Pep Talk Week 2: 4 Tips to Succeed this June

Robert Chazz Chute offers his tips on how to succeed this June!

So, you’ve decided to commit to writing 50,000 words or more this month. Blood oaths have been sworn. You promised yourself, as God is your witness, you shall be a novelist! Heroes will sing your praises in Valhalla this night. As it was foretold in the prophecy, you shall write and you will finish to great acclaim. Beer, Cherry Cokes and champagne for everybody!

Good. Now that we’ve got the drama, grand pronouncements and the first flush of enthusiasm out of the way, let’s settle some priorities and expectations so you, too, can win JuNoWriMo and the love of your cold, aloof parents.

  1. You have made your writing a high priority this month. You matter and what you want is of value. We’re talking hopes and dreams here! No shame in such selfishness.

That affirmed, know that you will have to tell someone no this month. You’ll probably have to defend your writing time against the onslaught of several someones repeatedly. Fine. Do so. Your family, friends and enemies will still be around to suck the life out of you when you’re done your word count for the day. Put your writing session on your calendar just like you would an appointment for a colonoscopy. You probably wouldn’t look forward to a such a procedure, but you definitely would not miss such an important appointment.

Yes, your writing is just as important as meeting a doctor with a startlingly long air hose, a camera and a penchant for proctology.

  1. You are here for the writing and this will be fun. Not always, of course. If scratching out words were an easy  and endless gigglefest, everyone would be a novelist. There is a trick that will help you through the rough spots: just as with a bad movie, you can always fix your manuscript in post.

Write confidently. Write swiftly. Don’t look back. Push through to the end. Editing and worry is for later. The key to a great book is to start with a crappy one. There will be plot holes. You can fill those in another time. Too often, writers compare the wretchedness of their first draft to some genius’s finished work. Trust me, that so-called genius looks like half an idiot in his or her first draft, just like you and me. Relax into the inevitability of disappointment with your first attempt.

This isn’t baseball. In writing, you can take as many swings as you like until you hit a home run. Writing is a sport for cheaters. We keep our lousy attempts in locked drawers and the fans only see our triumphs in highlight reels.

  1. I guarantee you will have a ton of fun with this challenge if you resolve to stop being so precious about writing. We fetishize the act like some dudes dig the smell of leather when they’re naked. We talk instead of write. We develop elaborate rituals, light candles and demand everything be perfect before we can begin. We think too much about how hard writing can be. But wait! Remember physical labor? Remember that sunburnt summer you got a job as a roofer pouring hot tar and day after airless day was a heatwave full shimmering punishment? Or what about that summer retail job that was so bad you studied harder in September so you would never have to work that counter at the mall again?

The quiet solitude of writing combined with the social support of JuNoWriMo is heaven compared to those mundane horrors. Writing is play. Look around. Writing is everywhere. You can already write so don’t make too big deal of it. If you want to be a novelist, be a novelist and be grateful. Storytelling looks just like typing at first. After we learn more craft, we call it writing. Eventually, we call ourselves writers and it doesn’t even sound weird when spoken aloud. Your parents will remain fretful and unsupportive, sure. But hey, you knew Mom and Dad weren’t going to change.

  1. I know you probably think writing should be hard. I had a lot of false starts thinking that way. When I got into traditional publishing, I had a romantic view of the profession. Then I drove authors to signings where no customers showed up and the author blamed me. I attended literary parties hoping for witty repartee with great minds. Sadly, the number of geniuses in the publishing industry is no more nor less than what you’ll find among any random clutch of accountants, plumbers or dentists. Elite publishing parties are more about bon bons than bon mots. You’ll find ego, avarice and envy at those cocktail soirees, but surprisingly little material for your next book.

Freedom came when I let go of all those trappings and got to the core of what you and I do. We write. Creative writing is a meditative, hopeful act of faith. When the words are coming fast, a neural engine chugs along that changes the way you think and feel. You won’t know where the ideas are coming from but it feels magical. Writing is the only magic I believe in.

This is a great thing you are attempting. If you hold on to that, you’ll persevere. Congratulations on getting started. I hope you discover a great story along the way and end up with something you’ll love. Remember, you don’t have to love it all the time. Sometimes the only virtue in the exercise is that you made your daily word count so you don’t have to write more today. Fix it in post. Tomorrow, find the fun again. Repeat until complete. Write so much and so freely that you stumble upon the magic.

