mentioned above, this book is not for everyone. It takes the premise behind reality television to a new dimension, a backstory that includes prostitution and child pornography is ever there, and in a way, the players become “slaves” to a “master”.

But it is a new slant on an old story line and I think some readers will love it. Like I said above, once I started it I couldn’t put it down.

I hope Mr. Swartwood is able to get Hollywood interested in this story because I think it would make a great movie. (In fact, if he wants to contact me I’d be glad to work with him on the screenplay.)

I read Man of Wax on my kindle. It is also available in a paperback format from Amazon.

I can’t see myself only writing in one genre. Yes, there are authors who only write novels that involve detectives and serial killers. And some writer’s pen only romance or historical sagas. But, I can’t see myself limiting myself.

My first novel WINDFALL was a dramatic thriller. However, next year when I write its sequel, I’m not going to limit myself to writing another dramatic thriller. It might end up being a dramatic thriller but it might be something entirely different. Right now I don’t know. I’m giving myself options.

This year I’m writing two novels. One is a coming of age story. The other is a paranormal romance.

I suppose if I was younger I might want to focus on one genre and become famous for that. Like Stephen King did with horror, or John Grisham did with novels about lawyers.

But I’m 60. At this point in my life I’m not going to limit myself.

I’m a writer, sometimes novels and sometimes screenplays, and I’m going to write what I want to write.

Writing Devices for the Blind in 1913 (Library for the Blind)

It starts with a rich collector who has discovered an early Abraham Lincoln document. The collector asks two people to authenticate the manuscript: Greg Evarts, a detective, and Patricia Baldwin, a professor. The professor, of course, is not only smart but stinking rich and beautiful. The novel has everything from intrigue and murder to romance.

The story begins in California and progresses to the historical east coast where the reader is introduced to private libraries, secret apartments, and shown how rich and powerful civil war descendants live. Conspiracies and secret societies from the Civil War era are unveiled in such a realistic manner that, when I finished the book, I actually did some research to separate fact from fiction.

This one is worth your time and attention.

If you read it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Current Novel needs a title. Right now I’m considering Perspicuous Dreams. Perspicuous means “clearly expressed” or “lucid”. I know a lot of people won’t know what perspicuous means but I have the same problem with verity. I am also considering Lucid Dreams.

Any thoughts on these two titles?