Showing posts with label the clearing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the clearing. Show all posts

Monday 18 February 2013

Blog Tour for THE CLEARING with Fiction Addiction

My blog tour starts today!!


 
I've hosted other books on their blog tours, but I've never had one of my own,
so I'm very excited to announce that my blog tour for THE CLEARING starts today.
I'd love it if you could join me over the next couple of weeks at the following virtual venues where there'll be interviews, blog posts, giveaways and reviews.
 
 
18th February 2013
19th February 2013
Victoria’s Pages of Romance - Interview & Excerpt
20th February 2013
Reading a Little Bit of Everything - Excerpt & Giveaway
21st February 2013
A Novel Review - Review
22nd February 2013
Story Addict Guest Post
25th February 2013
26th February 2013
Rhoda Baxter - Guest post
27th February 2013
Miss Bookworm Reviews Review & Giveaway
28th February 2013
Book-Marks the Spot - Review & Giveaway
1st March 3013
 
 
Thanks so much to Shaz Goodwin at Fiction Addiction Books on Tour
for her super-special ninja powers of organisation and co-ordination!
 


Monday 28 January 2013

Thursday 17 January 2013

Writing Post-Apocalyptic Fiction - My Top 10 Tips

 
 
THE CLEARING, Book 2 in my post-apocalyptic series came out this week and I'm already scribbling away on Book 3. Hoping to release it this summer if I can.
 
I'm really enjoying writing it. there's something about this genre which I find compelling. It sends shivers down my spine but despite this, I love to immerse myself in those terrifying end-of-the-world situations.
 
A few weeks ago I blogged about writing dystopian and post-apoc fiction over on Author's Anon. I've reposted it below for those of you who missed it:



My personal top ten elements for writing a great post-apocalyptic novel:
 
1. Make your setting original.
There have been oodles of futuristic New Yorks and Londons and a plethora of abandoned dystopian ‘facilities’. We’ve had kids battling to the death in arenas and gory zombie apocalypses. Worlds have been divided into ‘Factions’ and ‘Areas’, ‘Districts’ and ‘Zones’.
 
Put your own personal twist on the fall of society.
 
2. Sanctuaries
Locating them, getting into them and saving them from destruction. That’s all part of great post-apocalyptic fiction. Along with finding food, medical supplies, clothing and other survival gear.
 
3. Struggle
Decide whether your story is about struggling to save and change the world or whether it’s about a character’s struggle to adapt and survive within that world. It can be both, but have a clear idea about it before you go in. Do they succeed in their struggle? Or does everything unravel?
 
4. Why is your character special?
Did they get lucky? Are they equipped with specialist survival skills? Are they a victim? Why did they make it when everyone else died?
 
5. The Threat
Who or what is it? A person? A creature? A hostile environment? Are there multiple threats?
 
6. Authenticity and continuity
There are two main types of post-apocalyptic fiction. There’s gritty reality - the ‘what if’ scenario where life-as-we-know-it ends. And then there’s pure fantasy – zombies and dystopian societies etc. But whatever you choose to write about, make it as authentic as you can. If you’re writing about zombies, set parameters for them. What can they do? How can they harm you? And remember to never ever call them ‘zombies’ – there are ‘walkers’, ‘deadheads’, ‘the unconsecrated’ and a gazillion other names for the undead. Make up your own. Be consistent and make your world totally believable.
 
7. Technology
Does your world have any? Or did it all die with the end of civilisation? Or is there now even more advanced technology? Either way, talk about it and show it or the lack of it. What are the implications?
 
8. Atmosphere
Create a distinctive atmosphere for your novel. Whether it’s dark and claustrophobic or menacing and suspenseful, try and keep that feeling running through the story so your reader gets a real sense of being in another time and place. Perhaps it’s a world of extremes where you have luxury and decadence in the face of poverty and oppression. Either way, make the scenes ooze with atmosphere.
 
9. Before and After
What was the world like before the fall? What is it like now? Was it the same as the real world or was it something else? I want to know details. I want to see landscapes or cityscapes. I want to picture the before and after.
 
10. Hope
Even if everything is bleak and horrendous and it all seems futile, you have to plant a tiny nugget of hope somewhere in the story or we might as well all lie down and die.

Feel free to let me know if you think I’ve left anything out . . .


More online resources:
Writing Apocalyptic Stories
Apocalyptic Fiction Authors Beware
How to Write a Post-Apocalyptic Story
Best Post-Apocalyptic Novels

Thursday 8 November 2012

The 'Look' Challenge

 

I’ve been tagged in the Look Challenge, by The Lazuli Portals
This challenge is designed to help writers recognise where common words are over-used while showcasing some of your work. 'Look' is one of the most over-used words in writing, along with other favourites such as 'just' and 'suddenly'. The following exercise might help you find and change the offending words. and is a real eye-opener (I found 187 'look's in my manuscript. Looks like I'll be digging out the thesaurus tonight).


For this challenge, here's what you need to do:
  • Search your manuscript for the word “look” and then copy a couple of the surrounding paragraphs into a post.
  • Give a little background on the scene if you’d like.
  • Tag 5 other writers who’re working on, or who’ve completed, a manuscript.
 
Here's an excerpt from my work in progress, The Clearing, Book 2 in The Outside Series. It's a YA thriller set in the near future after a social and economic collapse. I was hoping to publish before Christmas, but my characters keep refusing to stick to the plot, so I'll be releasing it in the new year. I don't want to post any spoilers, so it's short and no names are mentioned ;-)

    ~
    She was held tight by the man as he walked, her arms pinned to her side. But because she faced away from him, she couldn’t even see what he looked like. Maybe that was a good thing. She didn’t think she wanted to see his face. What if he was a monster?
    Why oh why had they come out here alone? She’d known it was dangerous, but she had stupidly let herself be talked into it. Were they going to die now? Were they going to be shot? Hot tears slipped out of her eyes and she tried to sniff them back. It was so hard to breathe with this thing over her mouth.
    That Mr Carter man had disappeared too. If only she didn’t have her mouth taped she would scream and scream and shout for her mum and dad to come. They would surely hear her from here. And then dad would come running out with his shotgun and rescue them. She tried to free one of her arms, but the wriggling only made her captor squeeze her even tighter. It was hopeless.
    The man grunted and set her down on the ground. He twisted her arms painfully behind her back and tied them up with something sharp that dug into her skin. She gave a soundless whimper. Her hair fell over her eyes, but through the mousy strands she saw that she was standing in front of a vehicle. An army truck.
    The man moved around in front of her. He was ordinary looking. Brown hair, not fat, not thin, not a monster. Just a man.  
    ‘Sit down,’ he said softly.
    ~
 
If anyone’s unable or unwilling to participate - for any reason at all - then no problem. At least your name and website get a mention ;-)

The authors I'm tagging in this challenge are:

Suzy Turner - Supernatural YA
B. Lloyd - Gothic Ghosts
Sarah Dalton - YA Dystopia
Amanda Leigh Cowley Urban Fantasy
AuthorPoppet - Supernatural and Horror