Throwing down words to build stories is addictive. Let’s get high on this wonderful drug. Once you crush this goal, you’ll probably find that 50,000 words was a great start. Most serious writers I know write at least 50,000 words every month. That’s how you know you must be victorious in JuNoWriMo. If mere mortals can complete this task or something like it twelve times a year, surely you can do it once. As your confidence grows, what once seemed difficult will become easier. This might even turn out to be your new day job.

But you don’t have time to read this. Write now right now.

Robert Chazz ChuteA former journalist full of self-loathing, Robert Chazz Chute is now an award winning suspense novelist (still full of self-loathing.) He writes assorted apocalyptic epics, SFF and crime thrillers that would make your momma pee the bed. Learn more at AllThatChazz.com and love him, dammit! Since you’re climbing JuNoWriMo, you might especially like Crack the Indie Author Code.

How to Have a Successful JuNoWriMo, No Matter What!

Honorée Corder, author of twenty books (and counting!) kicks off our series of JuNoWriMo 2016 pep talks with a plan to make this month a successful one.

HonoreeCorderHeadshotCongratulations on your decision to embark on JuNoWriMo! Right now I am sure you are filled with the excitement that can only come with a shiny new project. Executed well, in 30 days you will be the proud owner of a completed manuscript. And right now, you might be feeling invincible… as though not a thing or person could possibly stand in your way or take you off course.

I do hope that is the case, but I know better than almost anyone that just about the moment I 100% commit to something, at almost exactly that same moment the universe conspires to test me. (How rude!)

I want to help you get from June 1 to June 30 with finesse, style, and ease. Let’s go ahead and set you up for super success so that no matter what happens you will crush it!

Number one: the goal. If you’re like me the goal isn’t just 50,000 words, you have a story or outline already percolating in the back of your mind that comes with a title or even an ending. But on the off-chance you don’t have a specific goal, go ahead and set one. Something like: Complete 50,000 words toward my manuscript by June 30th, or, Finish Game On! The Ultimate Guide to Getting All You Want from Your Life and Your Work (my current WIP).

Write your goal on a 3×5 card and look at it twice a day: right when you wake up, and right before you go to sleep.

Signed Up, Bought the T-Shirt… Now What?

Hm, now what…

junowrimo facebook picThat’s a good question.  Since this is a writing challenge, based mostly on the classic NaNoWriMo, you probably can guess the first thing to do would be write… and you’d be correct.  But we have so much more to offer our members beyond a dramatically increased word count and super-cool t-shirts.

JuNo volunteers offer sprints all through the month to get you inspired.  We’ll mostly be sprinting via Twitter @JuNoWriMo, but we have a dynamic Facebook group too for ideas, prompts, and even the occasional coffee clutch discussions we all need between bouts of word-frenzy.  If you want, there is a word count tracker here and here (older format for people without the latest Office).

We are a community that shares successes and failures and keeps going.

And we write.

So now that you’re here, what do you say?  Think it’s time?  Then…

Just write button

Pep Talk Week 4: Brain Drain? Take a Hike by Rayne Hall

When you’ve worked on your novel intensely for three weeks, your brain may feel like it’s been boil-washed and tumble-dried. However hard you wring it, you can’t squeeze another drop of creative juice from the shrunken, crumpled rag.

Here’s an instant fix: go for a walk.

I find walking does miracles – and I’m not alone. Many writers observe that the steady rhythmic movement clears stress from the brain and makes room for creative ideas.

After twenty minutes, ideas pour into my mind: solutions to plot problems, insights about my characters, and little details to flesh out the current scene.

The thoughts flow faster and faster, and after forty-five minutes of walking I need to pause and write them down lest I forget. For this, I always carry a hardback notebook and a supply of pens (and sometimes an Alphasmart) in my backpack. Then I sit on a park bench, on the sandy beach or in a coffeeshop, and write for a while until it’s time to walk again.

On sunny days, I walk and write for hours. My favourite routes are through fields and meadows from the village of Newenden to Bodiam Castle along the meandering River Rother, and from Hastings to Bexhill along the seafront – the latter has the advantage of several nice cafés along the way, and in summer the chance to swim and sunbathe on the beach.

When it rains – which happens often here in England – my walks tend to be shorter, though I still walk half an hour at least.

