Back to The Old Character Drawing Board...

I had thought long and hard about the main character for my London mystery. Brilliant! A character that covers up his secret identity by acting like a blubbering idiot. Well, I was informed by a good friend that it had been done before in the classic The Scarlet Pimpernel. Great minds think alike I guess.

This brings up an interesting point. Should we, as writers, totally throw away a novel idea when we discover that it is similar to another books? I would say...yes and no. In my case, it was only a character. He can be remolded. Also, in my case, the character was almost identical to that of an extremely popular book, a classic. If your plot lines up with a classic that is very popular (or any really popular book) try to throw a twist in. A few things the other books doesn't have. You don't have to throw away all your work...just rework it a little.

If we worried to much about copying another book or movie, we wouldn't get anything written. This seems to be a huge problem for some people I have talked with. They have a unique fear of being a copy-cat. I say, Don't worry about it.

With all that to say, it's back to the old, familiar character drawing board. To bad, he was going to be funny. A little reworking though will make him stronger a character.

NaNoWriMo Update!!!

Well, last night I finished the Armor of God... Sadly, I am not as happy with it as I wished to be. I still have a few parts to fill in. Parts that I didn't know how to do during the writing process. So...what next?

I'll continue working on the Armor of God in my secret writing nook and most likely set it on a shelf, forever.

What next? In December, I'll start the research for my London mystery. And I will write a short story for a contest.

In January, I will start the writing of my London Mystery.

February, finish writing the London mystery

March, set aside the London mystery and start plotting the second one. (Yes it is going to be a trilogy!)

April, start edit of London mystery #1, have friends read through it, prepare to send to agent...

May, attempt to get an agent and start writing the second!

Wow! I have a ton of work to do! I'll probably edit The Armor of God in my short amount of spare time. Soon to come, excerpt from my London mystery. For now, here's the blurb:

        Life is changing for Chance. His secret identity as the Shadowstalker, the grandest thief of all time, has almost been discovered, a sidekick has been forced upon him, and a secret family meeting is called. Chance leaves his manor as his normal uneducated self.

        At the family meeting, his great aunt is murdered for a huge inheritance. Because of a mix-up  everyone blames Chance. He must find the killer and uncover the mystery. Quickly, it appears that the person didn't murder for money, but for a much greater purpose.

      Join Chance and Bruce on an adventure of pure enjoyment. Lessons will be learned, murderers unmasked, and conspiracies discovered.

 Coming soon...

Contest?

Hey, everyone! I have been seriously considering holding a writing contest over the summer. It would, most likely, be a short story contest of any genre. But I would need enough people to be interested. At least ten but fifteen would be awesome. I would post the winning story on here. (If it's alright with the author) And I'd have a prize for the winner. A gift card, book, or something.

Not only would this be a ton of fun, but it would promote my blog. In order to submit a short story, you'd have to follow my blog. So if you have friends that want to enter, they would join my blog, and my blog would get promoted more.

So whacha think? Comment below if interested!!!

Halfway!

As you can see on the side, I am halfway done with The Armor of God and it is the eleventh. It's looking good to complete this novel before November's end.

How are you guys doing with NaNoWriMo? Halfway yet? How far to go? What's your novel about?

Comments appreciated!!!

The Christian Writer's Market Guide Review

Have you ever wondered what publisher is right for you? Have you tired of doing endless research on which publisher to send your manuscript to?
No more.

The Christian Writer's Guide 2012 (TCWG) is the answer to your problems. I bought this book a while back wondering what its contents would hold. Well, it is not a book that you can just sit down and read. With TCWG, you can search to find all the Christian publishers that publish your type of book. Whether it be fantasy, mystery, suspense, cozy mystery, or even publishing a tract!

TCWG also tells you everything you need to know about the publishers you are interested in. Such as if they allow first time authors, if they're subsidy publishers, or if they allow manuscripts submitted through the writer and not the agent.

TCWG tells you about every contest, critique group, and writing conference in your area! (All Christian)

This is the book I used in order to get a short story published. I will consider sending The Armor of God to a few publishers using this book. Why wait...Click on This Link!!!

IMPORTANT: They are about to come out with the 2013 version of this book. You may want to wait and buy that one, so the information will be very recent.

Obama Is Re-elected!

Well, President Obama is re-elected and the election is over. What am I going to blog about now? I guess I'll have to go back to book and movie reviews, short stories, and a lot of other things. I'm sure some of you out there are happy that my blog can get back to normal. (As am I!)

I was starting to get tired of blogging about the election. Sooooo...check back probably tomorrow for a book review. See ya then!

Pray Today, Vote Tomorrow, Pray Again

Don't forget to vote tomorrow!!! Notated who you're voting for, your opinion counts. We have the awesome opportunity to take part in who our Marion's leader will be. Don't throw away this chance.
Also, pray. Pray that God's will will be done through this election!

The Words Are Coming Endlessly...

We are into the third day of NaNoWriMo and the words are coming fluently. I love it when you can write without the trouble of writers block. (Which happens to be one of my worst nightmares) I have experienced writers block once and only once. Wow, was it ever tough. I eventually had to force myself to sit down and write. It was grueling, but I made it through.

There really isn't one single way to get rid of writers block. Some people say to listen to music, some say to read a lot to get inspired, some say to force yourself to peck out a chapter. As I am sure you have heard, "Writing is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. I find this becoming more true as I continue along in my writing journey.

So if you are struggling with writers block, (during the worst month ever to experience it) good luck. Just kidding. I would say to pray. Pray that God would let the words flow and that the words would be honoring and glorifying to Him.

That's all I got for you. Remember, PERSEVERE!!!

What Next?

Well, I just finished yet another chapter in The Armor of God. As you can see on the side I am a quarter of the way done with it. So after November (when I'm done with The Armor of God) what next?

I mentioned that I was going to write a London Mystery Novel. I am super excited to write this book. Soon as I am done with my current novel, I'll start doing research for the London mystery.

After I finish the mystery novel, I'll start rewriting The Linien Group, adding a point to it.

That's my schedule. We'll see how it works out.