Dvorak: The Dealey Five
Chapter 14 (or, "There Goes The Neighborhood")
Where We Last Left Off: The four kids had cornered whom they thought might be their fifth missing comrade, but their enemies are one step behind.
Showing posts with label dvorak dealey five. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dvorak dealey five. Show all posts
September 9, 2013
The Dealey Five: Chapter 14
Where We Last Left Off: The four kids had cornered whom they thought might be their fifth missing comrade, but their enemies are one step behind.
August 26, 2013
The Dealey Five: Chapter 12
Dvorak: The Dealey Five
Chapter 12 (or, "What Days May Come"
Where We Last Left Off: The group of four kids from the destroyed world headed to Mac’s apartment in Coney Island to regroup...again.
August 22, 2013
Write More Better: Wattpad, Serials, and Pacing
People who write serials often have trouble figuring out pacing. I've found that I also have this problem sometimes.
A serial is a story, fanfiction or not, that updates live on the Internet. The schedule may be sporadic -- whenever a chapter gets done -- or timely, like Dvorak does every week. I think serials can be a great thing because if you get an idea, you can instantly share it with the world and see what they think of it. They're also a way to get fans, because they don't have to wait for the entire book to be done in order to read it. Fanfiction.net and its sister site, Fictionpress.com, started the wave for this (I remember when they were one site, that's how old I am).
(This particular blog post won't deal with serials that are written ahead of time and then are posted each week or month or whatever. Those are a bit different in design; this post is more for stories that get updated as soon as the latest chapter is written.)
Recently, Wattpad has brought serials into the 21st century by giving fans a way to follow their favorite stories on their mobile devices. I love Wattpad, and my chances of reading your serial skyrocket if you post it there (mostly because in today's society of ease, I can't be bothered to go to your blog).
A problem I saw back at FF.net, and occasionally see on Wattpad, is the "on hold" story. This sadly usually means the story will never be finished, because there weren't enough readers or because the writer ran out of ideas. So how can you pace your story so that it'll get to the end, or to make sure you don't get to the end within five chapters and have nothing else to say?
There are several ways to fix this, and over the next few blog posts I hope to expand on this as much as I can. But to get started, if you want your serial to succeed and flow well, there are two things you need to do:
1: Love your serial. This means not just falling in love with your idea, but also coming to love the characters and the setting. In Dvorak Classic, it took me a while to get into the groove, as that story is completely built upon the ideas others gave me. But I told my friends I had to start with two characters, to give the story a solid core, but also to have me get familiar with them. Once I learned who Carissa and Mac were, I could write them properly no matter what scenario they were thrown next.
I'm usually not that spontaneous; in A SHINee Night To Remember, my SHINee prom fanfiction on Wattpad, I worked out some basic details and got to know the characters really well. The real life Karen (SoulMatthew) will testify that I asked her a bunch of questions so I could create a character based on her. When it came time to write that first scene, with Kori and Karen driving down the California interstate, I knew I could capture it perfectly because I loved my characters and were genuinely excited for them. This leads to the second point:
2: If you love your serial, you'll do even just a LITTLE bit of planning. After the 3-Day Novel Contest is over and I can stare my computer in the camera again without wanting to punch something, I plan on fully detailing my own process of how I plan, just in time for National Novel Writing Month. Those posts are forthcoming. But a little bit of planning can take you a long way and ensure that, in the case that writers block hits, you'll know what to write.
I do full out planning for my regular novels (including my 3-Day Novel novel, which I am doing now). That process I will detail later. But a shorter version of this plan is used for when I plan out my fanfictions on Wattpad. I think to myself: do I want this to be a big longer of a story, engage the audience? Do I want it to be shorter? I think about this before every story I write. Not every story has to or even should be a hundred thousand words long. I made the conscious decision that A SHINee Night To Remember would be a shorter story. There are fanfictions that you do not know about yet that will be longer, some of which are already planned out.