If you’ve reached a point where the creativity has dried up, where the fun has evaporated, when you’re bored with your writing or you’re stuck with a plot problem, put on comfortable shoes and the right clothes for the weather, and just walk.  Don’t think consciously about your novel at first, and don’t torment your brain with demands. Wait for the dam to burst naturally, which for you may be earlier or later than the twenty-minute mark.

Once it happens, direct your creativity to the book. Don’t waste it on designing the quilt you may make next year, or mentally redecorating your bathroom. A gentle prod in the direction of your story is all your subconscious needs, and the creative thoughts will come gushing.

The rhythmic exercise of walking also eases the tightness in your shoulders and the stiffness in your neck, and at the same time, it burns up calories.

The only time it doesn’t work so well is immediately after a meal, because the digestive process reduces the brain’s activity. However, walking can help with the digestion, so if you plan to write after dinner, consider going for a short walk first.

If the weather is too awful to go out, or if you simply don’t fancy walking, try some other steady rhythmic exercise instead: aerobics with music, spinning, a spell on the climber or the cross-trainer, or low-intensity cardio. Your brain will reward you with refreshed creativity.

Try it and see how it works for you. I’d love to hear about your experiences, and also if you have other techniques to share. Leave a comment, and I’ll reply.

Rayne Hall

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RayneHall - Fantasy Horror Author - Portrait by Fawnheart

Rayne Hall has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include Storm Dancer (dark epic fantasy novel), 13 British Horror Stories, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2, 3, 4 (creepy horror stories), Six Historical Tales (short stories), Six Quirky Tales (humorous fantasy stories), Writing Fight Scenes, The World-Loss Diet, Writing About Villains, Writing About Magic and Writing Scary Scenes (instructions for authors).
She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the Ten Tales series of multi-author short story anthologies: Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic, Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies and more.
Find her at: Rayne Hall’s Dark Fantasy Fiction

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JuNoWriMo Featured Author: Christen Krumm

Meet some of your fellow JuNo WriMos in our Featured Author series each Monday and Wednesday during June.

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Christen Krumm
Christen Krumm

My name is Christen, and I’m a dreamer. I’ve always been a dreamer, and I could never decide what I wanted to be when I “grew-up”. For a while it was a doctor, then an actress (which is funny since I can’t act, or preform in front of crowds), and there was a short stint I wanted to be a tornado chaser. All the while I was writing. I remember at six years old writing my first book about a dollhouse and the dolls that lived in it.  Eventually everything else faded away, but writing stayed—that and being a mommy and I figured I could do both.

My current project, working title The Black Knight, is a YA Fiction semi-dystopian? I’m not quite sure how to categorize it, but it’s set in the not too far future. The United States has been fracture between New America (the majority of the East coast) and Southern Republic (Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana). There are car chases, damsels in distress, and romance.

The Black Knight was originally going to be one book, adult fiction, and somehow it was based off of the movie Speed (but is nothing like Speed, so I’m not sure what Speed has to do with it — maybe I was just watching it while I came up with the story line), but I quickly realized I’m not cut out to write adult fiction and my story somehow morphed into a trilogy.

I’ve been working on this story in some way or another since I was about thirteen. Now, being twenty-seven and with a goal of having something, anything, finished by the time I’m thirty, I’m really feeling the fire under me. It’s currently about half written—I’ve been writing on it seriously since January/February of this year and I’m hoping to finish it up during JuNo.

I blog about writing and life at ChristenKrumm.com, Tweet at @ChristenKrumm, and Instagram under KrummCake. I love meeting new people and would be thrilled if you stopped by and said hello!

Bio: Christen is a  book lover by default. She solemnly swears to always have a pile of books or two (or four) around her  house for you to trip over. She graduated from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith with a BA in English in 2007. She’s a coffee drinking, stay-at-home mom and Nester at Litfuse Publicity Group by day and a writer by night. She currently resides in a semi-small Arkansas town, with her rock star, super-hero husband, daughter E and son D.

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Enjoying JuNoWriMo? Help us make it bigger and better for next year! Donate, and you’ll receive personal fanfare from our Facebook page.

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JuNoWriMo Featured Author: Lisa Voisin

Meet some of your fellow JuNo WriMos in our Featured Author series each Monday and Wednesday during June.

