5 Reason to Write with Villains

Today I have a post up at The Insecure Writers Support Group Site on Writing Realistic Antagonists.
It's a more serious post.

For here, for now, let's take a quick look at 5 Reasons to Write with Villains (the antagonists we love to hate):

1. Villains enjoy themselves. If they want to have cake and eat it and bathe in it, they'll find a way, even if if means taking all the cake in the world and enslaving all the cake bakers.

2. Villains see themselves as righteous and they worry a lot less than heroes. Villains don't ask, "Should I do this?" They just do whatever they want.

3. Villains rule absolutely. Hence, they have less paperwork to fill out.

4. Villains have henchmen, sometimes even cute ones like Minions.

5. Villains have cool toys, weapons, and transportation.

Seriously, though, these traits are just the beginning of villainous behavior. Realistic villains aren't that simple. If they were, they could never be redeemed, have henchmen issues, or feel anguish over the sacrifices they make or have made. If villains were truly simple, we wouldn't have Darth Vader, Loki, Bucky, Kylo Ren, Thanos (according to the latest Avengers movie), or Gru and his Minions.

Realistic villains and antagonists need a reason to be who they are and that's what my more serious post at IWSG is all about.

Click here to read Writing Realistic Antagonists.

BTW, I do plan to visit around the web and comment today, but as I write this ahead of time, I am experiencing dizziness with bouts of full vertigo, headaches, and ear ringing. The docs (plural) are working on a diagnosis (probably Miniere's Disease) as I am working on getting better. This has been ongoing for nearly three weeks as of the date of this post, so I am ready, really ready, to get all the way better or have a plan to solve it.

5 Reasons to Write About the Paranormal by Christine Rains

Please welcome the amazing Christine Rains to 

the 5 Reasons to Write Series

Thank so much for having me here today, Tyrean! More so, for inviting me to talk about two of my favorite things: writing and the paranormal.

Tyrean: Thanks for coming by, Christine!

The supernatural has fascinated me since I was a child. I was the kid who wished Halloween was every month, I picked up every scary book and film, and I was the always the first to investigate strange noises in the night. (I wouldn’t last long in a horror movie!) I had to share my love of the paranormal through my stories.

Here are five fantastic reason to write about the paranormal:

1) Escaping reality. Of course every story helps you escape from your every day life, but the paranormal can bring you into a whole new world. You can create a parallel dimension or craft a hidden society of wizards which exists within our mundane world. You aren’t limited by every day rules, but you must always keep in mind the rules of the world you do create.

2) In creating that world, you get to play with countless what-ifs. What if vampires were real and controlled all the major countries’ governments? What if powerful psychics banned together to control the world’s population through their cell phones? I always knew those things were going to land the human race in trouble! You can put forth a lot of food for thought with these what-ifs.

3) Supernatural characters are such fun to play with. Sure, they can shapeshift, have super speed, and can read your mind, but along with the strengths of being paranormal beings, they get the weaknesses. You can stick with the legends and have your vampires unable to go into the sunlight and your werewolves deathly allergic to silver. Or you can create new ways to torment your characters. And since your characters are supernaturally powerful, you can torture them in ways you couldn’t normal humans.

4) Most paranormal tales have elements of mystery and horror in them. It’s such an adrenaline rush to write the scary and suspenseful scenes. I love to get my heart pounding and bring goosebumps to my skin.

5) Wide-eyed wonder. Sometimes it’s difficult to put into words what you’re imagining in your head, especially when it isn’t real. Yet when you do find the right words, not only will you be happy, you will leave your readers in awe. The paranormal can be beautiful and horrifying, but it’s the otherness which attracts us. Every book which has made a lasting impression on me has hit me with this otherness, because I’m seeing something new and wonderful.

If you write paranormal stories, what’s your favorite thing about writing them?

And if you’re a reader, what’s your favorite thing about reading them?

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. She’s a proud member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. She has one novel and several novellas and short stories published. Her newest urban fantasy series, Totem, is her biggest project to date and weaves ancient Inuit myths with modern day society.

Website: http://christinerains.net/

Blog: http://christinerains-writer.blogspot.com/

Newsletter: eepurl.com/3pxgr

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRainsWriter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchristinerains

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Christine-Rains/e/B00AZYIAT4/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

A few notes from blog host, Tyrean:
1. "Rain Vigil" at A Story in 100 Words came out on Saturday. Plus, I have a vignette, "I am Patient," getting published in Vine Leaves Literary Journal tomorrow.

