I'm Trying to Get a Book Published! discussion

To me the main requirement of any good piece of fiction is to create interesting characters. If your characters are intriguing then you've already won half of the battle in telling a good story. Books with characters that aren't engaging loses the reader right out of the gate.

definately have to agree. bad characters= unhappy readers

Wow, another realistic fiction writer on Goodreads? I never thought I’d find one! (only a small amount of sarcasm in that statement). I think to find out what realistic fiction is, you need to of course, read the classics of realistic fiction. Steinbeck, Hemingway, Faulkner, etc. Often times your personally philosophy can come through tremendously in realistic fiction, so that is always something to keep in mine. Characters are very important, but in so much as making them ‘interesting’, but make them HUMAN. If your going to write realistic fiction, instead of vampires and werewolves and all that total drivel, then you have accentuate the humanity of it.

definately agree. : )

It doesn't matter how well you write or what genre of fiction you are writing. The main goal of any novelist should be to tell an interesting story. It's going to be quite difficult to do so if your characters are uninteresting.

One way to make your characters interesting is to make certain that they have a goal that they want to reach and have other characters conspire to keep them from achieving it. If a character wants something badly enough, they should be willing to fight, if not die for it. Of course, the goal also needs to be one that is not only worthwhile, but also attainable.

A perfect example of a great character is James Braddock in Cinderella Man. What makes Braddock such a convincing and interesting character is that he not only wants to become the boxing champion of the world. He is willing to pay the price to do so. Stepping into the ring with Max Baer is not a trivial event. Baer is a notorious killer in the ring and Braddock may very well lose his life in his attempt to become the champion. Braddock risks everything he has to achieve his goal. This is the crux of what makes an interesting character.

A good author knows that she has to take her readers on a journey with her characters to see what they are willing to do to achieve their goals and what price they have to pay to do so. The semantics of the genre of a story or if it is realistic or not is arbitrary. What's important is to craft a good story with interesting characters.

my brain hurts....too much reading the comp.

Lyssa,

Did you have some writing you want to share with us?

Talking about realistic fiction and philosophy, what do you all think of Ayn Rand?

I agree with some of what Ayn Rand has to say. But just like every other form of human philosophy I've ever encountered, there are things I don't agree with. The main problem that I have with Objectivism is that it is a philosophy that promotes one to be entirely self-consumed. Rand's philosophy encourages one to adopt a live and let die attitude. Humans are social creatures, meaning that we are, by our very nature, communal.

For all of its finer points, objectivism is ultimately anti-human and anti-social. It is however pro-individual. This makes it very similar to Satanism which promotes the exact same doctrine. With that said, there are some admirable aspects of Rand's philosophy. But like all forms of philosophy, a person would do best to adapt the parts of it that works for them and dispense with the rest. I know I will.

Very well said, Kevis. I was greatly influenced by Ayn Rand when I was a teenager. But since then, I have come to my own conclusions. I discovered for myself that she only painted one side of the coin. Individuality is important.

And yet, as you say, we are communal creatures. Community is a very powerful thing. If the individuals are not lost within the context of the whole, you have a better society than either socialism or objectivism can offer.

Davis wrote: "Wow, another realistic fiction writer on Goodreads? I never thought I’d find one! (only a small amount of sarcasm in that statement). I think to find out what realistic fiction is, you need to of c..."

I can't stand twilight, and I think that's what you're hinting at. Yeah, realistic is the way to go, but I prefer romantic comedies (you know, in realistic fiction)

Lyssa wrote: "I'm scared to publish my work on goodreads for fear of plagerism. (That would be the word right?) I just am kind of afaid of someone ripping off my work. Should I not be? Maybe I'm just paraniod wh..."

That's a very good question, Lyssa. You can probably get some books on copyright law from the library. And I highly recommend that you educate yourself on this.

But this is how I heard it works: Anything you write is copyrighted (all your letters, emails, novels, short stories, etc) as long as you can prove that you are the one who originally wrote it. Your computer files (date stamped) and the evidence of your writing notes and your previous renditions as you go through the editing process are all things that someone who steals your work won't have.

If it comes down to it, you can prove in a court of law that your work is your own. If you have any other concerns, put your work in an envelope and send it to yourself. When you get it in the mail, DON'T open it. Instead, file it away. Now you have a sealed document with a date stamp.

Finally you can file for the copyright.

