Russell Slater -- FIVE THINGS LEARNED WRITING

Russell Slater is a writer and author AND small press publisher located in West Michigan.

Here, he talks about FIVE THINGS LEARNED WRITING his Classic Monster (in my words) novella, ACIPENSER.

 

 

Something in the lake… 4th of July Weekend!

 

Time for flags, barbeques and late night fireworks. For the residents of a sleepy West Michigan community, the carefree days of sun-soaked bliss are about to be interrupted by a deadly abomination of nature…lurking in the depths of a local lake. ACIPENSER

 

Vietnam veteran Silas Sobel loves Green Lake. He watches over the water – protects it. When he witnesses a mysterious attack on a pontoon of partiers, his claims are dismissed as wild stories. Setting out on a lone mission, he utilizes unconventional methods to capture the proof he needs. As the town slowly realizes the truth, they find themselves woefully unprepared to combat the hideously mutated monsters of Green Lake.

 

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FIVE THINGS I LEARNED while writing ACIPENSER

 

FYS – Finish Your Shit.  Don’t look backward (until the end). 

 

1. FYS

This is the most important acronym for a writer.  Put simply: Finish your shit.  Great words of advice.  Twenty half-written stories are useless, whereas a terrible yet fully-written rough draft has a future.  Get it done, maintain momentum, and don’t stop until you write “THE END.”  I’m still working on this.   

 

2. ACIPENSERS don’t have teeth – wait, yes they do! 

 

When I chose the Lake Sturgeon as my “Green Lake Monster,” I soon was disappointed to learn that these fish don’t even have teeth!  Somehow a giant mutant fish that gummed people to death didn’t seem as frightening as rows upon rows of serrated steak-knife teeth.  So we gave him chompers – deadly, pointy ones.  Coincidently, I did learn later on that certain species of Acipensers in Eastern Asia are predatory fish, and do in fact have teeth. 

 

3. We’re famous!  (not really)

People aren’t like cockroaches – in fact, they like the spotlight.  I love writing stories based locally, and I knew by creating a fictional lake monster in a community near where I live, I would be scaring my friends and neighbors.  Knowing there are many “Green Lakes” out there, I specifically had my cover artist (Jordan Richardson) put an outline of “our” Green Lake as a glare in the monster’s eyeball.  It’s just something small, and discrete – not something you’d normally notice, but when locals say, “Is this about our Green Lake,” I can point to that small detail, and they instantly smile.  Some area readers like to guess which characters resemble actual people.  

 

4. Great art will sell your book

Yes, people do judge a book by its cover.  An awful story with a great cover will outsell an awesome story with a terrible cover.  We are visual creatures, and we buy visual entertainment (whose actual content is mostly unseen –movies, books, magazines) based on the package it comes in (or cover).  Work with talented artists who can convey your story through a great cover.  The reader should have some idea what the book is about based on the cover – when readers pick up a copy of Acipenser to thumb through, they have a pretty good notion that the story involves some type of terrifying monster with sharp teeth.  Too many covers on the market today, whether through independent or traditional publishing houses, appear too generic.    

 

It took Jordan and I several months to develop the final look of Acipenser.  He went through many variations, and after several sit-down meetings and dozens of emails exchanged, we finally got it right.  I love the final look of the monster – so much so, I got him tattooed on my left shoulder. 

 

5. It’s all good: Feedback

Feedback is our emotional payment for our work (physical payment in the form of cash, checks, and credit are nice too).  After pouring heart and soul into a project, hearing the response from readers can be satisfying, encouraging, or maybe disheartening.  Even if a reader gives you blunt, at times rude, feedback – it’s all good.  Our first reaction when receiving negative feedback may be to snatch the nearest solid object and thump them over the head with it, but resist the urge.  Bite your tongue.  Smile.  Say, “thank you for taking the time to read it.”  Think about their feedback – does it have merit?  Yes, the truth can sting sometimes.   Use negative feedback as a learning experience. 

Toughen thy skin until it becomes an armor shell that can absorb whatever a reader throws at you. 

 

Positive feedback makes us writer-types puuuuurrrr.  “I liked it,” or “it was an enjoyable read” are nice to hear, but what really gets me purring is the feedback with details.  Stories of readers’ reaction to your material are great.  I recently had a woman who lives on Green Lake tell me how her teenage daughter bought a copy of Acipenser, and then invited her girlfriends for a sleep over.  They took turns reading it aloud to one another and then went swimming in the lake at night. 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Russell Slater is a Michigan author and head of Peninsulam Publishing (Publishing stories Made in Michigan). In addition to his published novels, his work has been featured in the (Wayland) Penasee Globe, Allegan County News, Flavor 616 Magazine, Michigan Medical Marijuana Magazine, Engraver's Journal and the Volunteer: Civil Air Patrol Magazine. He enjoys creative writing in multiple genres, from alternate history political thrillers, to sci-fi/horror, and children's books. He lives in a rural community with his wife and son.

