T. Styles's Blog, page 2

I knew this was coming but wasn’t sure exactly how it would go down. That moment where writing 3 pages of foolishness would no longer net inexperienced authors the same pay as those who pour their hearts and souls into their stories.

People, that moment is finally here!

Through Amazon’s new Kindle Unlimited Service, writers are now paid by the page read as opposed to per download. This means if the reader doesn’t click through page after page, you could earn as little as pennies for your book if you have enrolled in the program.

I’m not going to lie. I have mixed emotions about this new payment scale although Amazon could give two fucks about my emotions. My reservations are not because I doubt my skills, but that not every person reads a book in one sitting. Personally I come back to my non-fiction books repeatedly, sometimes taking months to complete an entire novel. On the other hand I respect the new scale. It challenges authors and you can no longer hide behind a fancy title or book cover, something I have been trying to teach new writers for some time.

Although not all of my books will participate in the new Kindle Unlimited Program, it feels good to know that when I do, I can bet on my skills to get me the pay I deserve, per the program at least.

If you are a new author and you are looking for some help to write a solid book from front to back, please check out THE END: HOW TO WRITE A BOOK IN 30 DAYS.

Gone are the days of slackers.

Good luck!

P.S. The picture has nothing to do with the blog. I just play too much.

PROLOGUE

PRESENT DAY

“You ain’t nothing but a nasty bitch!” Drake yelled at his girl on the phone like she stole from him. “I knew you was a whore when I got with you…just thought I could change you. Even then your pussy stank more than necessary for a chick claiming she just showered.”

The cellphone was smashed against Karen Jester’s ear so hard that her temple throbbed as she took each insult to the heart, causing her to feel worse than she already had. Pressed in the corner of an old raggedy elevator as it rocked slowly downward, toward the deepest level of the building, she was devastated.

Just an hour earlier she’d been caught in an unsavory position and was doing her best to plead her case but he was digging in that ass with no chill. “You not even letting me talk, bay.”

“Bitch, don’t call me bay!”

Frustrated, her head drooped backwards and when the elevator dinged and the doors opened, she was surprised at the silence. With the exception of two cars—hers and a candy apple red Acura TLX, the garage was somewhat desolate.

“I know you don’t believe me, Drake,” she pleaded, as her long brown legs stretched toward her ride. Possessing the body of a dancer, even the simple act of walking was done with extreme sexuality. “I haven’t given you much of a reason to trust me. Just know that it only happened once and it won’t ever again.”

“You fucked up, Karen. You don’t get to ask for forgiveness.”

She felt gut punched.

What did he want if it wasn’t for her to beg?

Removing the keys from her blue Fendi purse, she deactivated the alarm to her banged out, old ass grey Ford Fiesta—that had been in so many accidents the passenger side door wouldn’t open without a push and a tug. “I’m never gonna give up on you.” She eased inside and tossed her purse in the passenger seat, the contents falling everywhere. “If you not in my life I don’t want to live. I’m telling you the…”

“Don’t say shit you don’t mean,” he said cutting her off. “The way I feel I’m liable to press the barrel to your scalp and do the honors myself. I ain’t wit’ the mental games no more.”

She closed the door and exhaled. Hands resting on the steering wheel she said, “But it’s true. Maybe if you hadn’t fucked that other bitch this wouldn’t—”

“Don’t turn your shit around on me! You said you forgave, so we started a clean slate. I’m never gonna…”

His voice trailed off because her attention was suddenly kidnapped. Leaning in, she looked ahead and saw the glow from the radio illuminate the silhouettes of two women sitting in the Acura in front of her vehicle. There was tension between them— she was certain. Their bodies moved aggressively and the car rocked slightly. She couldn’t make out their faces but when she placed the phone down, despite Drake talking, she could hear the faint sound of them arguing.

“You there, bitch?” He yelled from the handset.

With eyes still glued on the Acura, she placed the phone against her ear again. “Yes…but I think something’s happening,” she whispered.