But one more thing, only words are copyright-able. Your ideas are not. But I've heard it said that there are only so many plots that get rehashed over and over again.

Lyssa,

That is some very good advice Rita's has given you. But I'd like to add this caveat. Copyrights are simply a legal avenue to protect intellectual properties. Without it, there would be anarchy in the marketplace and everyone could steal everyone else's products. When you create a story or write a poem or even a letter as Rita says, it is instantly copyrighted because you created it. Hence your writing belongs to you. NOTE: You need do nothing more than to create your material for it to legally belong to you.

However, there is a reason why if you want to use your writing for a commercial purpose why you should register your work. Also, there is a major difference between the poor man's copyright (mailing a postage back to yourself) versus submitting it and having it processed through the U.S. Library of Congress. This is because a copyright is limited in the ways that it protects you.

If, for example, you posted one of your stories online and someone were to publish it under their name, you can sue them for financial damages and force them to remove the work from the market. However, if you do not submit your writing to the Library of Congress, you can not sue for punitive damages. In other words, as long as you can prove that you are the author of your writing in court, the person who stole your work would no longer be able to sell it or legally claim that it is theirs. But without having your work registered in the U.S. Library of Congress, you cannot sue them.

Ultimately the best advice I can give you regarding posting your work online is that if you aren't comfortable with it, you should never allow people free access to your work. Although it is unlikely that someone will steal your work, the possibility does exist.

Lyssa wrote: "Wow! I just meant the simple read and steal! That's some intense stuff, though entirely true. I just was a bit afraid, I'm still not sure whether my paranoid self will post any stories, but thanks ..."

Good idea. It's always safer to do your research so that you know what your options are in case you do decide to post your work online.

Thanks, Kevis, for filling in the gaps where my knowledge failed to give enough information.

Anybody heard of a Creative Commons license? Cory Doctorow set his license as a creative commons license. I'm wondering what that means and what kind of benefit that may have.

Kevis, do you know anything about this?

Rita,

I have to be honest. I have gaps in my knowledge too. But since you brought the subject up I started doing some research on Creative Commons. It seems Wikipedia has a few articles about it. If you haven't already, you may want to check it out. Here are the links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative...

And here is the link to the official Creative Commons website:

http://creativecommons.org/

thx, Kevis. I'll check those out!

Lyssa wrote: "I'm scared to publish my work on goodreads for fear of plagerism. (That would be the word right?) I just am kind of afaid of someone ripping off my work. Should I not be? Maybe I'm just paraniod wh..."

I am new here also and those thoughts go through my mind as well. Does anyone who has been on this site a while have any information about the security of it?

Lisa wrote: "I am new here also and those thoughts go through my mind as well. Does anyone who has been on this site a while have any information about the security of it?"

Lisa,

You should be aware that if you post your stories online that there is no way to keep someone from copying and pasting it into a word processing document.

You are justifiably right to be concerned about someone stealing your story. I have to be honest. Most writers and authors do not engage in the nasty business of plagiarism. In that case, you don't have a whole lot to be afraid of since anything you write is legally yours simply by the act of creation.

However, there is another thing to keep in mind. Even though another writer may not intend do so, sometimes they are inspired so much by something they read that it creeps into their work anyway. The possibilitiy does exist that someone might read something that you write and use parts of it without even being consciously aware. This IS a legitimate concern. If you think you have a wonderfully original idea for a story, you would probably be best not to put it online, but rather find an alternative means of getting feedback for your work. On the other hand, if you have some writing that you simply want to share with others and are not concerned too much about it being ripped off in any way, then you should post your work online.

Just as a bit of advice, if you haven't already, you should read the message Rita and I posted above to Lyssa. It will explain how copyright works so that you understand that if you do post your work online, the law does protect you if someone were to attempt to steal your work.

Thank you Kevis. After, I made the above comment, I read everything that you and Rita had written. Sorry. I should have done that before I posted that question. All writers borrow ideas, thmes, and inspiration from each other. I don't think that Lyssa and I were referring to that. Rather we were worried about outright plagiarism. BTW, I write creative nonfiction and realistic fiction. I am still deliberating on what things to submit to the group in a thread.

Lyssa wrote: "Do you guys prefer a action packed book, or an emotional one? What is the balance between the two?
I love emotional books, but I love action almost equally. I haven't really found a satisfying ba..."

Good books have elements of it all. Romance, adventure, conflict, change, growth, character development, action, emotions...



