And They All Lived Happily Ever After…Not!

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Jeannicole

Cemetary

 

Recently, I finished reading, Pet Semetary, one of my favorite stories.  Though I saw the movie years ago, I had never read the book and boy am I glad I took the time for the read.  Usually, just due to the sheer stimulation of light, sound and color a movie can seem better than the book on which it is based, but not so in the case of Pet Semetary.  Reading about the desperate “coming undone” of Louis Creed made me cringe with every turn of the page.  The all-American, white picket fence family being slowly consumed by death reminded me of a large snake sucking down the carcass of a once glorious animal, but the worse part…the undeniably creepy, morbid and gruesome worse part was the ending.  In the last couple of pages Louis crawls happily into the warm, deceitful arms of death created for himself with his own human selfishness while his dead wife welcomes him with a single word from her dirt filled mouth… “Darling”.

Ugh!  I almost died (no pun intended), but I loved the ending.  Endings that lack all of the answers and leave us with a satisfactory end while still handing us a bag of mystery are the best.  Endings like this force us to carry the story with us days after we have closed the book wondering, “Did she kill him?”  “What will she do next?”

As a reader I prefer being left with a little anguish in the pit of my stomach, it makes me long for more.  What kind of endings keep you coming back for more?

 

JeanNicole Rivers

@JeanNicole19

Author of The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98)

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One of the Best Ways to Write a Bestseller

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Jeannicole

Bestseller

 

OK, so my title is a little misleading considering that this article is more about how NOT to write a bestseller than it is about how to write one.  Because I am still learning all of the elements required to write a bestseller, I can’t tell you how to do that, but I can tell you how not to write one.  My number one piece of advice is to STOP the desperate attempt to write a bestseller.  Your goal should be to write about something you love and to be doing it because you love it, not because you want to be rich or famous.  I can’t tell you how many people that I know who are now trying to write vampire books in an attempt to hop on a popular bandwagon, but if vampires are not your passion it will show in your writing.  Write about something that interests you and make it popular instead of writing about something popular that interests others.  Over the years magic had sunk in popularity until JK Rowling brought it back to life with her comical and adventurous tales.  Vampires were a vague memory, last truly intriguing us in Ann Rice’s books until Stephanie Myers, but when these bestselling authors began to write about things that they loved they made others find or re-find their love for the subjects.

Write with passion about things that you know and love and eventually people will have no choice but to take notice.

JeanNicole Rivers

@JeanNicole19

Author of The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98)

Posted in Inspiration, Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Beauty of Fear

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Jeannicole

Fear

 

Last week one of my FB friends posted a comment about no longer fearing not being loved and it touched a chord within me considering this particular fear is one of the concepts that I explore in my new novel, Unwanted (October 1, 2013).

Too much of any one thing is a bad thing, but fear is not an emotion of which anyone should want to completely rid themselves.  Fear is beautiful and necessary.

I absolutely adore the horror/thriller genre as many people do, which is why it is so popular.  Recently, a friend noticed the horror book I was reading and after she cringed she asked why in the world I would want to read a book that would scare me out of my wits.  I thought about it and replied, honestly, that there is comfort in the emotion of fear.

Fear is an intrinsic and powerful mechanism built into the human design to keep us safe.  People often associate the horror/thriller genre with bad things, demons, devils, ghosts, but it is more than that for me, it is an outlet to embrace my most fundamental fears, to expose them so that they no longer have power over me.  The genre of horror at its best is not about making one jump at every strange noise or creepy shadow that one encounters, it is about learning what we as human beings fear most so that we can find ways to manage and cope with those fears, despite the fact that we may never be completely rid of them.

Fear makes us wise, humble vulnerable, it lets us know that we are not always in control and that lack of control is sometimes just part of the way the world works and something that we must accept.  Fear makes us human and once we lose that fear we are no longer human, we become one of two things, monstrous or divine.

“Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.”

~Mary Ferguson

JeanNicole Rivers

@JeanNicole19

Author of The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98)

Posted in Reading, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Into The Action

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Jeannicole

Eating

 

People read for adventure, for the chance to escape to a place that is exciting and different.  Part of the art of being a writer of great stories is the ability to bring your reader into the scene, to place them dead center of a dramatic shootout or right alongside the main character as she fights off an attacker.  While there are many ways to bring your reader into a scene, I find the way that works best for me is to engage all of their senses.

