Tell Me a Story

A Book Called Garden of Stones by Jody Offen was w...

2009-11-06T08:44:57.939+01:00

A Book Called Garden of Stones by Jody Offen was written and published before Twilight it's about vampire story that takes place on the coast of Washington just like Meyers. It's about a young girl who falls in love with a vampire. With in the first few pages she encounters a man that shape shifts to a wolf, ends up at the local hospital because of an injury. Oh and the girl's brother was a deputy sheriff. The plot was based also around his death. The killer was an ex boyfriend who was into baseball. And yes there is mention of a local Native american as an old family friend. I could go on with little ideas of things that I could say Hmmmm... I wonder if Meyer ever read or was told about this book before she wrote hers.

I think everybody on Twitter knows exactly what ha...

2009-11-01T16:31:48.108+01:00

I think everybody on Twitter knows exactly what happened, and I'd be surprised if anybody held it against you. Sorry it happened to you, but glad you got it figured out.

Thanks, Jean, nice of you to say so.

2009-10-24T19:57:13.097+02:00

Thanks, Jean, nice of you to say so.

Wow- amazing! Not surprised that you love the plac...

2009-10-24T18:24:52.487+02:00

Wow- amazing! Not surprised that you love the place!

Here from Twitter.

Thank you for stopping by and leaving the comment,...

2009-10-24T15:22:24.079+02:00

Thank you for stopping by and leaving the comment, Dave - very valid - very useful.

It's also worth mentioning that it's all too easy ...

2009-10-24T15:08:11.609+02:00

It's also worth mentioning that it's all too easy to let your storyline mould your character, whereas it should be that real characters will real lives have other influences as well.

If everything a character does or says is relevent to the story, then they certainly become part of the story, but nothing else, and as characters they can appear rather two dimensional.

In order to fill out your characters and to give them more believable personalities, it's a good idea to include aspects of their lives that have nothing to do with the storyline whatsoever: They may do things or say things with no relevance to the plot at all. From the point of view of the story this may seem all a bit trivial, but from the point of view of the character it isn't, and it provides the reader with evidence that the character has a life that goes beyond the pages of the book, and therefore makes them more real and more believable.

Thank you Debra, I really appreciate that.

2009-10-19T00:28:10.760+02:00

Thank you Debra, I really appreciate that.

Great tips. Very much appreciated. I'm going to tw...

2009-10-19T00:14:04.342+02:00

Great tips. Very much appreciated. I'm going to tweet this!! ;-)

Many thanks, Robert. Very kind of you to say so.

2009-10-18T23:56:38.745+02:00

Many thanks, Robert. Very kind of you to say so.

Excellent tips!

2009-10-18T22:57:01.747+02:00

Excellent tips!

It seems to be true wherever you look, Sulci. Th...

2009-10-14T17:10:08.671+02:00

It seems to be true wherever you look, Sulci.

That's wonderful news, Josie. I wish you every success.

We are opening up an new online bookstore featurin...

2009-10-14T14:54:59.476+02:00

We are opening up an new online bookstore featuring JUST new authors.

www.indiependentbooks.com

Josie

There has always been this commodity factor to art...

2009-10-14T14:51:21.614+02:00

There has always been this commodity factor to art. I used to write stage plays and there the theatre/Literary managers knew Harold Pinter represented X thousand bums on seats (anatomy not down & outs), Robert LePage Y thousand and little old unknow me z hundred. Therefore you have to wonder at the literary value of your first works, until your name has attained critical commercial mass, after which potentially you can sell any old tosh on the strength of your reputation. 'Art' seems to have very little to do with these formulas...

Thanks for commenting, Angel Marie. I always enjoy...

2009-10-08T08:48:28.410+02:00

Thanks for commenting, Angel Marie. I always enjoy an interchange of ideas.

I agree that for journalism and media work, a formal qualification is very necessary. However, Demi was interested in writing novels and stories.

I will say this about print journalism: I was a re...

2009-10-08T02:36:40.552+02:00

I will say this about print journalism: I was a reporter for about four years, and it helped my fiction writing in one very important way: it helped me tighten my writing. That being said, I agree that if you want to learn how to write, then read and write.