And my 5-year-old daughter wants to type a word for you: zebra. It is her favorite animal.

awww! cute! say hi to her for me! and tell her good choice of fave animal, its mine too!

awww i have a three-year-old sister. and i have a one-year-old brother. they're both adorable. my brother just learned how to walk. and he learned how to give people kisses – well actually he doesn't quite get it; he just grabs your face and shouts "MWAA!!" hahaha

Lyssa wrote: "Haha, my cousin is just little too. Three years old. She loves to type her name. He favorite animals are horses and elephants thoguh. "

I like elephants too. In college, I had a dream where I was dancing with an elephant, and they have been my favorite ever since. Yeah, I know. Strange dream. But I was prone to nightmares, and having such a beautiful dream like that made quite an impact on me.

i like zebras elephants and ducks

Lyssa, I think I'm going to check out that book--The Nature of Jade.

What I like about elephants is that they seem so happy. At the zoo, they were hams. The crowd would cheer when the elephant threw up a bundle of hay, and the elephant seemed so pleased by the crowd reaction. I've seen the same thing at the circus. It's like joy emanates from them. They love to perform and to please.

yay for you! ru going into orchestra?

Cellos make the most beautiful music.

yup, violins r 2 high...i play the viola, which is almost the same as a cello, just, the cello has deeper sound

I played the violin all through junior high school and high school. It had some satisfactions of its own but I have to say that I wasn't very talented. When I left for college, I put the violin away. I did miss it for years afterwards.

lol ☺ good for you

Music is a great outlet. Enjoy playing it. Maybe someday I will try playing the violin again.

I enjoy all the arts too, Lyssa. But writing most of all.

I watch people too and come up with stories about them as well. It drives my husband nuts. One day, I was walking out to my car and in the parking lot there stood this man and woman at the back of a car. There was a grate opened right behind their back tire and they couldn't get out of their parking spot.

They both looked very professional, dressed in suits and carrying brief cases. And the woman was leaning over peering down into the open grate. It struck me as so strange. How did this grate get open? Why wasn't anyone coming to help them? What was so fascinating down in that grate that she stood transfixed?

I also am interested in all the arts. I live near Chicago and get to see a lot of plays. But writing is the only art form in which I am engaged. I love to people watch in crowds and public places and try to create stories about people that I see. It's great fun.

It's their birthday, but nobody remembered. And now they are grouching to themselves about how unimportant they are and how disappointing their lives have become.

Or maybe it is their birthday, and they are on top of the world. They just got a promotion, they're boyfriend proposed, and they found $100 lying on the sidewalk--nobody around to claim it.

You just sparked all my creative brain waves, Lyssa.

Has anybody noticed that Lyssa has become a deleted member? She hadn't been around for a while and now she is not only gone but removed from the system. I hope she is okay.

So do I. Since you wrote this, I see that she's not on my friends list anymore. I've been trying to figure out how to contact her but I'm at a loss. Maybe she's also on facebook. I'll see if there's still a profile of her with her last name and then I'll look her up on that.

I see that even the comments that she had made on this thread have been erased. If you happen to remember her last name - which I don't - you can look her up on Facebook and other networking sites like Twitter. If you find her let me know. I'd like to know that she's ok also.

No, I don't remember her last name. Sorry. I guess we can just hope and pray that she is safe.

She must have chosen to take herself off this site. Maybe she is trying to disappear without a trace to escape an abusive boyfriend or husband. At any rate, there is nothing else I can think of to find her. I hope that she is alright.

Or perhaps she started school/college and chose to take herself off in order to focus on her studies. It did coincide with the beginning of the school year, and she seemed young (late teens). Though you don't have to be young to go back to school.

If we didn't have imaginations, we wouldn't be writers. The possibilities are endless. but we'll never know. Wait till your kids grow up and they learn how to drive and you have to worry about them coming home safely. I gather your kids are little. My daughter lives in Cincinatti. What part of Ohio do you live in? At any rate, we'll never know about Lyssa and we are probably spending too much emotional energy worrying about something we can't do anything about. Good luck with the new school year for your kids and happy fall.

I live just south of Dayton, but north of Cincinnati. And I am thankful that my kids are still little. No worries about them out driving yet. But I do worry about them when I turn my back for five minutes while they are outside.

The worrying is part of being a parent. Stay healthy.

I try to turn my worries into prayers rather than letting them gnaw at my insides.

That works for a lot of people.