On Writing Without Eyeglasses…Guest Post by Holly Schindler

On Writing Without Eyeglasses…

I graduated with my master’s degree in the spring of 2001, and decided to nix the idea of a full-time job in order to pursue a writing career—my lifelong dream. This was possible, of course, only because of the incredible—INCREDIBLE—financial support I received from my family. I know—very ROOM OF ONE’S OWN. That support allowed me the freedom to spend my time drafting enough manuscripts to form a pile that stretches from the floor to the ceiling in my office! A mere (ahem) seven and a half years after grad school, I snagged my first publishing deal…A BLUE SO DARK, my debut novel, was released in May 2010.

…After all that time spent writing project after project, if I could give writers just one piece of drafting advice? Take off your glasses.





Yup, take ‘em off completely…





I drafted the entirety of A BLUE SO DARK in late 2006…only took about two months. The reason I was able to write at such an incredible pace was because I took my glasses off as I wrote—I’m so nearsighted, the print COMPLETELY disappeared from my screen. The beautiful part was, if I couldn’t SEE what I’d just written, I couldn’t second-guess it. So my internal editor was silenced. Completely. And it really didn’t take any effort to silence her. She was just…gone.





Sure, the book was revised globally about four different times in the next two years. But revising for me is always far easier than drafting. I’d much prefer to be reworking something that’s already down in draft form than trying to come up with something from scratch.





…And one thing I’ve heard repeatedly from bloggers about BLUE is that it’s honest… But I think the reason I GOT that honesty is because of the blind first draft. That stark truthfulness was there from the get-go.

So, all you drafters out there (even those of you currently in the midst of NaNoWriMo), put those glasses down—or turn off or cover your screen…Remove the temptation to read that last sentence. Not only will your internal editor fade away, but you’ll actually forget about the potential audience, too…It’ll just be you and your words flowing as naturally as the thoughts in your own head…Which will make YOUR book brutally honest, and your main character seem flesh-and-blood real!



--Holly Schindler

Laura Bickle - Guest Blogger

Today at Fiction Flurry, Urban Fantasy author Laura Bickle talks about her experience with an annual November tradition. Nope, it's not Thanksgiving.  We'll let Laura tell you more about it.

But first, we want to say a big THANK YOU to Laura for hanging out with the Fiction Flurry crew this week. We've had a lot of fun working with Laura and hope she'll come back again soon - maybe when her new book ROGUE ORACLE is released?  What do you say, Laura? 

Followers, if you want Laura to return, please make her feel welcome by commenting generously.  As an added bonus, anyone who comments (on any of Laura's posts this week) will TRIPLE their chances of winning Laura's newest book, SPARKS. Laura is giving away an autographed copy of SPARKS to one lucky winner this week.  See the Contest Tuesday post for additional details. (and if you missed it, check out Laura's interview here.)

So now, the moment you've all been waiting for....Laura, the blog is yours.

Why I Love NaNoWriMo

The blank page is the most intimidating force in the universe to me.

It says nothing, and it's likely to say nothing. I fight against all that white space, trying to fill it, wondering how a ream of blank paper becomes a book. I used to take years to finish a book. I'd pick it up, put it down. I'd ignore it for weeks or months. I'd lose my place, go back, get sucked into editing. I'd wander into internet research, never to return. I had no deadline, nothing external to make me finish.

A friend in my writer's group mentioned National Novel Writing Month. I wrinkled my forehead and asked her:

"What's that?"

"It's an online challenge to write fifty thousand words in a month."

"No kidding?"

That sounded like a complete impossibility. After all, it took me YEARS to finish a book. How could anyone possibly do fifty thousand words in A MONTH? In a month, with a full-time job and other commitments?

"Sure. You should try it."

"Um. Okay."

I was doubtful. Really skeptical.

But I gave it a shot.

And I learned more in that crazy month than I did in years of plinking around with the same book. Laundry piled up. Sleep was at a premium. But I learned the most important secrets to writing a novel that contributed to me becoming a published writer:

•  Integrating writing into my daily life. NaNoWriMo requires that one keep a pace of around 1600 words a day. It became easier and easier for me to fold that into my life, to keep the momentum going.
• Suspending the dreaded inner editor. My inner editor can become quite vicious. NaNoWriMo allows me to hold her at bay for weeks, allowing me to get the skeleton of a story down on the page.  
• NaNo taught me to finish. Completing a manuscript is the most important thing that a writer can do to further her career. And doing it again. And again.