2. Children's author Stephanie Faris has a new book out in her Piper Morgan series!

Piper helps some four-legged friends find the perfect home in the third book of the brand-new Piper Morgan series.

Amazon Link

3. Remember, if you want to escape reality with some wide-eyed wonder, read Christine!
Her latest book just came out!

No one messes with Saskia Dorn’s family and gets away with it.

The same murderous shifters who had hunted her sister have attempted to steal a magical totem pole. Since the pieces are scattered across Alaska, Saskia, a polar bear shifter, takes her search to the tundra for any signs of the lost totems.

Cloak of Snow - at Amazon

#IWSG November 2017 and Jeff Chapman's 5 Reasons to Write with an iPad

Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and all of the awesome people who make the IWSG website, facebook, twitter, and hop run smoothly each month!

The co-hosts today are Joylene Novell Butler, Jen Chandler, Mary Aalgaard, Lisa Buie Collard, Tamara Narayan, and Christine Rains!

November's Question: What is your favourite aspect of being a writer?

My Answer: 
Traveling to distant lands of imaginary landscapes with new characters in new situations is my favorite part, especially when it feels like it's all flowing onto the page right! 

Now, the next day when I look back at it and it looks like gobbledygook, that's no fun.

But traveling to distant lands of imagination is awesome!



Now, please welcome, Jeff Chapman, an amazing novelist and short story writer, who has 5 Reasons to Write on his iPad.

5 Reasons to Write is an ongoing series, separate from IWSG

Jeff Chapman's

5 reasons to write on your iPad

I used to write all of my first drafts by hand with pen in a notebook. I'd cross out words and phrases and then I'd scrawl replacements in the margins with arrows or circled numbers to keep track of what went where. Later, I would attempt to decipher the gobbledygook. Typing the manuscript took a very, very long time. I couldn't always read what I had written. I needed to do something to increase productivity, but composing a first draft at the keyboard doesn't work for me. I like to write curled up on the couch with a cat purring on my lap. Enter the iPad and the Hanx Writer app.

1) The iPad is portable. I can carry it with me everywhere, which means I can write whenever I have the time.

2) I am not tied to a desk or table. I can write lying flat on my back in bed or sitting on the couch or sitting on the beach. 

3) I love the typewriter sounds. I use Hanx Writer as my text editor. There is a free version, but an upgrade is necessary to get multiple documents. The keyboard look and sound effects mimic a manual typewriter. I love the clickety, clickety, clack, and there's a clunk when you touch the shift key. Maybe the noise gives me the sense of working hard. Writing is for the most part a silent endeavor. 

4) I can read what I've written. Putting the first draft into a story editor is now just a matter of copy and paste from a pdf. I email the current draft to myself as a pdf at least once a day. This also gives me a backup copy on an email server. 

5) Just like a typewriter, I have complete control over the text and layout. There's no auto correct or capitalization going on. It's a first draft, who needs fancy formatting?

Jeff Chapman writes software by day and speculative fiction when he should be sleeping. Fueled by dark hot chocolate, his imagination churns out dark, creepy, comic fiction ranging from fairy tales to fantasy to horror and ghost stories. His latest tale "The Flaming Emerald" appears in Ghosts of Fire. Check out Jeff's website at www.jeffchapmanbooks.com/.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY1VYWR

http://www.jeffchapmanbooks.com/

Thanks for sharing, Jeff!

Writers - do you write with an iPad or portable screen like Jeff?

What's your favorite aspect of writing? 

(And, do you spell favorite the American way or the British way?)

BTW - all of my Trick-or-Treat reads are still free until this coming weekend.

Kendra Ardnek's 5 Reasons to Write with Pinterest

5 Reasons to Write with Pinterest by Kendra E. Ardnek

Hello!

Several years ago, my mom told me to get an account on a website called “Pinterest” because she said it looked cool. I agreed that it looked cool, but I really didn’t know what to do with it, beyond creating a board for stuff I want in my future house. That is, until I discovered the writing side of Pinterest. Now I’m here to talk about the value of writing with Pinterest.

