Most writers I know have imaginary friends. It's nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I find it's quite useful.
The most beautiful thing about being a writer is that you are never alone unless you choose to be.
Last night I had a sit down with Amelia, the protagonist of a new book I'm working on (spoilers!) so I could get to know her a little better before I threw her into a new scene. She was very cross, and with good reason, since I hadn't been listening to what she wanted to do in the story. I learned that Amelia was a Ravenclaw (not a Gryffindor, as I wanted her to be) and I got to know my first truly angsty, sassy protagonist. It's not what the plot needs; it's just who she is.
The wonderful thing about fiction is that it doesn't make the characters any less real or any less important to you than the people you see in day-to-day life.
2016 has been a big year for many of us and, in times like these, reality can be overwhelming. I want you to know, dear reader, that there is no shame in taking a quick vacation from The Real World to recharge - whether that's in a good book, a TV show, or just a chat with your favorite fictional character.
Reality will be waiting when you're ready to return.
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
The World Spins Madly - A Lesson in the Meaning of Empathy and Pain as a Writer
It's been a whirlwind of a year. I graduated from UC Santa Barbara in March, and just received my diploma in the mail yesterday!
In the last six months I have experienced some terrible personal losses that sent my life spinning. This is terribly unusual for someone who has been working since age 13 and always, always had a concrete Life Plan ahead of me. Due to many strange circumstances beyond my control, I am perhaps experiencing true Young Adult Life for the first time. It's terrifying. It's fun.
Most importantly, it's a time in my life that will shape the writer I become. It's important to remember that whether or not you believe in God, fate, or sweet serendipity, this life is going to pick you up and drag you somewhere you never expected. You might not enjoy the ride, but you might be surprised to find how resilient you can be. I have experienced great pain and love and joy and horror since December, and I can honestly say that I will become a better writer for it. The ability to deeply experience these strange and very human emotions is what makes me a good artist - or at least a very passionate one!
I think it is because of my dedication to being a writer that I am able to see purpose and meaning in the good and bad in my life right now. I will continue to experience the extremes life brings me because I believe that feeling my emotions honestly, no matter how painful, allows me to better empathize with others. And what is a writer without empathy?
I promise to you, dear reader and friend, that the pain I experience is worth it because it will bring me closer to understanding you. And I want to understand everything I can about you because sometimes you are also broken or hopeful or brave or scared and you are always, always beautiful and loved.
In the last six months I have experienced some terrible personal losses that sent my life spinning. This is terribly unusual for someone who has been working since age 13 and always, always had a concrete Life Plan ahead of me. Due to many strange circumstances beyond my control, I am perhaps experiencing true Young Adult Life for the first time. It's terrifying. It's fun.
Most importantly, it's a time in my life that will shape the writer I become. It's important to remember that whether or not you believe in God, fate, or sweet serendipity, this life is going to pick you up and drag you somewhere you never expected. You might not enjoy the ride, but you might be surprised to find how resilient you can be. I have experienced great pain and love and joy and horror since December, and I can honestly say that I will become a better writer for it. The ability to deeply experience these strange and very human emotions is what makes me a good artist - or at least a very passionate one!
I think it is because of my dedication to being a writer that I am able to see purpose and meaning in the good and bad in my life right now. I will continue to experience the extremes life brings me because I believe that feeling my emotions honestly, no matter how painful, allows me to better empathize with others. And what is a writer without empathy?
I promise to you, dear reader and friend, that the pain I experience is worth it because it will bring me closer to understanding you. And I want to understand everything I can about you because sometimes you are also broken or hopeful or brave or scared and you are always, always beautiful and loved.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Non-Fiction Books to Fuel Creativity
Believe it or not, I do have hobbies outside of writing, editing my work, and crying about it. Between marketing for The Lazarus Serum and fleshing out the beginning of a new book, I've needed to take breaks so I can learn something new.
That's where hobbies come in. I was recently asked how I keep up the "steam" for writing and editing. I'll post a new vlog on the topic soon, but until then here's a brief answer: take in as much information as you put out. I thought I'd share some of my findings with you, so here are four non-fiction books I plan on using to fuel my creativity!
1. A Beautiful Mess is a pretty neat book including tips on photography and photo challenges to inspire you.
2. Happy: Secrets to Happiness from the Cultures of the World is exactly what it sounds like - the book collects cultural secrets and teaches you how to apply them & bring a little brightness to your life.
3.Instant Happy is a great book for bitter writers - it's full of clever motivational tips and photos on how to stay happy. Sometimes a 10 second attitude makeover is enough to get you back into writing!
Have you read any of these books? Am I missing something important here?
If so, leave a comment below or shoot me an email at fallonjones@live.com!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Vlogging?
For some reason a few of you want to see my face online, so I've decided to start vlogging - video blogging - and posting a few videos where I'll be talking about some of the same topics I discuss at Comic Conventions, like writing young adult fiction, self-publishing, and marketing a book.
My first video will be about character development and how to create three-dimensional characters, but after that I'm wide open to ideas for future videos.
So what do you want to hear about? Leave your comments below or shoot me an email at fallonjones@live.com - I'm open to suggestions!