A simple plan for me usually involves writing out what happens in the story, from start to finish. I call this a pend. For the record, that is my made up word -- it comes from "pending" and means that the story's been planned and is waiting to be written. Some people call it a map. Once I write out the entire plan, I divide it up into chapters. For an example of a short pend, here's a sample from A SHINee Night To Remember:
Not everything from the plan makes it into the story -- I don't think I ever used that tofu line, and Kori and Karen are in an SUV -- but it helps set the tone. Plus, when your readers want a new chapter and you're clueless as to what to write, the plan will be your backup. Dividing the plan up in chapters helps you see where the parts of the story lie, and you can change the plan as it goes. I'll get more into detail about this at a later point.
Likewise, Dvorak updates in a very specific fashion. I usually go by quantity over quality, though by typing in Dvorak and not QWERTY, I know I'll get a better quality regardless because I'll be typing less fast. Dvorak Classic updated every single day with 1,667 words per day; The Dealey Five updates with 3,000 words every Friday. Usually by mid-book, I write a very loose plan for what will happen for the rest of the story, and continue to take comments from the crowd and fit them in as I wrap the story up.
I have a lot of writer friends who are "pantsers," ala they write by the seat of their pants, winging it and making up stuff every step of the way. This works for some people. IT DOES NOT WORK FOR ME. If it works for you, I'm not gonna stop you. I encourage you to do what works! If that's the case, though, I encourage you to at least know your characters fairly well. No matter what happens to them, good or bad, you'll want to see them tough it out and that will keep the serial going. That's what happened with Dvorak Classic (notably the only series I pants).
What is most important is that there is something keeping you going, no matter if you plan or pants or however you write your stories. Planning can help with your flow and make your story consistent from beginning to end, so you're not left high and dry with no ideas. If you pants and you find it works for you, find a way to keep your characters going without that plan. Get inspired.
Do what drives you, but don't stop doing it.
That's the best advice I can give.
A serial is a story, fanfiction or not, that updates live on the Internet. The schedule may be sporadic -- whenever a chapter gets done -- or timely, like Dvorak does every week. I think serials can be a great thing because if you get an idea, you can instantly share it with the world and see what they think of it. They're also a way to get fans, because they don't have to wait for the entire book to be done in order to read it. Fanfiction.net and its sister site, Fictionpress.com, started the wave for this (I remember when they were one site, that's how old I am).
(This particular blog post won't deal with serials that are written ahead of time and then are posted each week or month or whatever. Those are a bit different in design; this post is more for stories that get updated as soon as the latest chapter is written.)
Recently, Wattpad has brought serials into the 21st century by giving fans a way to follow their favorite stories on their mobile devices. I love Wattpad, and my chances of reading your serial skyrocket if you post it there (mostly because in today's society of ease, I can't be bothered to go to your blog).
A problem I saw back at FF.net, and occasionally see on Wattpad, is the "on hold" story. This sadly usually means the story will never be finished, because there weren't enough readers or because the writer ran out of ideas. So how can you pace your story so that it'll get to the end, or to make sure you don't get to the end within five chapters and have nothing else to say?
There are several ways to fix this, and over the next few blog posts I hope to expand on this as much as I can. But to get started, if you want your serial to succeed and flow well, there are two things you need to do:
1: Love your serial. This means not just falling in love with your idea, but also coming to love the characters and the setting. In Dvorak Classic, it took me a while to get into the groove, as that story is completely built upon the ideas others gave me. But I told my friends I had to start with two characters, to give the story a solid core, but also to have me get familiar with them. Once I learned who Carissa and Mac were, I could write them properly no matter what scenario they were thrown next.