“You just realizing that shit? Or have you forgotten that I caught you topping my brother off? In our apartment at that? You know that nigga been wanting to smash from…”

The handset drifted from her ear as she focused on the women in the red car again. When she blinked a few times she could now see that each was holding a weapon pointed at the other.

Suddenly a bright light mixed with the sound of gunfire lit up the vehicle, shattering the window. Glass flew everywhere, crashing onto the concrete. Shivering, Karen screamed and placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry. Slowly she picked up the phone and said, “I have to call you back.” She hung up before he could respond.

Carefully she pushed her door open and slowly extended a leg out, followed by the other. She could hear her own heartbeat in her eardrums due to the deafening silence. Leaving her door ajar in case she had to double back, she crept toward the Acura to investigate.

“What am I doing?” she said to herself. “God…please help me.”

To read the rest of LIPSTICK DOM click here: Purchase Book

Imagine you’re an artist. Imagine you’re successful. Imagine there’s no other way to get paper. You have chosen a career and there’s no turning back. And now imagine your passion is gone!

It happens all of the time.

For us creative types it happens more often than not.

But why?

Although many things can contribute to the assassination of creative passion, more often than not one reason is always in the top ten — the people you associate with are too much like you.

Creative types need constant stimulation.

Yet if we allow ourselves to remain in environments where people are one-dimensional or share all of our beliefs and ideas, we lose the edge necessary to take our readers to new heights. A great writer can easily find himself in a den of passionate Black Panthers or in a corner at a Klan meeting.

Sometimes the more uncomfortable we feel the more passionate the work.

Does it mean we should constantly place ourselves in situations that threaten the heart? No. But we should be sure to keep the mind open at all times. And if we are always around those who feel and believe the way we do we limit our perspective. This is a luxury we can’t afford as writers.

I’m a bar hopper by trade.

Always have been.

Although I have friends and family members I can roll with at any time, sometimes I prefer to go alone. After I make sure to detonate any idea that the person I’m meeting is going to hit the skins, I’m always amazed at the people I meet and how easily we strike up a conversation. I’ve met multi-millionaires who’ve never had a conversation with a black female socially, to prostitutes who sell a shot of pussy or two on the Internet.

Whether you’re an artist or not, keep your mind open to new people. Keep your heart soft. We all can’t take a trip to the Bahamas every weekend but you’d be surprised the places you can go mentally just by participating in a few minutes of stimulating conversation.

Check out my latest book here.

Which urban fiction book by T. Styles does the below character come from:

I’m young but I’ve made the mistakes of fifty men.

I hail from Washington D.C., and at one point didn’t associate with dudes from Baltimore. That all changed when I met the man who would soon become my best friend.

For most of my life I was a womanizer, often using women for what they could do for me sexually. And when I was done I would throw them away.

I hung up my players jacket after meeting the love of my life. The problem is she belonged to my best friend, even though he didn’t treat her right.

After a lot of soul searching I realized I couldn’t live without this woman, even if it meant throwing away the empire I built with my best friend.

Which character am I?

From which urban fiction book was I introduced?

The Answer will be given on Monday, July 6th.

The first book was based on your life and now you want to write the second. The problem is you can’t think of a good idea. Here are three ways to help

1. Go back to your childhood.

When you first get into the business most novelist use the worse thing that happened to them and go from there. But after that idea is used you may feel pressure for your second, especially if your life has a tendency to be boring. But by spending fifteen minutes a day going over intricate details about your childhood you’ll find a treasure trove of book material.

Think about the first day of school, and maybe the creepy neighbor who looked at you too long as you walked down the street. If you were poor, what about the feeling you had while having to wear cheap shoes, or tennis with holes in them? What about your first broken heart, or when you lost your virginity? Was the person gentle or rough? Were you traumatized? What about the scariest thing that happened to you as a child?

My point is by starting at the early part of your life you’ll be surprise what you can scratch up to get your next book started.