1.      Character Casting and Setting Simulation. (I like alliteration). We’ll start with the straight up obvious use. Finding that perfect face for your character, or getting the aesthetic of your setting just right. Thanks to Pinterest, I know that I want Eddy Redmayne to play Andrew when Water Princess, Fire Prince is made into a movie and that red leaves instead of green in Colluna will be TOTALLY gorgeous. Basically, Pinterest is the place to go to get visuals for your story.

2.      Writing Prompts and Inspiring Images. So once you’ve dug past the surface use of Pinterest and you’ve given a face to all of your characters and your setting is so real that you could almost go live there, there’s another reason to hang around Pinterest – the prompts. Some people have whole boards devoted to them. Some of them are short, some are long. All are awesome. And while you were looking for the pictures that fit what you already knew of the story, you probably found a whole TON of pictures that just screamed “include me!” and made you want to add twelve new characters and create a world where trees have bubbles for leaves. In fact, I can point to a number of scenes in my newest release that were inspired by specific images that I found on Pinterest.

3.      Connecting With Other Creative People. Pinterest is a form of social media – it’s made for sharing and organizing ideas. You can use Pinterest as a tool to find other writers and explore their story ideas, or you can link Pinterest to your existing social media and your blog and show off your ideas. However, if you don’t want to be public, there is the option of a secret board.

4.      Writing Advice. Pinterest isn’t just a place to collect images, but you can also collect the articles behind the images – articles about opening sentences, how to write a good prophecy, the creation of characters, anything about writing that someone has thought to give advice about. You can find a lot of helpful quotes from famous authors and quotes that will encourage you to keep writing when you feel you can’t.

5.      And finally, Co-writing. I’m co-writing a few books, and I’ve found Pinterest to be an invaluable tool for sharing ideas between me and my fellow writer. We have a place to share our images of the characters, the prompts and quotes we think will fit the mood of the story, and recently Pinterest added a chat feature to group boards that, though I’ve not tried it, I think will be great for co-writing.

Just … one point of caution on Pinterest. Don’t get absorbed and forget to write. 

Book Description: 

Two girls with one face
Two girls with twisted fate
One in purple, one in red
One shall speak the other’s death
Who shall win their final war?
Lady Dragon or Tela Du?

Amber, the Lady Dragon, has been promised a fifty-year reign over Rizkaland and nothing can stop her from claiming it. But when you've lived six thousand years, fifty is such a pitiful number. Only one person can keep her from making this reign permanent - the Tela Du, a girl who shall share Amber's face.

The last thing Petra wants is a magical world interrupting her plans for a normal life, let alone an ultimate battle against the Lady Dragon with only one prophesied survivor. She has her childhood best friend, Reuben, at her side, but she's not sure if he's more of a help or a hindrance right now. Though she'd much prefer to just return home and forget about this whole crazy affair, things change when she discovers that the world has surprising connections to her own family - including her sister who disappeared without a trace two years before. Still, Rizkaland can't possibly expect her to risk her very life, can it?

Author Bio:
Kendra E. Ardnek is a homeschool graduate who picked up a pen at an early age and never put it down. The eldest of four, she makes her home in the Piney Woods of East Texas with her parents, younger siblings, giant herd of giraffes, and honor guard of nutcrackers. 

Blog:

knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com

Official Website:

kendraeardnek.weebly.com

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25873539-lady-dragon-tela-du

Buy the Book:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JFUF3XE

Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/6354914

Water Princess, Fire Prince will be free for the first five days of the tour (October 19-23).

https://www.amazon.com/Water-Princess-Prince-Rizkaland-Legends-ebook/dp/B00YTQBTDI/

Cherie Reich's 5 Reasons to Write to a Timer

Please welcome Cherie Reich, a guest whose monthly word counts always awe and inspire me. Find out more about her methods here! 

Five Reasons to Write with a Timer

by Cherie Reich

1. Get your BICHOK on.

Making the time to write is sometimes the hardest step in this whole writing business. Using a timer gets you to actually sit down, pull up your document, and focus on writing (i.e. butt in chair, hands on keyboard = BICHOK).