I'm usually not that spontaneous; in A SHINee Night To Remember, my SHINee prom fanfiction on Wattpad, I worked out some basic details and got to know the characters really well. The real life Karen (SoulMatthew) will testify that I asked her a bunch of questions so I could create a character based on her. When it came time to write that first scene, with Kori and Karen driving down the California interstate, I knew I could capture it perfectly because I loved my characters and were genuinely excited for them. This leads to the second point:
2: If you love your serial, you'll do even just a LITTLE bit of planning. After the 3-Day Novel Contest is over and I can stare my computer in the camera again without wanting to punch something, I plan on fully detailing my own process of how I plan, just in time for National Novel Writing Month. Those posts are forthcoming. But a little bit of planning can take you a long way and ensure that, in the case that writers block hits, you'll know what to write.
I do full out planning for my regular novels (including my 3-Day Novel novel, which I am doing now). That process I will detail later. But a shorter version of this plan is used for when I plan out my fanfictions on Wattpad. I think to myself: do I want this to be a big longer of a story, engage the audience? Do I want it to be shorter? I think about this before every story I write. Not every story has to or even should be a hundred thousand words long. I made the conscious decision that A SHINee Night To Remember would be a shorter story. There are fanfictions that you do not know about yet that will be longer, some of which are already planned out.
A simple plan for me usually involves writing out what happens in the story, from start to finish. I call this a pend. For the record, that is my made up word -- it comes from "pending" and means that the story's been planned and is waiting to be written. Some people call it a map. Once I write out the entire plan, I divide it up into chapters. For an example of a short pend, here's a sample from A SHINee Night To Remember:
1: Kori and Karen in a subcompact car driving down the road, talking about prom and how SHINee will be doing a concert nearby and how they DON'T have tickets. Boo hiss. Of course there's a limo stopped on the shoulder and Kori jumps it (Karen is nervous). She only speaks to the limo driver to start, but Key as the English speaking one gets out to thank them, then drags all of the boys out when he learns the girls have been studying Korean in school (because of their K-Pop obsession). They go to In-N-Out Burger even though there's no chicken.
2: Sadness at the discovery of no chicken. "Did you just call him 'tofu?" They mention prom, and the boys decide to invade the prom. "We can only take one date each..." They figure they'll decide after the concert that night (SM Town?). They all climb into the limo.
Not everything from the plan makes it into the story -- I don't think I ever used that tofu line, and Kori and Karen are in an SUV -- but it helps set the tone. Plus, when your readers want a new chapter and you're clueless as to what to write, the plan will be your backup. Dividing the plan up in chapters helps you see where the parts of the story lie, and you can change the plan as it goes. I'll get more into detail about this at a later point.
Likewise, Dvorak updates in a very specific fashion. I usually go by quantity over quality, though by typing in Dvorak and not QWERTY, I know I'll get a better quality regardless because I'll be typing less fast. Dvorak Classic updated every single day with 1,667 words per day; The Dealey Five updates with 3,000 words every Friday. Usually by mid-book, I write a very loose plan for what will happen for the rest of the story, and continue to take comments from the crowd and fit them in as I wrap the story up.
I have a lot of writer friends who are "pantsers," ala they write by the seat of their pants, winging it and making up stuff every step of the way. This works for some people. IT DOES NOT WORK FOR ME. If it works for you, I'm not gonna stop you. I encourage you to do what works! If that's the case, though, I encourage you to at least know your characters fairly well. No matter what happens to them, good or bad, you'll want to see them tough it out and that will keep the serial going. That's what happened with Dvorak Classic (notably the only series I pants).
What is most important is that there is something keeping you going, no matter if you plan or pants or however you write your stories. Planning can help with your flow and make your story consistent from beginning to end, so you're not left high and dry with no ideas. If you pants and you find it works for you, find a way to keep your characters going without that plan. Get inspired.
Do what drives you, but don't stop doing it.
That's the best advice I can give.
August 17, 2013
The Dealey Five: Chapter 11
Dvorak: The Dealey Five
Chapter 11 (or, "Past Due Moto")
Where We Last Left Off: Dimitri’s henchmen, Anton and Vlad, escaped with the boombox and set off an explosion near Carissa’s apartment.
