Today is the third day of my blog tour. I'm at Theresa Milstein's blog which she calls Theresa's Tales of Teaching Tribulations and Typing Teen Texts. Patrick Dilloway would be proud of such alliteration. I would appreciate a visit over there to say hi if you have the time.
Today I'm turning my blog over to a talented debut author named Alyson Burdette. I just purchased Nightfire two days ago on my Kindle and haven't gotten that far. But the prologue was good (Yes! she had the courage to write a prologue).
Why You Should Be Writing.
Some people think that it takes a certain sort of person to write a book. (Insert mental image of furrowed brows, typewriters and crumpled papers.) I, personally, think anyone can, and should write a book. Sure, it’s a lot of hard work and incredibly time consuming but the payoff is worth it. It’s a great feeling to know that you’ve finished something so few people do.
I also think that every individual has something unique and interesting to say. No one else in the world has your perspective, beliefs or experiences in the world. You can take your life experiences and put them into fictional characters, a memoir, a poem, or any other form you can think of. Writing is a great way to solidify and understand who you are as a person. It can be great therapy, or even a simple distraction to get you through a difficult time. And it’s a great way to share who you are with the world.
Think you don’t have time to write a book? Think about it this way. If you write just 1,000 words a day, in less than two months, you will have a short 50,000 word book put together. In four months at that pace you will have a 120,000 word book done. That’s writing 3-4 double spaced pages a day. If you write just a little at a time, it becomes a much more manageable task.
So if you are writing, Great! Keep doing it and try not to let the frustrations of the writing world overwhelm you. If you aren’t, why not start? There’s no better time than now.
Look, I did it. If I can do it, so can you. Just peek at the blurb below- my 60,000 word paranormal romance, Nightfire, was an idea floating in my head and now it’s an E-book. Real-live people can buy and read it.
Nightfire Blurb:
When a murder shakes the small town of Peninsula, all eyes are on Olivia Townsend. She may look eighteen, but the townspeople can sense there’s something darker hiding behind her pretty eyes. Olivia knows the smart thing to do is to get out of town. Suspicious neighbors can only mean trouble for a vampire. But leaving becomes much more difficult when William, a mysterious man from her past, arrives. Finding out what brought him back is a temptation Olivia just can’t resist. William’s kindness and interest in Olivia only makes leaving harder. As she starts to fall for him, she’s forced to decide if sticking around is really worth the risk of being discovered. Of course, her mystery man has a secret of his own-and he’s not talking.
I know everyone of you is capable of creating something amazing. So do it.
Alyson Burdette currently lives in a small town in Ohio. She graduated from The University of Akron, where she majored in Anthropology. When she’s not writing, she spends her time hiking, dancing, and hunting for ghosts.
You can find her at:
Some people think that it takes a certain sort of person to write a book. (Insert mental image of furrowed brows, typewriters and crumpled papers.) I, personally, think anyone can, and should write a book. Sure, it’s a lot of hard work and incredibly time consuming but the payoff is worth it. It’s a great feeling to know that you’ve finished something so few people do.
I also think that every individual has something unique and interesting to say. No one else in the world has your perspective, beliefs or experiences in the world. You can take your life experiences and put them into fictional characters, a memoir, a poem, or any other form you can think of. Writing is a great way to solidify and understand who you are as a person. It can be great therapy, or even a simple distraction to get you through a difficult time. And it’s a great way to share who you are with the world.
Think you don’t have time to write a book? Think about it this way. If you write just 1,000 words a day, in less than two months, you will have a short 50,000 word book put together. In four months at that pace you will have a 120,000 word book done. That’s writing 3-4 double spaced pages a day. If you write just a little at a time, it becomes a much more manageable task.
So if you are writing, Great! Keep doing it and try not to let the frustrations of the writing world overwhelm you. If you aren’t, why not start? There’s no better time than now.
Look, I did it. If I can do it, so can you. Just peek at the blurb below- my 60,000 word paranormal romance, Nightfire, was an idea floating in my head and now it’s an E-book. Real-live people can buy and read it.
Nightfire Blurb:
When a murder shakes the small town of Peninsula, all eyes are on Olivia Townsend. She may look eighteen, but the townspeople can sense there’s something darker hiding behind her pretty eyes. Olivia knows the smart thing to do is to get out of town. Suspicious neighbors can only mean trouble for a vampire. But leaving becomes much more difficult when William, a mysterious man from her past, arrives. Finding out what brought him back is a temptation Olivia just can’t resist. William’s kindness and interest in Olivia only makes leaving harder. As she starts to fall for him, she’s forced to decide if sticking around is really worth the risk of being discovered. Of course, her mystery man has a secret of his own-and he’s not talking.
I know everyone of you is capable of creating something amazing. So do it.
Alyson Burdette currently lives in a small town in Ohio. She graduated from The University of Akron, where she majored in Anthropology. When she’s not writing, she spends her time hiking, dancing, and hunting for ghosts.