2. Surround yourself around interesting people and become a good listener.

On everything I love, writers talk too damn much. We act like nobody has ever said a word to us in life… ever. It’s time to start practicing the art of silence.

Although it isn’t good to use your friends’ stories, because you might find yourself in somebody’s trunk, or even lose a good friendship, some stories are up for grabs and if nothing else will jog your creative juices. But if you talk too much you’ll never be able to get enough material because a person can’t get a word in edgewise.

Although this method is awesome, please be courteous of your friends and family’s private stories. Folks won’t say shit around you if you take everything they say verbatim and stick in in your books. Pay more attention to how people feel as they tell their stories. Consider situations that may be light to you but emotionally heavy to someone else.

3. Write everything down.

In my book How To Write A Book In 30 Days, I talk about the importance of writing good ideas down immediately, using your note app on your cell phone or a notepad and paper. Yet most people are lazier than newborn babies when it comes to this major practice.

One of the main reasons my career has spanned ten years is because I write every good idea down. I don’t wait until I get home. Or until I finish cussing somebody out. I get up, and write the idea down the moment it comes to mind. I can’t begin to tell you the amount of times this has gotten me out of jams.

Hope this helps.

Need more tips on how to write a book? Get some help here.

I know the title is harsh but sadly for some hopeful writers it rings true. I’m often astounded by the number of people who contact me, wanting to start a career, but are afraid of what their religious parents, friends or children might think.

Sometimes I send a few sentences filled with colorful encouraging words, but usually my response ends like this: Find another career, precious. This shit ain’t for you.

Storytellers…like actors, rappers, etc, must feel free enough to reach the truth. No matter how vulgar or controversial the message, if it’s steeped in truth it is your duty to take us there.

And when you do your loved ones should respect your art.

With the exception of children book authors, most of the time for us urban fiction bitches that’s not the case.

We must be bold enough to say to ourselves, ‘I will tell my story no matter who the fuck likes it!’

There’s freedom with being who you are as an artist. And you’ll find if you stand strong long enough, this stance takes precedence in your relationships with your family and friends…always for the better.

I’m not speaking of being rude for no reason, or mean to those who truly care for you. I’m speaking about not wasting another day pushing away from your dream.

There’s nothing wrong with standing on your own feet, making your own lane or writing the stories that call to your heart. There is always a market for writers who choose to be honest and tell the darkest stories.

Never waste a lifetime pleasing those outside of yourself.

You won’t win.

The freedom to be your best starts now. I spend hundreds of dollars on writers who express honesty in their books. It’s so refreshing.

So what will you do?

You have two sentences to convince me to buy your book…not a word more.

I posed a question on Facebook a few months ago. “As a reader, how long will you give a book to pull you in before purchasing?”

Surprisingly some said a paragraph, a page and even a chapter. If not the case already, I predict in the near future the answer will be one sentence.

There are a lot of talented authors out there but they do themselves a disservice when they don’t use every effort to grab the reader ASAP. You must show action, whether through dialogue or visual.

New authors should never start with narration in the beginning of their careers. There are too many novels on the market. Sell yourself immediately!

Grabbing immediately can also be done in a quote like this example from my book Raunchy.

‘Why should my life change just ‘cause I got kids? Shit…I brought them in the world…what more do they want? – Harmony Phillips’.

Or try drawing readers in using the mid-conversation method….

        “You shouldn’t have done it. And I’m not going to be a part of it, Angie,” Wayne said, his voice but a soft whisper.

“I did it because I love you. You could’ve walked out at anytime, but you stayed. It makes you just as guilty.”

The above dialogue makes us wonder, “What happened? And who are the characters?”

For my series, T. Styles’ Dopest Book Openings, I’m going to show you some authors who dove into their storylines, giving me no choice but to turn the next page.

Writers take note. This series is for you.

My first author Treasure Blue, showcased this art in his novel The Circle – Rain’s Story. He went in relentlessly forcing me to give him my money.

