Tag Archives: Windfall

Bend the Rules when you Write!.

I’ve been feeling very creative lately and my writing has been going well.

FINDING VERITY is now over 51,000 words and I’m excited about the novel’s progress. I’ve experienced some doubts about my planned ending but I’m nowhere near to having to make that choice. I have hope that the problem will resolve itself.

I started the ANGEL’S KISS, DEVIL’S MARK screenplay and finished the first ten pages. I admit to feeling apprehensive about writing the screenplay because it’s been over six months since I’ve written in that format. But, I found it was like riding a bike. I jumped on and started to pedal, and the first ten pages flowed. When I’m finished with the screenplay I plan on putting the story in novel format. This is what I did with WINDFALL and that worked well for me. (Angel’s Kiss, Devil’s Mark is Windfall’s sequel.)

So, now I’m in the process of writing a novel and a screenplay at one time, and it’s interesting. I wasn’t sure I could do it but now that I’ve started, I know it’s possible. Both stories are blocked (outlined). I know the plots and characters well enough so I’m not confusing the two projects.

I’ve found that, since I’ve returned to writing novels, my thoughts on “screenplay format” have relaxed. There are voluminous ways to write a novel. Because of this, I wondered why there have to be so many rules related to screenplay format? Of course, until you’ve proven yourself as a screenwriter, you need to “play by the rules.”  But, screenplays (when compared to novels) haven’t been around very long and it (the screenplay) remains an evolving art.

Bottom line, what the writer should be most concerned about, is the story. And a story has to have a beginning, middle, and end. I asked myself, if all stories aren’t identical then why do formats have to be identical? In my opinion, a screenwriter or a novelist should stay as close to the “rules” as possible. But if bending the rules a bit allows the writer to show the story better then, in my opinion, bend away!

Writing with PASTA!

Windfall’s Sequel Will be Titled…

Angel’s Kiss, Devil’s Mark

Zack’s eighteen year old daughter, Milly, comes home after being kidnapped when she was a toddler. Zack’s efforts over those years, blogging about children being kidnapped, writing a book about how families cope when their children are kidnapped, are behind him and, all he wants, now, is to get to know his daughter. But, a few weeks after she arrives home, Milly is kidnapped again. Zack commits himself to getting to the bottom of his daughter’s disappearance, and his investigation takes him into the underbelly of society. The truths he faces are despicable and, as he descends into an indescribable world, he learns that what you see is not necessarily the truth.

Angel’s Kiss, Devil’s Mark

To be written in 2012!  Screenplay first, and then the novel…

Constructive Criticism

I wish Amazon would require people who “review” books to back up negative statements with facts, including examples and/or suggestions.

This past week, I received my first “negative” review about WINDFALL. The reviewer gave the novel two stars out of five. Basically, there were two complaints.

First, the reviewer thought Windfall wasn’t a thriller. My question is, if it’s not a thriller then what is it? There was no opinion offered. The reviewer merely stated the book wasn’t thrilling. This particular comment doesn’t bother me too much because choosing a genre is rather subjective. Many books can be classified in several genres. But, I wish I’d been given an opinion as to what genre the reader thought Windfall should be in.

Secondly, the review stated Windfall had frequent grammatical errors. I had numerous people read the novel before I published it and none of them said a thing about grammar. They had a lot to say about characters or story line but nothing about grammar.

Now, I’m not saying Windfall has no errors. I am, after all, human, and I don’t have a professional editor watching my back. But when a reviewer states a novel has frequent grammatical errors, I truly think they should back up their statement with facts. Did the reviewer find one error or several hundred errors. By using the word frequent the reviewer states the writer constantly made mistakes. And, in this case, I think the reviewer is wrong.

Liking or disliking a book can be a very subjective thing.

But, when a reviewer is negative about something specific, it would be helpful if they backed up their comment with facts and/or suggestions.

It’s called CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.

Charles Dickens