Saturday, December 26, 2015

You've Finished Your Book; Now What?

   This week, I finished writing a book. It's the first in a trilogy so I know what my next project will be, but I remember what it's like to write a one-shot or finish a series. You start to wonder what you should do next. Should you start on your next book? Maybe edit the one you finished? There are many things you can do once you finish writing your book, whether it's your first or your tenth.

 Edit. Editing sucks, I know. It is frustrating and makes you feel like a horrible writer. But that's the point! Editing is about making your book as good as it can possibly be, so if you're reading your book and thinking, "Wow, this is a piece of crap," then that's good! It means that you can and know how to fix it to make it better! If you write a book, you have to edit it sometime--that's just a fact.

 Start on the Sequel. If you just finished a book, maybe you don't know if it's a one-shot or destined to be a series. How did you end the book you just finished? That's the way to tell. If you can feel that you can make it into a series, do it!
Shouldn't you edit before starting the sequel? Well, I don't because if I take something out in the first book and forget about it as I'm writing the second, I might mention that part by accident and then no one would have any idea what I'm talking about. So I edit when I'm done with the series to make it less confusing. But that's just me.

 Write Another Book. Maybe you want to take a step back from the series you're working on to write something different, and then later come back to finish the series. Who says you can't? That's awesome that you have another idea for a book! Go for it! You can always come back to the series. Though, I would suggest reading the first book before coming back to jump into writing the rest of the series. You don't want to miss any little hints that you had in the first book.

 Take a Break. Taking a break after you finish a book can be refreshing, unless you're someone that always has to write 24-7 to keep yourself sane. I fall into the latter category. If I fall out of writing, I end up reading a lot because I have to leave reality somehow. After I finish a book, I might take 1-4 days off from writing. I just can't go long without going back to my imaginary world.

 Let Someone Read Your Newly-Finished Work. Letting someone read a book you just finished is scary. I only let one or two people read my books when I'm done with them or as I'm writing them, depending. One of those people is my co-blogger over at Infinite Book Reviews, Nadia. She always gives sound advice and points out things that I miss. She's more helpful than she will ever know!
Letting someone read your book can help you fix plot twists, character structures and a whole bunch of other things that you might miss! This is called a beta reader. 
Beta readers are not explicitly proofreaders or editors, but can serve in that context. Elements highlighted by beta readers encompass things such as plot holes, problems with continuity, characterisation or believability; in fiction and non-fiction, the beta might also assist the author with fact-checking. (from Wikipedia)

 Do You Want to Publish Your Book? Are you considering trying to get your book published or self-publishing it? Well, before you do I'm going to suggest editing it first because you can never edit too many times. Polishing your work is good for you and it will help you get to where you want/need to be.
If you want to try to get your book traditionally published, your writing, characters and everything else about your book will be judged by those in the publishing industry because that's their job. They're looking for a book that will sell, but they won't want to spend months on editing your book.
If you want to self-publish, you're going to have to edit too because people aren't going to want to read something with a ton of grammatical errors and plot holes.

There are a few things for you to think about this week :) Good luck with writing!
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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Merry Christmas!

                  Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!


   My dog has been sleeping by the presents to "protect" them. I'm pretty sure someone's gift is going to go missing before the end of the day...

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Wednesday, December 16, 2015

My Christmas List...

   Christmas gifts get harder and harder for me each year. I just never can think of something that I want during the month of December, yet every other month of the year I want everything in sight.

 I try to give people ideas but it's so hard. My list is almost always the same, and it usually consists of things that people can't give me lol.

 A Library. I want a room that has nothing else but books, a comfy chair and a desk so I can also write in this room.

 A Dog/Puppy. This is something that someone can get me but my dad is refusing to let me get another dog until a move out. (Hopefully that will be soon.) I'm not sure what kind of dog I want yet but I do know that I want it to actually do something.
The dog that I have now, Snuggles, is a shih tzu and she literally does nothing! She sleeps, she breathes, and she growls at all of my friends. That is it. She hates bathes, the outdoors, grass, leaves, my friends; basically everything. She loves snow (strangely since she hates being outside), noodles, popcorn, unions, sleeping, and blankets. I want a dog that isn't so grouchy and that actually loves me lol. She loves my dad more than anything. She doesn't come when I call her, but she'll actually run (she doesn't do that often) when my dad calls her. It's ridiculous and offensive.
I just want a dog that will come when I call its name!