I like this blog!

Angel

Thanks for the comments, Jonathan. I'm glad you fo...

2009-10-06T07:44:02.579+02:00

Thanks for the comments, Jonathan. I'm glad you found it of interest.

It always takes us by surprise when someone asks what the book is about - yet it shouldn't. Wh can know more about it than the author....

Nice post. I've struggled with this issue when peo...

2009-10-06T02:37:14.842+02:00

Nice post. I've struggled with this issue when people ask me what my book is about. I feel like I lose them in the first 30 seconds because I've only finished the first draft and there are major rewrites in the near future. I've done a couple of synopses, but not one that knocks my socks off. I look forward to reaching the point of being able to succinctly describe my work. I'll be sure to use your tips! Thanks for the post.

Thanks for stopping by, I'm always dead chuffed wh...

2009-10-05T09:14:36.425+02:00

Thanks for stopping by, I'm always dead chuffed when someone communicates.

I must say the article was rather cynical - and my own final comment was said with tongue in cheek.

...And for any readers out there - don't panic....I certainly won't be altering the way my characters behave

Ok, Ive read the article, and I kind of disagree o...

2009-10-05T03:01:44.291+02:00

Ok,
Ive read the article, and I kind of disagree or at least this is my opinion. I make love to someone because I will enjoy it because I love them, now how I want it done may be different from what men want, but I enjoy being caressed and filled and basically loved... a little pull of the hair every now and then isnt bad either. Its better when both parties are having fun. Dont ruin your characters because a few women are afraid to tell their partners what makes them get all hot and wet. That said. I love your blog and Im happy I visited.

I have a strange relationship with the delete key....

2009-10-04T11:51:08.459+02:00

I have a strange relationship with the delete key.

When something is not working, I will often delete not just the offending paragraph but also the two adjacent paragraphs.

Often the rewrite is a paragraph smaller and contains more.

Weird the way your brain works.

Of course, this is not as brave as it at first sounds, what with me being secure in the knowledge that the undo button lurks at the top of my screen.

Bye the way, good post, particularly the section about deleting the start. Best time to write the start of your story?

At the end.

Very nice! This is a wonderful blog... I had a gr...

2009-09-29T13:59:46.426+02:00

Very nice! This is a wonderful blog... I had a great time browsing and reading your posts. You may also drop by my site if you have time. It's about christian books . I'm sure you'd find my site useful.

Very true! Blogging seems mandatory these days fo...

2009-09-26T07:59:15.811+02:00

Very true! Blogging seems mandatory these days for authors--successful ones anyway. However don't let it take too much time away from your main writing. Also, don't let it get you down if you readership isn't spectacular at first. Be patience. Writers aren't supposed to be good at that, right? ...I didn't hear you... RIGHT?!

Why would she wait until book 4 to plagiarize some...

2009-09-19T09:40:22.279+02:00

Why would she wait until book 4 to plagiarize some goofy little 35 page book when she was already one of the most successful writers in history?

To me the only possible basis for this would be that for some reason she read Willy The Wizard many years earlier and forgot about it, then recycled one or two themes without realizing where they came from.

Hostages being rescued from a bathroom does sound like a bit of a coincidence, but come on, boy wizard in a competition and wizard train? I'm surprised they didn't claim that she plagiarized when she said her wizards walked on floors and went through doors.

This must be the silliest lawsuit of all time. Eve...

2009-09-16T19:14:32.432+02:00

This must be the silliest lawsuit of all time. Even the lawyer’s description of the similarities between the two books seems awfully thin. There is nothing that couldn’t just be a coincidence and there seems to be a great deal of difference in the nature and scope of the books. Does “Moby Dick” plagarize the Bible because they both have a whale and a guy named Ahab? These people are just hoping she will pay them a little something until they go away.
L. Grey http://www.greyorgray.com

Whoops.... someone doesn't seem to like what Kayne...

2009-09-14T23:09:50.224+02:00

Whoops.... someone doesn't seem to like what Kayne West has written...