August 9, 2013
The Dealey Five: Chapter 10
Dvorak: The Dealey Five
Chapter 10 (or, "Early Morning Blini")
Where We Last Left Off: After a shopping trip gone wrong, Isabel and Mick visited the kids and figured out their main nemesis, the lead man in black, wasn’t submitting to their usual tricks.
August 7, 2013
Y-Bridge Arts Festival Follow Up Post
Oh my gosh, where do I even start with the festival?
First of all, I want to thank everybody who came out to the festival and made it a success. I'm positive this year wouldn't have been possible without everybody coming together. A huge thank you to Rita L. Smith, for letting me play at her studio Friday night at the kickoff (that's the Vine video to your left). It was a TON of fun.
Saturday and Sunday were spent at the booth, chilling out and meeting people! It's been a long time since I've been in Zanesville, and I'm so glad I got to catch up with everybody.
A big thank you to everybody who picked up copies of Dvorak Classic and Reclaim! Please let me know what you think of them. If you enjoyed Dvorak, its sequel, The Dealey Five, continues on this blog and on Wattpad every week.
If you didn't get a chance to pick up your copy of Reclaim, the link is live on iTunes now! Be sure to go and download your favorite piece or the entire album. And don't forget to leave comments!
See you all soon,
Emily
First of all, I want to thank everybody who came out to the festival and made it a success. I'm positive this year wouldn't have been possible without everybody coming together. A huge thank you to Rita L. Smith, for letting me play at her studio Friday night at the kickoff (that's the Vine video to your left). It was a TON of fun.
Saturday and Sunday were spent at the booth, chilling out and meeting people! It's been a long time since I've been in Zanesville, and I'm so glad I got to catch up with everybody.
A big thank you to everybody who picked up copies of Dvorak Classic and Reclaim! Please let me know what you think of them. If you enjoyed Dvorak, its sequel, The Dealey Five, continues on this blog and on Wattpad every week.
If you didn't get a chance to pick up your copy of Reclaim, the link is live on iTunes now! Be sure to go and download your favorite piece or the entire album. And don't forget to leave comments!
See you all soon,
Emily
August 6, 2013
A Couple of Dvorak Announcements (and The Dealey Five Chapter 9)
Yes, I'm aware that a follow up post to the fantastic and amazing Y-Bridge Arts Festival this past weekend is needed. But frankly, I was on a red-eye this morning, and on roller coasters the day before that. I need to do this, though, because I love Dvorak and you guys love Dvorak and I love talking about Dvorak so here we go. No worries, chai lovers, it's nothing bad.
If you're here from Serial Tuesday, welcome! If you just want to go straight to the serial without ANY of the backstory or info, click here. If you want more information on the series, click here before further reading.
If you're here from Serial Tuesday, welcome! If you just want to go straight to the serial without ANY of the backstory or info, click here. If you want more information on the series, click here before further reading.
July 26, 2013
Why The World Needs Superheroes (And Why I Need the Dealey Five)
I told myself I would sit down and write a blog entry today, because it had been a while since I had written one. Of course, getting up out of bed and not watching soaps/daytime television/sitting in bed reading manga/playing Pokemon/generally feeling sorry for myself is never a good idea, though it always seems like one when you're stuck in it. We all get depressed for whatever reason or another, and that's what I'd like to try and tackle today -- as well as to my solution.
The Dealey Five: Chapter 8
The Dealey Five (A Dvorak Serial Novel)
Chapter 8 (or, "Something Something Something Soviet")
When We Last Left Off: At an open stage in Coney Island, a mysterious girl named Milaya ran off with the boombox.
Chapter 8 (or, "Something Something Something Soviet")
When We Last Left Off: At an open stage in Coney Island, a mysterious girl named Milaya ran off with the boombox.
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