Sight:  What should we see?  The color, the brilliance, the movement of things paints a picture of the scene and your reader can easily bring it to life with their imagination if you give them the right images.

Sound:            What should the reader hear?  Is the room so quiet that you could hear the floors settling or is there the soft shuffling of unidentifiable movement all around?

Smell:              What should the reader smell?  Is there a sharp, burnt scent originating from the spark that caused the lights to go out?

Touch:            What should the reader feel?  Touch is very important; this allows the reader to simulate a physical feeling in their own body.  Explain the searing pain that washes the victim’s back as the intruder drags her across the carpet giving her an excruciating rug burn.

Taste:              What should the reader taste?  Taste is often forgotten but extremely important and does not relate only to food.  Explain how the man can taste the smoke caused by the fire that has trapped him in the basement threatening to consume him at any moment.

Of course you cannot, or at least should not try to engage each of the reader’s senses with every new event or idea that you explain, this will bore your reader and could be a distraction, but strategically placed descriptions that allow the readers to use their senses will draw them into the moment intimately.  Bringing your reader into the story by touching all of their senses will give the reader a more well-rounded adventure and the next time they want to take a trip out of their own world, your book will be the first one they reach for.

JeanNicole Rivers

@JeanNicole19

Author of The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98)

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Great, Popular or Both?

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Jeannicole

Vampires

 

In this new writing age of polished erotica and reinvented vampires I wonder if it is possible to be a popular writer and still be a great one.

Many of the new novels that have skyrocketed to popularity are not great works of literature, more than a few are not particularly well written and some of them are just written badly.

So why are they so popular?

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3 Horror-ble Mistakes

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Jeannicole

Horror

 

My favorite genre of book/film is horror, always has been.  I have devoured some fantastically frightening horror in my years.  Despite the red-headed stepchild reputation that horror has, it is one of the most powerful genres because fear is one of the most powerful emotions.  The problem is that most horror stories fail to inspire genuine fear in its audiences, but in this genre are great opportunities to touch people, but don’t make the following mistakes:

1.      Horror Equals Gore.

False, false, false, false, false, false, false…I can’t say false enough here.  Blood and guts do not automatically make a movie a horror.  I absolutely detest blood and guts movies (some people like them and that’s fine, but this feature has little to do with the making of a good tale of horror).  There are occasions where a little blood is necessary to heighten a climax or set a scene, but for the most part an overload of blood and guts makes me more want to throw up than lock my door.

2.      Lots of Chills and Thrills with Little Plot.

Despite what many think, horror can have a fascinating plot and all the good horrors do.  Chills and thrills are great, but get boring after a while if there is nothing to keep me emotionally connected to the story.  Chills and thrills are just the topping but a strong plot is the meat.

3.      Always Making Your Villain a Boogeyman or Stranger.

Boogeymen and strangers are great for horror films; I love them, but don’t underestimate the power of bringing your villain closer to home.  Some of the most chilling horrors can be seen on the nightly news and they are rarely the work of boogeymen, aliens or strangers, take a look at this blog (http://www.jeannicolerivers.com/the-new-villain/) and find the power of bringing your villain a little too close for comfort.

Write horror that is meaningful, make the hair on the back of people’s neck stand up, make them put down their book to go and check out that creaking noise they heard in the kitchen, fill them with the unmistakable adrenaline pump of raw fear and they will keep coming back.

JeanNicole Rivers

@JeanNicole19

Author of The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98)

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Boldly Write Where No Man Has Written Before.

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Jeannicole

Bold image

 

Bold writing makes your story more interesting (FACT), it gives the reader something to grasp.  Readers want an author that is knowledgeable and forthcoming, if your writing is wishy-washy, the reader won’t believe you and they won’t believe the story, this is death to the writer.  We all want our readers to like us, as authors, but the most important thing is that they trust us and our writing.  Make your writing bold the following techniques:

  1. Stop using dimmer words and phrases like “slightly” or “a little”.  This is something I have struggled with myself and the more I grow as a writer the more I understand that it is more exciting for the reader if something IS or it ISN’T, there is nothing memorable about “a little” or “kind of”.
  2. Stop introducing words with their definitions like “She spoke in a low whisper.”  Whispers are usually low, right?  The reader does not need you to explain a whisper. “There stood a decrepit old woman.”  Decrepit already implies that she is old.
  3. Give your characters a theatrical flair.  Nobody remembers average.  Don’t make your character “kind of” mean or “sort of” funny.  Push your characters to the limit.  In theater characters are usually over the top and the most memorable ones are often extreme.  Create big, bold characters that your readers will remember.
  4. Use strong, singular words.  Don’t chop up your sentences by adding “and” between two words you like, make a decision and go with it for example instead of saying: “She was weak and vulnerable” use a bold sentence such as “She was pathetic”.

Take chances in your writing, step out of the box and be bold.  Allow your characters to be wild, set your writing free, cut it loose from the chains of tradition and watch it work.

Happy writing!

JeanNicole Rivers

@JeanNicole19

Author of The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98)

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Reading Resolutions Check In

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Jeannicole

reading resolutions two months

 

How’s it going? Two months ago you set goals for reading this year and in my blog titled, The Resolution To Reading (http://www.jeannicolerivers.com/resolutiontoreading/), I shared a few things that I would be doing this year to jump-start my reading routine.  Let’s take another look.

  1. Don’t read the classics (well…at least not all of them right away).  Uh, so far…done it!
  2. Listen to books on tape.  Right now I am listening to a book about The New Testament and while I do wish I had more time to actually read the book, I do feel like I’m learning.
  3. Jump-start your reading by re-reading your favorite book.  I just finished reading one of my favorite R.L. Stine books (a kid’s book, I know.), but it reminded me of my childhood summers of endless reading and little worries, those were the times when I could read for days with little interruption, those were the times, in which, I fell in love with reading.

Thus far my 2013 reading is going well.  How is your reading coming along and what techniques have been working for you?

JeanNicole Rivers

@JeanNicole19

Author of The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98)

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If You Want To Be Successful, Read This

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Jeannicole

J. Rivers 1

 

Being a writer has many complicated aspects, from the actual writing to the publishing to the marketing and promotions.  Since publishing my book, Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98), I have gathered enough information about this business to fill The Grand Canyon.

While in the process of writing a book, you learn many things, there is one most important thing that you must learn, that you must know and that you must accept.  It is a lesson that I learned as a child, one that I find most adults still have not learned, but is critical for survival and success, especially if you’re a writer.  One afternoon after a silly playground fight my mother gave me stern talking to and when she saw that I was still upset, she sighed, softened and told me, “Everyone is not going to like you and that’s OK.”

What?  Everyone is not going to like me and it’s…it’s…OK?  How can that be?  I couldn’t believe it.  It sounds silly, but up until that point I had never realized that everyone was not going to like me.

As a writer everyone is not going to like your work, many people may not like it at all for that matter, but that does not diminish its value.  Some people may not like your subject matters, others may not like your writing style, and others may just not like you and the fact that you are a writer, period!  But that’s OK too.  Write on.  We can all count the number of artists who are now famous but were relatively unknown and penniless in their time and while I hope that you find fame and fortune while still alive (I sure hope I do) the thing that is most important is that you keep going and you keep following your passion regardless of who “likes” you. I’m told that Jesus once turned water into wine to keep a party going, while writers-despite what we think of ourselves-may not be among the gods, we have the power to turn rejection into perfection in order to keep our party of caffeine, word counts and a dream going on and on.

JeanNicole Rivers

@JeanNicole19

Author of The Secret Keepers (http://tinyurl.com/cgvgd98)

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Keep It Consistent

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Jeannicole

Consistency

 

Consistency is incredibly important for your manuscript.  If there are gaps in consistency, you lose credibility with your reader.  Your reader feels that if you did not put in the effort to make sure that the black left eye that Bobby had in chapter one did not turn into the black right eye that Bobby had in chapter two, then why should they put in the effort to finish reading at all.  Inconsistency interrupts the reader’s experience because now they have to go back and reread parts of chapter one to make sure that they were reading correctly and it’s not fair to them, but if you are a writer you know as well as I do that despite our reads and rereads, our peer reviews and even professional edits, sometimes there are still mistakes.  Improve the consistency in your manuscript with these helpful tips.

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