        “THEY FOUND HER in the apartment— naked, face down in a puddle of blood. A sock stuffed in her mouth; hogtied with an extension cord at the ankles.”

It’s not about the violence that makes this one of T. Styles’ Dopest Book Openings, but the description. Anybody can be gross and most who do it without reason get booed and considered horrible authors.

In Treasure’s book he didn’t tell us how she was found, he showed us!

I’m not surprised, Treasure does an outstanding job of being visual in his novels, which is why his career has spanned over a decade.

Come back later for more examples.

Why are some urban fiction books straight up whack and others aren’t? Because the great novels have clear goals for the protagonist!

In my seminar ‘The End: How To Write A Book In 30 Days’, I teach the importance of making sure the main character’s driving force is real, yet so many authors begin their books with action, getting so caught up in it at times that the storyline is lost, leaving us to say, “Why did I buy this shit again?”

Before penning any novel you must ask your character, “What do you want to gain?” If you are unable to come up with an answer, don’t write the book. Although I teach that it is also important to know the ending, for first time writers I’m okay if they shy away from this in the beginning.

In Silence of The Nine, an urban fiction book, Kerrick Prophet, an immigrant from Africa, had one clear goal above all, to become the biggest drug dealer in America. Oh, I almost forgot, he also expected his children to breed amongst themselves to keep the bloodline pure and the money in the family.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, every character, and I do mean EVERY CHARACTER should have a clear motive. It should happen in each chapter, in each scene, no exceptions.

If all of your characters do a good job of getting along, find another book to write. Don’t bore us with your happy go lucky stories. Our lives are dull enough as is, that’s why we bought a book.

Fascinate us with drama and give us a character we can get behind.

Please and thank you!

Happy writing!

So many hopeful authors ask the question, How To Write a book. But few finish the goal. Why do some writers have a hard time writing a book or ebook? Because they make it harder than it has to be. Actually, as writers, we all do. For more reasons than not, we have a sincere desire to make things perfect, when perfect is impossible. You should always strive for your best, leave perfect to doctors. Your best is easier and achievable.

I get you because I was the same at the onset of my career. I wanted to be all I could be and as quickly as possible. The problem was, I spent too much time on learning the art of setting up a story and I didn’t realize how important it was to enjoy myself in the process. Now after many years of being in the business, I’m realizing that unless you enjoy telling stories, you can’t be good at it. It’s like a chef who doesn’t like to cook but is in charge of dinner. If you are unlucky enough to eat one of his meals, the food would be bland and lifeless. You must love this craft if you are going to write a bestseller. Get into it for any other reason, and you’re doomed.

Reading books should be joyous and so should writing them. In fact, there shouldn’t be a writer alive who doesn’t enjoy reading novels. Reading great books is one of the reasons you decide to be a writer. Think about it for a minute. You read a great novel, it called to your soul and immediately you’re inspired. Before long you say to yourself, ‘I can write a book as good as that author or better!’ You decide at that moment to recreate the same feeling when someone picks up your book. And if you are lucky, you hope to replicate the same success. You don’t stop to think about your biggest problem…YOU! Allow me to take you through what really happens, the moment you decide to fulfill your dreams.

First, you have a great idea for your own novel. You make up your mind to tell your story which, most of the time, embodies large parts of your personal life. When you sit down to get started, the first page flows effortlessly. You take a brief look at yourself, the way your fingers move so ‘writer like’ and you feel elated. You can’t believe you are really about to do this shit. You’re really about to write a fucking book!

When you reach the second page, your motivation may not be as strong as when you first started, but you try your best to remain focused. After a few more minutes of faking it, you make an excuse that today is not the best day to start, so you call it quits for the moment. You’re not worried though, because you tell yourself you’ll be back the next day. Besides, you promised to make the chicken that thawed out in the kitchen sink, and your beans are soaking in the refrigerator. Your family will be coming home soon and they’re going to want dinner.