You can find her at:
http://alysonburdette.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/AlysonBurdette
http://www.paranormalpursuits.net
or contact her by email:
Alyson_burdette@yahoo.com
Nightfire is available at
http://www.facebook.com/AlysonBurdette
http://www.paranormalpursuits.net
or contact her by email:
Alyson_burdette@yahoo.com
Nightfire is available at
and other major E-book retailers.
I would strongly disagree that anyone can or should write a book. The reason there's so much crap out there is because people think that way. Not everyone can write, just the way not everyone can paint, sculpt, draw, etc. It's an ART, which requires talent and dedication to your craft.
ReplyDeleteChecked out Theresa's post. Tweeted for you. Oh, and I love the premise of the book!
ReplyDelete@P.T.: Writing is only an art to some people. It's a business, plain and simple. I tend to look at it as an art and lament that it really isn't that way. But oh well.
ReplyDelete@S.A. Larsen: Oh thank you :)))
ReplyDeleteI was already at Theresa's. I went to follow Alyson. Thanks for the intro, Mike!
ReplyDeleteI'm somewhere in between Alyson and PT: I think people who want to write should write.
ReplyDeleteWhere I disagree with people is when people say writing is a chore or hard or "hell," as one person once did. If it's "HELL" why would you do it?
Writing, ideas, that stuff is easy for me.
EDITING is hell.
So I say, if you want to write, write. Everyone can do it; it's just that not everyone does it with the same degree of skill. But the more you work at it the better you'll get, just like playing piano, sculpting, or hitting a curveball.
The exception to that? Lay-ups in basketball. MY ENTIRE LIFE I've been trying to do one and I. Can. Not.
Thanks Michael for the heads up, I guess I didn't click on some of the options, my second youtube video so I am still learning the ropes.
ReplyDeleteCongrats and good luck to Alyson, the first commenter has a point but who decides who is good or bad, it's all relative as long as the writing is good, a decent storyline, interesting characters, well paced depending on the genre, and decently proof read and edited.
Besides, even the best books may find detractors.
Nice to meet you, Alyson. Best of luck with your book!
ReplyDeleteI loved this post. I look at writing as an art also... it taps into that right side of my brain that needs a creative release. And I love that so many teens are writing these days--such a healthy outlet. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael for hosting me and thanks for all the comments! I love reading them! I think I could have been clearer- I don't think everyone should try to be published, it's a hard world and not right for everyone. But I do think everyone should write for fun and expression. I've written plenty of things that will never see the light of day just to work through thoughts or ideas. Everyone can use writing as a way to escape.
ReplyDeleteHey, this does sound good! I'll check out the links.
ReplyDeleteI think my perspective on writing is somewhat like that bit from Ratatouille. Sure, anyone -can- write, so we shouldn't discourage anyone that wants to do it from trying. However, not everyone can write. Some people, for whatever reason, will never be able to craft a sentence, a paragraph, a chapter. The fact that most people don't read is, really, proof of this.
ReplyDeleteInspiring post! The difference between someone who wants to write and someone who writes is merely hard work.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your book, Alyson!
I'm happy to host you today, Michael. I don't have anything schedule until next week, so I'm going to comment on other blogs to get people visiting the whole time!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiration, Alyson. Enticing cover.
Andrew makes a good point.
ReplyDeleteI work at a steady pace, too. Congrats, Alyson, on your shiny, new book :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that everyone has a unique perspective that should be valued. Congrats on your book!!
ReplyDeleteAnyone can write. We need to remember that.
ReplyDeleteThose who don't want to won't. It's the ones that want to that think they can't that need the encouragement.
When I started, I could only manage a page of something a day. We all have to start with what we can manage. And that is enough.
Thoughtful post.
I was just over a Theresa's blog. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! I think there is a strong case for more people writing, though I'd agree with Liz above. I don't see why there should be such an impression that writing a story is an impossible goal.
This book sounds good. Thanks for doing this blog post on it. Yay for reading and finding out about more books to read. :D
ReplyDeletei have thought of writing my own story. but it is too colorful (hahaha) all the ingredients. as in everything...
ReplyDeletebtw, thanks for sharing this. something to check...
JJRod'z
I think it is sweet you think anyone can write. Actually you are correct but can anyone combine writing with entertaining, thought provoking and maybe a lesson? No. Writing is like creating a painting and yes technically anyone can paint but does it emote an emotion? Not all can paint, not anyone can write and not everyone can repair plumbing issues. So let writer's write, plumbers plumb and life will be good and even.
ReplyDeletean inspiring post! congrats to Alyson for actually doing it!! that is inspiring to me!! I think only the people that want to write can write.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your comments! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Alyson and host!
ReplyDeleteInteresting article and feedback. My two cents; I had writers block for years. Killing it and removing the barriers came a single sentence at a time starting at 20 minutes per day. It wasn't long until the walls came down and I was learning the craft of writing. Hats off to all who struggle and make it through to producing a work for others to read and share. Good post to have engaged such varied points of view.
Thanks C.K.!
ReplyDelete