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Lisa Voisin
Lisa Voisin

My name is Lisa Voisin and I’m a young adult fiction author. Last year was my first JuNoWriMo, and I’m happy to say I completed it, by writing the first 50,000 words of a YA paranormal romance called The Warrior (a sequel to my debut novel, The Watcher, which was published by Inkspell Publishing in March). I finished the rest of the first draft of The Warrior back in December and I’ve been revising it ever since.

As far as writing goes, I’m a bit of a pantser. I tend to write a book from start to finish and see what I’ve got once I’m done the first draft. This process is fun and freewheeling, but it relies very heavily on edits and revisions to make the novel readable.

For JuNoWriMo this year, I’m going to try something completely different: planning my novel first. Yes! I’m hoping to be a recovering pantser and learn to plot first! The idea actually makes me really nervous and reminds me of things like taxes or housecleaning. I’m afraid if I know everything that’s going to happen, I’ll lose interest.

As far as this year’s JuNoWriMo goes, what I’ve got so far is some character ideas and a premise. I’m thinking it will be a YA fantasy. Other than that, I’m keeping pretty quiet about it, just in case I change my mind, fly by the seat of my pants, and write something completely different!

If you know of any great planning/plotting tips, or links to them, please let me know in the comments below! Or, if you’re a pantser (or recovering pantser) too, I’d love to hear from you. Which process works best for you?

About Lisa:

A Canadian-born author, Lisa Voisin spent her childhood daydreaming and making up stories, but it was her love of reading and writing in her teens that drew her to Young Adult fiction.

A self-proclaimed coffee lover, Lisa can usually be found writing in a local café. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her meditating or hiking in the mountains to counteract the side effects of drinking too much caffeine!

Though she’s lived in several cities across Canada, she currently lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her fiancé and their two cats.

Find her: Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog

About the Watcher

The_Watcher_Final_Cover_60

Millennia ago, he fell from heaven for her.

Can he face her without falling again?

Fascinated with ancient civilizations, seventeen-year-old Mia Crawford dreams of becoming an archaeologist. She also dreams of wings—soft and silent like snow—and somebody trying to steal them.

When a horrible creature appears out of thin air and attacks her, she knows Michael Fontaine is involved, though he claims to know nothing about it. Secretive and aloof, Michael evokes feelings in Mia that she doesn’t understand. Images of another time and place haunt her. She recognizes them—but not from any textbook.

In search of the truth, Mia discovers a past life of forbidden love, jealousy and revenge that tore an angel from Heaven and sent her to an early grave. Now that her soul has returned, does she have a chance at loving that angel again? Or will an age-old nemesis destroy them both?

Ancient history is only the beginning.

Check out The Watcher Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/ukoCDlW05-Y

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Enjoying JuNoWriMo? Help us make it bigger and better for next year! Donate, and you’ll receive personal fanfare from our Facebook page.

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JuNoWriMo Featured Author: Brooke Carpenter

Meet some of your fellow JuNo WriMos in our Featured Author series each Monday and Wednesday during June.

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Brooke Carpenter
Brooke Carpenter

The first novel I attempted to write was a children’s’ fantasy called ‘Jenny & The Mystical Land’.  I was about 10 years old, and I loved making up my own worlds and creating unusual and unique creatures. The story was about a young girl who discovered a portal behind a locked door in her house and she was transported into a mystical land full of dryads, shape shifters and a heap of other mythical creatures. She was then sent on a journey by the fairy queen to retrieve a stolen object. Throughout her journey she made new friends and discovered secrets about her life that had been kept from her. I never finished writing the story, but I’ve written about 5 different variations of the beginning of the novel.

I attempted my next novel when I was 13. It was a horror/adventure story called ‘Shadowfire”. It tells the story of a teenage girl, Allira, who discovers she’s one of the seven guardians of these extremely powerful stones. The guardian of the Shadow Stone, Sirus, becomes consumed by the dark magic in his stone and becomes power hungry for the other stones. So Allira, with the help of the guardians Azalea and Zane, hunt down the other guardians to protect them and rise up against Sirus’ power. I never finished this novel either, but it has become a personal favourite of mine and I hope to one day finish it.

I started the last novel I attempted to write with the help of my friend Grace. It was an adventure/fantasy called ‘Tangled Thorns’ and is the longest novel I’ve written so far. It tells the story of a young werewolf girl named Vanita who is tortured by her village when they discover what she is. Vanita is then saved by a nearby Alchemist, who takes her back to his hut, to help her recover. The alchemist’s daughter then has a vision of an oncoming war between the humans and the mythical creatures and it is up to them to stop the war before it comes to pass.