My first video will be about character development and how to create three-dimensional characters, but after that I'm wide open to ideas for future videos.
So what do you want to hear about? Leave your comments below or shoot me an email at fallonjones@live.com - I'm open to suggestions!
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Get your FREE ebook - The Lazarus Serum - today!
Get your FREE copy of The Lazarus Serum today!
Merry Christmas to all you readers out there! Since it's the holiday season, I am giving The Lazarus Serum (a dystopian sci-fi) ebook free for the next 2 days!
The book is available for iPad, Kindle, and PDF download at the link below: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/357084
If you like what you read, please share this link with a friend or leave a book review.
Happy Holidays,
Fallon Jones
Merry Christmas to all you readers out there! Since it's the holiday season, I am giving The Lazarus Serum (a dystopian sci-fi) ebook free for the next 2 days!
The book is available for iPad, Kindle, and PDF download at the link below: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/357084
If you like what you read, please share this link with a friend or leave a book review.
Happy Holidays,
Fallon Jones
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
5 Tools to Self-Publish
I use Grammarly's free plagiarism checkerbecause sampling is only okay in the music industry!
A week has passed, and I'm ready to publish my latest book, The Lazarus Serum. A lot of people have asked me how to go about self-publishing, since there are so many different ways to do it now that the industry has exploded!
In this post, I have compiled a list of tools that have helped me tremendously in the epic adventure that is self-publishing.
1. Smashwords
If you are looking for a quick and cheap way to publish e-books, I strongly recommend using this website. You can access formatters for your book through their website, and they will get all of the kinks worked out so that your book looks professional when it gets into the market. And did I mention the distribution benefits? Provided your book passes the formatting requirements, (which it will if you pay for formatting) you can get your book carried through Barnes & Noble's website, along with Amazon and various e-readers.
2. Lulu
This is much more expensive than Smashwords, but your best bet for quality print works. They have a wide selection of editors, marketing packages, and formatting selections. You can do hardback, paperback, or iPad e-books with this option.
3. Grammarly
In addition to its free plagiarism checker which compares your work to billions of others', Grammarly offers contextual grammar corrections and word choice suggestions. It's way more comprehensive than what you'll find in your word processor - it's cheaper than hiring an editor, too!
4. WritePad
I used this iPhone/iPad app to write two of my novels - The Jaws of Life and The Lazarus Serum. It's a word processor that lets you write your books by hand rather than by keyboard on your screen. It has built-in handwriting recognition that will translate your scribbles (even cursive) into neatly typed words. You can customize your own text and color themes, export documents as PDFs, and sync with any cloud.
5. Your Blog
This is your best marketing tool. And believe me, marketing is the most important part of self-publishing. I use social media like Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter to keep my readers informed about what I'm up to next. Your blog is also a great way to link people to your products. For instance, I have separate pages for each of my books on my website that tell a little bit about each story! Besides talking about your own works, your blog is a great place to talk to your fans directly and rant about your hobbies - like I'm doing right now.
To get a feel for what a self-published book looks like in its final form, check out The Jaws Of Life
or The Lazarus Serum!
A week has passed, and I'm ready to publish my latest book, The Lazarus Serum. A lot of people have asked me how to go about self-publishing, since there are so many different ways to do it now that the industry has exploded!
In this post, I have compiled a list of tools that have helped me tremendously in the epic adventure that is self-publishing.
1. Smashwords
If you are looking for a quick and cheap way to publish e-books, I strongly recommend using this website. You can access formatters for your book through their website, and they will get all of the kinks worked out so that your book looks professional when it gets into the market. And did I mention the distribution benefits? Provided your book passes the formatting requirements, (which it will if you pay for formatting) you can get your book carried through Barnes & Noble's website, along with Amazon and various e-readers.
2. Lulu
This is much more expensive than Smashwords, but your best bet for quality print works. They have a wide selection of editors, marketing packages, and formatting selections. You can do hardback, paperback, or iPad e-books with this option.
3. Grammarly
In addition to its free plagiarism checker which compares your work to billions of others', Grammarly offers contextual grammar corrections and word choice suggestions. It's way more comprehensive than what you'll find in your word processor - it's cheaper than hiring an editor, too!
4. WritePad
I used this iPhone/iPad app to write two of my novels - The Jaws of Life and The Lazarus Serum. It's a word processor that lets you write your books by hand rather than by keyboard on your screen. It has built-in handwriting recognition that will translate your scribbles (even cursive) into neatly typed words. You can customize your own text and color themes, export documents as PDFs, and sync with any cloud.
5. Your Blog
This is your best marketing tool. And believe me, marketing is the most important part of self-publishing. I use social media like Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter to keep my readers informed about what I'm up to next. Your blog is also a great way to link people to your products. For instance, I have separate pages for each of my books on my website that tell a little bit about each story! Besides talking about your own works, your blog is a great place to talk to your fans directly and rant about your hobbies - like I'm doing right now.
To get a feel for what a self-published book looks like in its final form, check out The Jaws Of Life
or The Lazarus Serum!
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