My 2008 NaNoWriMo novel, DARK ORACLE (under my Alayna Williams pseudonym), was published in June 2010 by Pocket Books. My 2009 NaNoWriMo book, ROGUE ORACLE, will be published in March 2011.

I use the skills I learned in NaNoWriMo in all the novels I write. I've learned to write quickly, to write daily, and to complete a story over and over. At the end of NaNoWriMo, I certainly don't have a complete eighty thousand word manuscript. But I have the skeleton of a book, something that I can build upon.

And I'm no longer facing the terror of the blank page. I know that it won't be blank for long. Within a few weeks, I'll be on my way to something wonderful.

Well said, Laura! For more information on Laura and her books, check out her website.

So tell us, are planning on participating in NaNoWriMo?  Have you participated in the past? We would love to hear about your experiences.

Guest Blogger - Angela Carlie

Give it up for our guest blog winner Angela Carlie. She has a great post today regarding the Young Adult genre. So without further ado, here's Angela...



Hello Fiction Flurry Peeps.

Writing YA fiction over the last couple of years has come natural to me, probably because I sometimes think I’m still a teenager. It may also have to do with the fact that I totally love the genre and try to gobble up all the YA books I can.

What makes published YA authors so in-tune with teens of this era? I don’t know. What I do know is, as writers for this genre, we need to appreciate our audience in order to speak on their level and without talking down.

We also need to be compassionate and hold our hearts and minds open to the struggles our audience faces. It’s a tough world out there. Many of the most important decisions we make in life happen in our teenage years. Some don’t survive. Lives are altered with a single taste of alcohol, one drag off a joint, one hit, one roll in the sack, one fight, one failed test. That’s all it takes sometimes, just one.

In my journey to present my stories for teens to the world, I’ve learned that living young today is drastically different than it was eighteen…eh…a few years ago. To be aware and make others aware of the issues teens live with, I’ve decided to interview them to find out what it is that they worry about, that haunts them, that makes them happy, and what makes them sad. I’ve tried to keep each interview authentic and real, meaning I’m not going to alter their words, grammar, or punctuation.

Most importantly, the interviews will be posted on my blog to be a resource for teens, too—a place for them to read about others their age struggling with the same situations or worse.

Some interviews are done via email and others, like this one, via chat. The interviewees are informed that they do not have to answer any questions they don’t feel comfortable answering and may end the interview at any time. They also know that these interviews will be posted on the blog. If the interviewee seems upset in anyway, the interview ends and we discuss getting help for him/her.

Today, we meet a 13 (almost 14) year old girl. I call her Denim because she is strong.