As you prepare your meal, you get on the phone and call a few friends to tell them about your new mission, to become a published author. You suggest that they save any card you’ve given them over the years, because before long, your signature will be worth millions. After all, you’re about to be the next big thing.

The next day comes soon enough and you force yourself to get in the mind frame. You read somewhere that writing an outline might help, but you’re not sure where to start. You grab your notebook, walk it to the kitchen table and pull out your chair. Sitting down, you examine the book before you write and open it slowly.

‘It’s really about to happen’, you tell yourself. Wasting no more time you flip the book open and look at the last page you wrote on. Suddenly you realize you don’t like your penmanship. In your opinion it isn’t legible and it worries you. I mean what were you doing, writing with your feet? If you’re going to be a famous writer you’re going to have to start from the top. This sort of writing is totally unacceptable as far as you’re concerned. ‘Nobody is going to be able to read this shit’, you say, pulling the page out. ‘I’m gonna start all over. Besides, I just started and have plenty of time.’

You ball it up and toss it toward the trashcan. It doesn’t make it and instead, it lands next to the can. In your opinion it’s some strange Omen. If your rough draft can’t even make the trash, what makes you think your novel will make it in the major leagues? Having played this game before with your mind, you shake your head, smile and get to work. You’re smarter than these mind games so you tell yourself you must stick to your goal. You want it that badly!

Your pen so eloquently moves across the page that you can already see the lines around the corner at Barnes and Noble. And then your phone rings. You place your pen down, scoot away from the chair and move toward the handset. The only reason you answer is because you’re going to tell whoever is calling to get lost. You don’t need them interrupting your work again. But when you answer the phone, it’s your best friend calling to tell you that the What’s Going Down episode of That’s My Mama, is on TV. Surely you can’t miss this show. After all, what are the chances of it coming on again?

So you neatly tuck your work away in your dresser, with empty promises to give it all you have next week. You would start again tomorrow, but you’re taking your mother to the concert to see Aretha Franklin. Saturday will simply have to do. You tell yourself you are just busy and not making excuses. When in all actuality, you’re making more excuses than a guilty man going to jail.

Saturday finds you soon enough and you made the mistake of telling an unsupportive friend about your book. They look at you as if your wig was sliding backwards and fell on the floor. At that moment you begin to question yourself and your talent. Who am I to even think that I could write a book? The nerve of me to think that I could be something bigger than what I am.

You make a discovery at that moment. You tell yourself that while you are a good mother, father, or friend, you will never be an author. You tell yourself its okay. Besides, being famous would be too much anyway. Who needs all the extra attention? Surely not you. You adore your privacy. You are destined to be a nine to fiver and that’s the bottom line. So you grab the paper holding the first line of your dream and wipe your ass with it. Just like that, your aspirations of being a writer are gone and so is your novel. You murdered your book, by yourself.

Were there some things you could have done to prevent this pitfall? Yes. For starters you need to understand what being a writer means. It means you will open yourself up to scrutiny from the people you love, and the people whose attention you hope do attract to your story.

If you are the kind of person to give up so easily, you will not have any success in this industry. You have to be strong to be a writer. You’re going to have to be selfish, and even unkind at times when you run into those who mean to stop you from achieving your dream. You are going to have to muster the strength to let no one stand in your way, and give your ass to kiss to those who don’t get the picture. Oh yes, you will have to be an unconscionable ass at times, but after awhile, people will get the picture and get out of your way, or get run over.

Once you have scared off every last fake family member and friend in your life, those who are standing around you when the smoke clears will be all you need. Take a good look at them. They are the people who you’ve expressed your desire to be something greater than yourself and they are still around. They are far from haters. This is your team, and you need to respect them as much as possible.

What does that mean? It means that you can’t forget about them along the way. It means you have to make a schedule and stick to it so that you can spend time with them. It means that when you’re outside of this schedule, you need to give your family members and friends the love they require.

Don’t worry, in my book The End: How To Write A Book In Thirty Days, I give you every step of my process.

To purchase click the link here: The End. How To Write A Book In 30 Days