For my JuNoWriMo novel I am going to write a collection of short stories in a range of different genres, but mainly horror. I have currently written two short horror stories for school assignments, ‘Ice Shard’ and ‘Lurking Shadows’, which I’m going to re-write and add to the collection. I hope to have about 10 short stories when I’ve finished and the 50,000 word count, but I’ll be happy with 25,000. ‘Ice Shard’ starts off with young adult, Genevieve, walking home from work in the snow when a man comes out of the forest begging her to help him find his friend. Genevieve agrees to help and as a twist in the story, she and her sister are were-creatures that had attacked and killed his friend, with him next on the menu.

I would love to talk to other writers, so you can message me on facebook- http://www.facebook.com/?q=#/Brooke.Megan.Carpenter?ref=tn_tnmn

Or send me an email – Sparklybubbles7@live.com.au

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Enjoying JuNoWriMo? Help us make it bigger and better for next year! Donate, and you’ll receive personal fanfare from our Facebook page.

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Pep Talk Week 2: When You Want to Quit by Hugh Howey

I am a quitter. There, I said it. I tried to teach myself how to play the guitar, and I quit. I did the same with the piano, and I quit. For twenty years, I set out to write a book, my lifelong dream, and I quit every single time. It was so much easier to go find a distraction than to push through the callous-building phase and get good at something. Abandoning my dreams was far simpler than realizing them.

The reason I was so good at quitting was because I never knew what the reward for success felt like. I had never finished a novel, so how could I convince myself that the goal was worth the work required? I couldn’t. No one can know. So let me attempt for a moment to convince you. Because I don’t want you to quit writing until you’ve reached the end of your story.

Forget about what comes after: the revisions and the edits and the challenge of finding readers. Right now, at this very moment, a unique story exists in your head – a book lives and breathes only in your imagination – and whether or not it survives is completely up to you. If you push through that next scene, meet your word count goals, and make sacrifices, a new work will exist for all of time. And it won’t matter if anyone reads it. All that matters is that you accomplished your goal.

When I finished my first novel, I experienced a high like no other. It was like reaching the top of a mountain and finding oneself exhausted, exhilarated, and with the satisfaction of knowing that there wasn’t another step to take. I had done it. As an avid reader, I had always wanted to write a novel, and now I had. I went to dinner that night with my wife, my mother, and my sister. We celebrated. My novel sat on the dinner table in a thumb drive, and nothing else mattered. I had written a book.

Every story I complete fills me with the same sense of satisfaction. As a lifelong quitter, I am now addicted to the feeling of completing my goals. And my goals remain simple: Write every day. Write because I love it. Make my works available to whoever might care to read them.

Many of you have completed previous NaNos and know what I’m talking about. Maybe you feel the same urge I do to tell complete strangers that I just finished a novel. I want to shout it to the heavens when I wrap up a story. It’s that euphoria that we chase as we start our next work. But for any of you who have given up or haven’t had this buzz – take it from someone who regrets the years I wasted. It is completely worth the sacrifice and the heartache that writing a novel requires. It’s one of the most satisfying feelings you’ll ever enjoy. To believe me, you’ll need to feel it for yourself. So what are you waiting for? Stop what you’re doing and go write. And keep writing until you get to the end.

~

Hugh Howey (2) 1200Hugh Howey is the New York Times bestselling author of WOOL and SHIFT. He worked for a decade as a yacht captain before falling in love with a girl and following her into the mountains of North Carolina. There, he pursued a lifelong dream of writing a novel. He’s been writing ever since.

Find him at www.hughhowey.com.

 

 

 

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JuNoWriMo Featured Author: Vicki Trask

Meet some of your fellow JuNo WriMos in our Featured Author series each Monday and Wednesday during June.

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Vicki Trask
Vicki Trask

Hi, I’m Vicki Trask *waves* this is my second time doing JuNoWriMo but my first time succeeding.

I was walking around campus one day last year, just people watching, when I stumbled across a dark corner behind a building that everyone walked passed and no one really noticed. Naturally my first thought was “you could murder someone back here quite easily.” It then turned into a game to find all the dark corners in the university campus. There were a lot. And it often required a bit of creativity. After that, I started seeing opportunities to write murder scenes – I emphasizewrite so no one thinks I’m a homicidal manic…yet. By the end of the summer I had a notebook and a wall of sticky notes full of plot notes and dialogue and murder scenarios that I’d “borrowed” from the business office I was working at at the time.