Me: What grade are you in?
DENIM: 8th grade and I love it.
Me: What do you like so far about the 8th grade?
DENIM: Seeing friends and I like some classes.
Me: What’s your favorite classes?
DENIM: Media
Me: What’s that?
DENIM: Where you take pictures of kids and interview kids for the school newspaper.
Me: Awesome! Do you write articles, too?
DENIM: yes I write articles! (: I love taking pictures most though
Me: That’s great to hear. Do you think you might go into photography when you are older?
DENIM: hmm. Im really not sure it’s a possibility but im not sure what im going to do when I get older yet.
Me: Fair enough. Do you have any major accomplishments that you are proud of and you’d like to chat about?
DENIM: like what kind?
Me: Anything. Have you had to overcome any obstacles in school or your life? Or maybe you won a contest or perhaps had to make a big decision. Maybe just passing math was an accomplishment! Haha
DENIM: i was voted most creative writer in the class. And ive been on the honor roll.
Me: I LOVE both those accomplishments!  How were you judged about the writing? Did you write a story?
DENIM: yeah. We got judged by ever essay/story we wrote in 7th grade.
Me: Nice. Congratulations.
DENIM: thank you
Me: Do you participate in any extra-curricular activities? Sports, drama, music, dance or anything else?
DENIM: Choir in 6th grade. & ive done soccer for 4 years.
Me: Do you plan on continuing with any of those?
DENIM: yeah I love soccer. But I was late for sign ups this year
Me: Are you participating in anything this year?
DENIM: I don’t know yet
Me: What kind of issues are you most worried about right now? In school or home.
DENIM: At school not really anything. At home is pretty goot too. But im hoping to get a picture of my brother and sister.
Me: So, you don’t worry about anything?
DENIM: well I worry im not going to get a visit with my biological mom.
Me: What do you mean about by a picture of your brother and sister?
Me: That’s a big worry. Do you get to visit her often?
DENIM: they don’t live with me. they live with her
DENIM: And no. I don’t
Me: I’m sorry. How long have you been apart from them?
DENIM: all my life I was adopted. But my biological mom lives in (edited out name of town—same town as Denim). She got to keep her 2 children the rest are adopted
Me: How many brothers and sisters do you have? How old were you when you were adopted?
DENIM: biologically? And (edited out age—when she was a baby)
Me: Both.
DENIM: well my brothers and sister who got adopted to other families a had 4.
And I have on brother now
Me: So you have six total biological siblings and one sibling from your adopted family?
Me: May I ask why your mother had to give you up for adoption?
DENIM: yes. And drug problems
Me: Have you known your mother your entire life or did she just recently come back into your life?
DENIM: I haven’t really known her that much but ive seen her around town and talked to her. She sends me letters.
Me: Is she off drugs now?
DENIM: she was clean for about a year but I recently heard she is back on drugs.
Me: I’m sorry. I’m glad you live in a safe environment now, away from drug use.
DENIM: Yeah. Thank you.
Me: Do you worry about the two siblings that still live with her? That must be hard.
DENIM: Yes. I heard that they have drug users living with them like a couple people.
Me: What do your adoptive parents think about you keeping in contact with her?
DENIM: They don’t want me to that much until she is clean. And off drugs
Me: I can understand. Do you know anyone else who has used drugs?
DENIM: yeah I know people that smoke weed
Me: What do you plan on doing if any of your friends ask you to try it?
DENIM: JUST SAY NO! (: hah aim not getting pulled into that stuff.
Me: That’s GREAT!
Me: Do you want to talk to about your cousin?
DENIM: what one
Me: The one with cancer.
DENIM: okay.
Me: Were you very close to him?
DENIM: not super close but pretty close.
Me: Was he sick for very long?
DENIM: yeah he was fighting cancer for 3 years
DENIM: it was all over
Me: I bet that was tough. How old was he?
DENIM: yeah. And in his late 30s. I think 38. Im not sure
Me: I’m sorry. How are you doing with it? Are you okay?
DENIM: yeah im okay. I don’t know why but I never seam to be sad and cry when someone dies. He wasn’t happy with the cancer.
Me: That’s a very mature response. Have you know many people who have died?
DENIM: Not really by Grandma did a few years ago.
Me: Do you have someone you can talk with about it if you need to?
DENIM: yeah.
(skipping through several questions/comments)
Me: So now, some important questions…lol
DENIM: haha
Me: Do you read many books?
DENIM: not that much there are a few books I love.
Me: Which ones?
DENIM: Small Steps. The Outsider
Me: Nice. What makes a good book?
DENIM: im reading now…Charlie St. Cloud
Hmm…a good topic
Me: I’m glad to hear you’re reading. What kind of topics do you like to read about?
DENIM: mystery books
Me: Cool beans
DENIM: haha yeah!
Me: What’s your favorite movie? Favorite food?
DENIM: Charlie St. Cloud. Haha I recently watched it. When it came out. I love Italian food!
Me: I haven’t seen it yet. I’ll have to check it out. I love pasta!
Me: If you could be an object or animal, what would it be and why?
DENIM: probably a dolphin! Hah they r so funny and I love the water
Me: Dolphins are very smart and peaceful creatures, too.
Thank you, Denim. You are a very strong girl and I wish you all the best in life.

Thank you, too, Fiction Flurry for allowing me to be a guest blogger. You Rock!

For all you Fiction Flurry peeps out there, you may check out more interviews as they are posted on my blog: http://www.angelacarlie.blogspot.com/

Peace out!

Thanks, Angela for this informative post on the YA perspective. Tell us, Flurriers, what do you want to know about YA fiction?

Calling all Bloggers

We are doing something a little different today here at Fiction Flurry. It's Contest Tuesday time again, but instead of giving away something physical, like a book, we're giving the gift of forum. That's right, you have the opportunity to win a Guest Blog spot right here at Fiction Flurry.

Do you have a writing or publishing topic you've been dying to talk about? A discussion you want to have with other writers? Have you been wanting to blog but aren't sure where to start?

This is your chance to shine!

The winner of this week's contest will win a Guest Blog spot here at Fiction Flurry at a date of your choosing within the next 60 days, plus you will receive a permanent link from Fiction Flurry to your blog for a whole year.

Please keep blog subjects within the writing/publishing world.

To enter, leave a comment below describing the topic you would like to blog about. Originality is encouraged.