Round Two: Electric Boogaloo

Well, we're through the looking glass people. I've officially begun work on the second draft of my first novel, Desolate King. I've been taking my sweet time working on this stage, a Hell of a lot more challenging than the first stage mind you, and that's both a good and bad thing. Good because it means I'm not cranking some crap out (on purpose) but bad because I'm just now getting my ass in gear working. It's going to be a very trying process, but really, what things worth doing in life don't drive you bat-shit sometimes? The best thing I can do right now is just follow Uncle Stevie's (Stephen King's) most important rules on writing well: write a lot and read a lot. Booyah.

The book that is helping me the most right now, and the greatest book on writing ever, is titled: The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass. Not to give out free-advertising here, but I owe this book a lot and I'm sure I will owe it more in the years to come. This book taught me more than most of my English classes. It's almost as important as having a lot of smart people read your shit and tear it apart. While most fiction-writing books just hash out the same basic advice (have a mid-point where shit goes wrong, introduce the problem within the first two chapters, blah, blah, blah) Donald's book (he's an agent at a publishing house, by the way) goes into deep detail on things that really should've been obvious, but somehow weren't until I read about them. Basically, following the rules to a T is fine and all, but Fire in Fiction doesn't explain how to make a competent story: it explains how to make an excellent story. A memorable and iconic story. The difference between Harry Potter and Twilight kind of story (awesome vs. shit, kind of story). I've read some ho-hum how-to-write books but this one is pretty friggen great. If you're a fiction-writer, go to Amazon or Writers Digest and buy the shit out of this book. Give it to a friend who writes, whatever. If anything, it gets those creative juices flowing and the motivation a'roarin'.