Justin Alcala's Blog - Posts Tagged "plot"
The Secret of the Secret
[image error]
Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of Secrets to Writing books. It’s not that I’m feeling uninspired. It’s that I’m curious as to what established authors recommend when it comes to good writing. First off, if you’re ever going to rely on someone’s opinion when it comes to success, don’t let it be a person who makes up imaginary stories in their head. We are untrustworthy sources.
On that note, let me give you my capricious input, which was thought up between conceptualizing plots for fairies and leprechauns. Actually, it’s not so much my input per se, as much as it is the input of several self-help books. Step one- understand that every writer has their own methods. Not all authors come out and openly say this, as much as they tell you why their approach is best. I had to glue this one together myself. If you’re doing something and it’s working, stick with it. Writing can be a sloppy process, and it doesn’t matter if you take a car, bus or polar bear to get there, so long as you reach the destination.
Next, read. Every author with an opinion (and all of them seem to have one) agrees that you can’t learn to write betterer…betterest…better unless you’re constantly exposed to the work of others. Reading also gets you to understand the rhythm of a good book. You begin to develop cognizance for plot structure, concepts and dialogue. Plus, if you don’t like reading, why should you expect someone to want to read your book? It’s as contradicting as it gets.
Finally, stop reading self-help books. Allowing yourself to be influenced by opinions is the perfect way to go mad when your first round of edits or reviews rolls in. You have a story you want to tell. Somewhere out there, someone wants to read it. Get it on paper and don’t look back. People are like bad weather. They’re going to rain down on you whether you want it or not. Stop concerning yourself with how the professionals do it and just write. You’re you– not Mr. John Newbery Medal.
So that’s my spiel. Take it or leave it. In fact, if you’re a writer, leave it. You shouldn’t trust my opinion, just as much as you shouldn’t trust the opinion of some fancy big shot author. The best authors target what they want and much like a literary-grenade, throw their work out in the field and hope for the best.
Justin Alcala
Author of “Consumed” and “The Devil in the Wide City” (Zharmae Publishing Press)
www.justinalcala.com
Hashtag no filter and all that jazz
Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of Secrets to Writing books. It’s not that I’m feeling uninspired. It’s that I’m curious as to what established authors recommend when it comes to good writing. First off, if you’re ever going to rely on someone’s opinion when it comes to success, don’t let it be a person who makes up imaginary stories in their head. We are untrustworthy sources.
On that note, let me give you my capricious input, which was thought up between conceptualizing plots for fairies and leprechauns. Actually, it’s not so much my input per se, as much as it is the input of several self-help books. Step one- understand that every writer has their own methods. Not all authors come out and openly say this, as much as they tell you why their approach is best. I had to glue this one together myself. If you’re doing something and it’s working, stick with it. Writing can be a sloppy process, and it doesn’t matter if you take a car, bus or polar bear to get there, so long as you reach the destination.
Next, read. Every author with an opinion (and all of them seem to have one) agrees that you can’t learn to write betterer…betterest…better unless you’re constantly exposed to the work of others. Reading also gets you to understand the rhythm of a good book. You begin to develop cognizance for plot structure, concepts and dialogue. Plus, if you don’t like reading, why should you expect someone to want to read your book? It’s as contradicting as it gets.
Finally, stop reading self-help books. Allowing yourself to be influenced by opinions is the perfect way to go mad when your first round of edits or reviews rolls in. You have a story you want to tell. Somewhere out there, someone wants to read it. Get it on paper and don’t look back. People are like bad weather. They’re going to rain down on you whether you want it or not. Stop concerning yourself with how the professionals do it and just write. You’re you– not Mr. John Newbery Medal.
So that’s my spiel. Take it or leave it. In fact, if you’re a writer, leave it. You shouldn’t trust my opinion, just as much as you shouldn’t trust the opinion of some fancy big shot author. The best authors target what they want and much like a literary-grenade, throw their work out in the field and hope for the best.
Justin Alcala
Author of “Consumed” and “The Devil in the Wide City” (Zharmae Publishing Press)
www.justinalcala.com
Hashtag no filter and all that jazz
"Dim Fairy Tales" set for Publication
Dim Fairy Tales
Umm…this is awesome. AllThingsThatMatterPress has officially contracted "Dim Fairy Tales" for publication. This will be my third novel, and second within the Plenty Dreadful Universe. I’m very proud to partner with AllThingsThatMatterPress, who has brought the world great books for over ten years. More to come!
https://www.facebook.com/ATTMPress/
https://twitter.com/ATTMPress
Umm…this is awesome. AllThingsThatMatterPress has officially contracted "Dim Fairy Tales" for publication. This will be my third novel, and second within the Plenty Dreadful Universe. I’m very proud to partner with AllThingsThatMatterPress, who has brought the world great books for over ten years. More to come!
https://www.facebook.com/ATTMPress/
https://twitter.com/ATTMPress
Solstice Publishing Contracts "The Devil in the Wide City"
It’s official, @Solsticepublish and I will be teaming up to bring “The Devil in the Wide City” back to the pages. Editors are already busy proof reading so that Ned can prowl the streets of Chicago once more. I am beyond excited.
#newbooks #readerslife
Justin Alcala Writer's Schedule
Thanks again for all the great support. The recent birth of Ronan has reminded me how storybook life can be. The good news, none of the excitement has halted writing production. Far from it. Below is a list of all the upcoming news for future works and events…
March 2020: I’ll be a guest interview on The Written World Podcast to discuss finding your voice in writing. Stream date to be announced shortly after recording.
April 2020: Running Wild Press will release their Running Wild Anthology of Stories, volume 4 in hard back and ebook. My short story, “A Blind and Terrible Thing” will be featured along with several other talented authors.
May 2020: The Hide & Seek anthology will feature my work, “The Dilemma of Old Furnaces” in their collection, in addition to being featured in the University of British Columbia’s cIRcle digital repository for UBC literary research.
June 2020: DLG Publishing plans to release my ebook short story, “A Forest Only Whispers” on amazon for kindle and kindle unlimited.
July 2020: Czykmate Productions presents their first Haunted MTL anthology, featuring “The Lantern Quietly Screams” along with several other haunting shorts on amazon and kindle.
September 2020: BLK Dog Publishing projects the release of their Power Loss anthology, including my full length story, “It Snows Here.”
Fall 2020: I’m looking to have updates on my latest novel, “A Dead End Job” as well as publication details.
Winter 2020: I also am looking forward to announcing new details on my latest YA novel, “The Last Stop” for future markets.
Hahaha! You have to try this Buzzfeed "A DEAD END JOB" Quiz to learn what weapon of immortal destruction is best for you...
“Lilith, my oldest work-friend since… well, friends became a thing. Unmentionables weren’t around when dinosaurs and other eat-poop-then-die creatures were on Earth. It’s only when sentience became all the rage that God cut off her finger and gave it to me as Lilith, divine retribution for anyone bold enough to manipulate the cosmic work schedule. Since then, Lilith has, and always will be, the most dangerous weapon in existence. While I used her special holy abracadabra to transform Lilith into a scythe, she adjusts to the user’s character in order to be the best possible work tool. So if you want to be my next intern, and you’re comfortable getting my dry-cleaning, let’s first see what’s in that mushy pink wetware between your ears. It’s a sorting hat sort of thing, only with irremediable, world ending consequences.”
-Death
https://www.buzzfeed.com/parliamentbo...
-Death
https://www.buzzfeed.com/parliamentbo...