2. The 100m dash.

It takes some time getting used to writing with a timer. Start small, anywhere from 5-15 minutes. These micro-sprints will train your fingers to fly. You’ll be so busy trying to write anything down that you won’t notice that glaring typo in line seven or how you used the same verb three times in paragraph four. These micro-sprints train your mind, though, and in time you will write better faster. And we all can find 5-15 minutes to write, right?

3. Why do you write like you’re running out of time?

Because you are! 525,600 minutes. That’s all we have in a year. We are running out of time every single second. The timer emphasizes this. As the clock is winding down, the word counts grow.

And to be honest, I couldn’t resist adding a Hamilton lyric and a Rent reference.

4. Do you salivate when the bell rings?

Writing by a timer can create a Pavlovian response. Repetition trains your brain and forms a habit. After I read through what I wrote the day before, I press the timer. It may take me a few seconds to start typing, but by training my brain to know its writing time, I actually find myself getting the words down more often than not.

5. Write more now.

Some days you will still be lucky to get any words down, but if you know you have to sit in front of your document for thirty minutes, then you’re bound to write something. It’s amazing how those words add up.

Since July 1, 2015, I’ve been using a timer to time my writing. Writing for a set time every single day has allowed me to clock in 418,778 words in fifteen months, so I must admit using a timer has been an eye-opening experience. It takes dedication and practice, but so does writing in general.

Have you used a timer before when it comes to writing?

Cherie Reich owns more books than she can ever read and thinks up more ideas than she can ever write, but that doesn’t stop this bookworm from trying to complete her goals, even if it means curbing her TV addiction. A library assistant living in Virginia, she writes speculative fiction. For more information about her books, visit smarturl.it/CReichWebsite.

From USA Today, Amazon bestselling, and popular science fiction and fantasy authors comes Ghosts of Fire, a supernatural anthology of ten thrilling tales. Meet paranormal detectives, imprisoned dragons, dark demons, cursed jewels, and handsome prophets. Explore shifting realms trapped in mirrors and a disturbing future where a president aims to rid the world of Otherkind.

Cherie Reich’s story “On Day 168” in Ghosts of Fire was written in twenty-four 12-minute increments last October. You can purchase the anthology at Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Kobo, Nook, and Smashwords.

Annalisa Crawford's 5 Reasons to Write with Music

Please welcome Annalisa Crawford to:

5 Reasons to Write to Music

By Annalisa Crawford

I love music. If I could sing in tune, I’d definitely have been a singer. I did the next best thing and married one.

That’s pretty much all you need to know about my relationship with music.

1. Music sparks ideas. A line, a phrase, a feeling you get when you listen to a chorus—it might not be an immediate effect, you might not even notice at first. But one day, listening to the radio, it’ll hit you, and you’ll be inspired.
2. When Riverdance was popular (it was popular, wasn’t it?) I listened to the CD a lot, and found the beat made me type faster—I could easily keep up with Michael Flatley. Not only that, the ideas flowed faster. Any fast music will do: dance, heavy metal… Riverdance.
3. It can put you in the right zone. I tend to get obsessive when I’m writing, so instead of selecting a different CD (copious mentions of CDs = old school) I just repeat it. Each large project seems to have its own soundtrack, which immediately puts me right back into the story.
4. It’s a fantastic distraction for those days when it’s just not working. Put on your favourite tracks and dance around/do housework/curl up with a blanket and a good book.
5. Having music playing makes me feel like I’m living in a musical—quite a strange boring musical where the hero sits alone, in front of a keyboard, and ignoring everyone around them for an extended period of time.

Annalisa Crawford lives in Cornwall UK, with a good supply of moorland and beaches to keep her inspired. She lives with her husband, two sons, a dog and a cat. Annalisa writes dark contemporary, character-driven stories. She has been winning competitions and publishing short stories in small press journals for many years, and is the author of Cat & The Dreamer, Our Beautiful Child and You. I. Us.

www.annalisacrawford.com

Goodreads // Blog // Amazon Author Page

Note from Tyrean: I highly recommend Annalisa's books. She may not sing, but she has a musical ear for words that shows up on the page. Her writing is beautiful!

Madeline Mora-Summonte with 5 FLASH Reasons to Write Flash Fiction

Please welcome Madeline Mora-Summonte with a 

FLASH 5 Reasons to Write Flash Fiction!