 

 

 

Peninsulam Publishing and Book Links

 

www.peninsulampublishing.com

https://www.facebook.com/peninsulampublishing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melanie Hooyenga - FIVE THINGS LEARNED

Author Melanie (Swiftney) Hooyenga talks about

Five Things Learned Writing Her Trilogy

FLICKER, FRACTURE and FADED

and Her Writing Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've learned a lot about myself as a writer since I wrote my first novel eight years ago.

 

1. I Can't Force Words.

 

But I can insist very strongly that I write at least 100 words. While writing my first novel, I was part of an online group that had to write 100 words a day. 100 words is nothing. It's a paragraph. You can write it in five minutes. Coming up with an excuse for why I can't write for FIVE minutes was nearly impossible, so I would sit my butt down and write. More times than not I wrote more, but even that minimum word count keeps the story moving forward.

 

2. I Can't Force a Long Writing Session.

 

I've participated in NaNoWriMo three times (talk about forcing words!) and it's taught me that a) I can write 1000 words in 45 minutes when I'm on a roll but it's rare for me to write more than that. On days when it's not coming easily, I've learned to recognize when my body and mind can't handle sitting in front of the computer any longer. When I first started writing I'd force myself to sit there for another hour, but all that happened is I'd end my writing session feeling discouraged—no matter how much I wrote. Now I stop when I'm feeling antsy.

 

3. First Person Present Tense CAN Work.

 

And it's what I love to write. The first two novels I wrote were third person past tense and while it worked, it didn't ROCK. For me, being RIGHT INSIDE my character's head is where I prefer to be.

 

4. Seeing Your Manuscript Turn Into a Book is AMAZING.

 

If you're a writer, I don't need to tell you this, but seeing your book in published form is awesome. Finishing a first draft is a huge accomplishment, then editing, editing, editing.... so when you finally get to that point where others can BUY it, it's like a dream come true. But by the time it's published you're already writing the next one, so that awesomeness continues. It's like a book-bliss cycle!

 

5. The Writing Community Makes It All Worthwhile.

 

Writing is a solitary endeavor, but you can't write in a bubble. When I first started out, I joined Absolute Write and in between learning about the publishing industry and writing in general, I met the people who are my best friends today. Some people have supportive friends and family in their everyday lives, but not all writers are that lucky. Having a community—even if you rarely or never see each other in person—is crucial. Besides, who else will tell the world about your book?

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melanie Hooyenga is the author of the YA trilogy, the Flicker Effect, about a teen who uses sunlight to travel back to yesterday. When not at her day job as a writer/graphic designer, you can find her wrangling her 6-year old Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with her husband Jeremy.

 

 

 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

melaniehooyenga@gmail.com
http://www.melaniehoo.com
https://www.facebook.com/MelanieHooyenga
https://twitter.com/MelanieHoo
https://instagram.com/melaniehoo/

 

 

ABOUT HER BOOKS

FLICKER

Biz is a perfectly normal teenager except for one minor detail: she uses sunlight to jump back to yesterday. She takes advantage of flickering by retaking Trig tests, fixing fights with her boyfriend (or reliving the making up), and repeating pretty much anything that could be done better. Trouble is, flickering makes her head explode from the inside. Or feel like it anyway.

 

No one knows about her freakish ability and she’s content to keep it that way. Guys don't stick around because she refuses to let them in, but all that changes when Cameron, her best friend, starts looking oh-so-yummy. Suddenly she's noticing his biceps, his smile, and the cute way his eyes crinkle when he—gah! This is her friend!

 

But the butterflies come to a screeching halt when little girls start disappearing, then take a nosedive when the police link the kidnappings to Cameron's sister, who vanished years earlier. As the police grasp for clues, Biz photographs a strange man lurking in the shadows and realizes that her flickering can help more than just herself.

 

 

FRACTURE

When seventeen-year old Biz wakes up from surgery after helping catch a kidnapper, she thinks she’s lost her ability to flicker—travel back in time eighteen hours—but she soon discovers her ability is stronger than ever. And so are the mind-blowing headaches.

 

But flickering isn’t the only thing giving Biz headaches. Her newly shaved head brings out the bullies, her boyfriend Cameron is getting a little too chummy with a girl from the kidnap support group, and Cameron’s formerly kidnapped sister is having some serious adjustment issues.

 

When her dad’s health takes a turn for the worse, she turns to her neurosurgeon who operated on her. If she tells him the truth, he could figure out why she and her dad flicker and save her before her entire world—and her own health—crumbles. But can Biz trust him with her secret?

 

FADED

Biz didn’t think life could get worse after the tragic events that surrounded her last flicker, but when she accidentally flickers on her eighteenth birthday after doing shots of vodka—she’s forced to face the consequences of her actions in a way she never imagined.

 

When an anonymous email threatens to reveal her secret, Biz must decide if flickering is all it’s cracked up to be, or if she needs to stop. Forever.