 Books. I always want books, but I'm very particular about the books I read. I don't read non-fiction without being forced, unless if it is about true-crime.

 Time. I need more time in the day. Never going to happen, I know that but it's something that I want. I want more time to write!

 Sell. I want to sell a bunch of books in 2016! I'm hoping to publish another book next year and I've got big plans for it :) Sadly, no one but my readers can give me this but I'm hopeful

What do you want for Christmas? I really just want a puppy...
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Signed Book Giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Darkest Light by Ashley Earley

The Darkest Light

by Ashley Earley

Giveaway ends December 31, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Holiday Giveaway!

Enter to win a signed copy of Ashley Earley's YA Fantasy novel, The Darkest Light!

I am hosting a special giveaway this holiday season! I will be giving away 1 signed copy of my young adult novel. You can enter today (December 16th, 2015) and up until December 31st, 2015!

Below is the summary for the Young Adult Fantasy:

After discovering a secret her parents have kept from her all her life, Alyssa’s life begins to unravel, and she’s thrown into a magical world she never knew existed—one that’s both frightening and intriguing to her.
While trying to discover who she really is, and who her father was, she begins to see the darkness this unknown land holds, and fears becoming part of that darkness.
Torn between this new world, and the human world, Alyssa must make the ultimate decision between the possibility of losing herself forever to become part of it, or stay behind and let the world of Föld perish.
As if her life wasn’t complicated enough, she’s falling for two guys—that live in totally different worlds. Wesley and Archer couldn’t be more different, but they both have her captivated.
A battle is coming. Will Alyssa be forced to fight against the people she loves?


Here is the link so you can enter: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25540795-the-darkest-light

And here are a few links to where you can find me :)
www.ashleyearley.com
www.ashleyearleybooks.tumblr.com
www.ashleyearleywrites.blogspot.com

Happy Holidays everyone!
-Ashley Earley

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Short or Long Chapters?

   Writers can be pretty particular about how long we make our chapters.

 Sometimes, it can depend on the story, or it can just depend on you as a writer. I know writers that specifically like to keep to short chapters that are only a few pages long, I know writers that like long chapters, and I know writers that don't care and just go-with-the-flow.

 I personally prefer short chapters because when I read at night, I like to stop at a chapter-break before going to bed. I hate stopping in the middle of a chapter, even if there's a break in the story. I like having the option of whether or not I will read the 4-13 page chapter before I fall asleep.

 Because of this strange need to finish a chapter before I go to sleep, I write short chapters. I guess it might be because I'm hoping that there is another "I have to finish this chapter before I go to bed" booknerd out there and that they will appreciate my short chapters. I know, I'm weird.

 Why use short chapters? Why use long chapters? It doesn't really matter because your book is going to be as long as it's going to be. There isn't really a difference between the two, it's more of a personal preference, and someone who has picked up your book isn't going to stop reading it and never pick it up again because your chapters are too long.

 And this probably isn't something to decide before starting your book, there are more important things to decide, so it's probably something you can decide after writing your first few chapters. Is your story more of a long chapters kind of book, or is it a short chapters kind of book? You decide.

Comment below, do you write short or long chapters?
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Sunday, December 6, 2015

Update: Busy

   I know, I know; I haven't posted anything in a while. I'm sorry! But I have a good excuse.

 I'm trying to finish the book that I've been working on these last few months by the end of the year. 

 I'm working on a trilogy and I'm close to being done with Book #1 of the Enchanted Trilogy, so I just really want to finish it by the end of the year so I can start 2016 by starting on Enchanted Book #2. My goal is to have the last 2 books done before the end of 2016, which shouldn't be too hard. At least, I'm hoping. Things are starting to get a little crazy with me because of my school,my jobs, and because I'm trying to get my last completed work published; all while writing Book #1 of Enchanted.

 I just reached 40,000 words in Enchanted #1 (115 pages) so I'm pretty confident that I'll have it finished by December 31st. The story is about to get intense so I should just fly through it! I also have a ton of notes for the last 20-30 pages, so I doubt I'll get writer's block.

 I just reorganized my story-notes and I'm ready to finish Book #1 to get to Book #2!


Happy writing! <3
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