It was a story begging to be written.

So I gave in and planned out a vague storyline so that I could do it for NaNoWriMo in November. I wrote about 4,000 words before life got in the way and I gave up. Turns out November is just not my writing month. I’ve tried and failed at NaNoWriMo three years in a row and for last year’s JuNoWriMo I got further than ever but I still didn’t finish. This year, I have no excuse so if I start to fall off the wagon for one reason or another just slap me upside the head and we’ll get through it together.

Since November the plot has changed so many times that I can’t see straight but I still have that wall of sticky notes as inspiration. I find it a great organization tool actually. It’s disorganized but colourful and handy – plus you can’t misplace a wall so you never lose your notes.

With the help of the handy wall and a few days off, I began to try and make sense of these new ideas that kept popping into my head that were somewhat related to the original idea but in the same way not – it was all very confusing. All I knew was that it was about death and a woman in a pencil skirt.

Thus “Morbid Curiosity” was born; a New Adult Contemporary Fantasy about a woman forced to kill for all eternity who accidentally kills the wrong person and is forced back into the real world. I’ve always had a fascination with death – a safe obsession I assure you. I’ve been writing short stories about death for several years now (mostly on my blog: http://madamewriterofwrongs.blogspot.com) and I thought it was time to finish a full novel.

Right now, I’m in the middle of planning, trying to plot out as much of the story as possible before June. For me the biggest challenge is going to be the emotion. When it comes to fantasy I love the rules and the origin stories but no good story is just made of background – duh – so the challenge is going to be indulging in the background while still fleshing out an interesting story. Seems like it would be simple and obvious but really, it’s not. Every writer has their strengths and weaknesses.

I’m going to be tweeting about it a lot so follow me (http://www.twitter.com/vatrask) and I post writing articles (not my own) every weekday on my Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/179919772129906/

Happy Writing WriMos, Wishing you all the best of luck!

~

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JuNoWriMo Featured Author: Bonnie Louwerens

Meet some of your fellow JuNo WriMos in our Featured Author series each Monday and Wednesday during June.

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Bonnie Louwerens
Bonnie Louwerens

Bonnie Rae spent her early childhood in the sunny state of California. At the time, she was an only child with a very large imagination. Thanks to her Grandmother, the love of reading books started at a very young age. Every walk to the grocery store meant an ice cream cone and a new Little Golden Book. Through books, Bonnie learned you could be transported into other worlds. The addiction was instant. She started her first set of novels at the age of sixteen and has been writing ever since.

Bonnie Rae self-published her first two books that is part of a YA paranormal trilogy on Amazon with the third scheduled for release June 2013.

JuNoWriMo Book Title (current working title): Deviant

Genre: Sci/Fi Dystopian

Synopsis:

Eighteen year old Sephra Vandeci has lived a life of absolute privilege. She’s just graduated from the top military academy and is being groomed to follow in her father’s footsteps as Commander of their great dome city, Syrica.  All her life she and her best friend Ronin have been told that life beyond the protection of Syrica’s massive glass barriers is nothing more than a toxic and deadly wasteland. Inside they are safe from disease, famine, and radiation. No one has ever desired to go beyond the walls. No one except, Sephra. She can’t help but wonder about what really lies on the other side. When a mysterious plague suddenly sweeps through her beloved city and a virus causes all of the new Robotic Engineered Soldiers to break the cardinal law of robotics, Sephra’s life of privilege begins to crumble. Time is running out and soon she learns that everything she’s ever loved about her protected world is nothing more than an immaculate and vicious lie.

Backstory:

I can’t get enough science fiction or dystopian novels so I just had to combine my love of both into my own book.  All my life I have been fascinated with the future of technology, cyborgs especially. I was watching a program one day about the advances with robots and how strikingly human they looked. Thus, an idea started to form in my head and the plot for this novel was born. I have about forty thousand words down on draft one already and plan to use JuNoWriMo to flush out the second draft and hopefully bring that word count up to around seventy thousand.

Website: http://bonnieraebooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bonnie-Rae/169237309818769

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BRLouwerens

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5816624.Bonnie_Rae

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