FIVE REASONS TO WRITE FLASH FICTION

Fun! – How about crafting 25 word stories based on the names of nailpolish colors? Or creating 100 word stories with a one word only title based on themes like green and underground?

Limits! – Sure, limits are restricting but they often force us to think inside the box. Sometimes it takes more imagination to work with what you have, to work within the rules. It's thinking outside the box while staying inside it!

Across genres! – I've written flash in genres ranging from literary to horror to surreal. It's a wonderful way to stretch that creative muscle without committing to a full-blown novel-thon.

Space! – You can't spell everything out in flash fiction; there just isn't room. But it's within those spaces, between what is said and what isn't, that powerful moments – a subtle twist, some lovely nuance – reside. Readers become collaborators as they bring more of themselves to the story.

Hard! – Many people think it's easy to "knock off" a 25 word or a 500 word story. Writing good flash fiction is fun, but it's harder than it looks. Sure, this can be considered a negative, but I like to think of it as a challenge. So, how about you? Are you up for it?

BIO: Madeline Mora-Summonte is a writer, a reader, a beach-comber, and a tortoise-owner. She is the author of the flash fiction collections The People We Used to Be and Garden of Lost Souls.

Notes from Tyrean: if you haven't read Madeline's work, I highly recommend both of her books and any/all of the short fiction she has published in various e-zines. She knows how to pack meaning into tiny stories that will amaze, entertain, or haunt you with their realistic world-building and characters.

And, I just discovered another author has a new book out, so I just want to give a super short shout-out for Annalisa Crawford and her new book: You. I. Us.

Plus, I had four poems published in The Skinny Poetry Journal last week (free to read online).

And, the awesome Tara Tyler hosted me for a post on being an Author Branding Rebel! Please come visit.

IWSG Summer and Sean MacLachlan's 5 Reasons to Write Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
  
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer.

"Summer turns me upside down.
Oh, summer, summer, summer - it's like a merry go round."
-The Cars, "Magic"

It's summer. Everything is upside down. Schedules change. The weather is amazing. And, my main jobs are: yardwork and writing - with a little tutoring thrown in to keep me honest.

My happiness is also my insecurity: summer is so awesome that I want to wake with the dawn and sleep only when it's dark. I want to live every moment to the fullest. And, I want to write - somehow.

This summer, I'm hoping to write something so different than "normal" for me that it fits into the upside-down-ness of my schedule. Maybe, I'll even try something Post-Apocalyptic? Sean MacLachlan gives five good reasons to write it.

Five Reasons to Write Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

By Sean McLachlan

Hi! I’m Sean McLachlan, author of the Toxic World series of post-apocalyptic books. I’m here to tell my fellow writers why writing about miserable people in a radioactive, poisonous wasteland can be uplifting and fun. Here are five reasons to destroy the world in your novels and dance upon the ruins.

Destroying Civilization Makes You Feel Good!

Had a bad day? Get caught in a traffic jam while hurrying to a meeting? Did your boss scream at you in front of your coworkers? Get food poisoning at your local fast food restaurant? Did your upstairs neighbor let her dog poop in the foyer and then leave for work without cleaning it up?

Well, now you can have your revenge. Why settle for wiping these people out when you can wipe out the entire society that spawned them? You’ll never have to deal with them again!

And yeah, my upstairs neighbor actually did that. She was evicted.

You Don’t Have to Write About Zombies!

I’m sick of the zombie thing. Like really, really sick. Sicker than when I saw what my upstairs neighbor did. Luckily not all post-apocalyptic novels need to have zombies. Mine don’t. Well, they do have the tweakers, who are crazy, violent addicts who sniff chemicals from the Old Times. They’re kinda close to zombies, being mindless cannibals, but they’re not dead yet. Sad to say, I based the tweakers on the glue sniffers in Tangier, where I regularly go for writing retreats. Other than the cannibalism, I didn’t have to exaggerate them much.

You Get to Tackle Real-World Issues!

War, greed, overpopulation, nuclear holocaust, climate change, you name it! All those hot button issues that trouble us in the real world can make your writing more relevant. My books focus a lot on environmental degradation. In the United States, it’s become trendy to argue about whether humanity is affecting the environment or not. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything to argue about, but I think we can all agree that pumping toxins into our air and water supply at an ever-increasing rate is a really, really bad idea.

You Can Really Get Your Readers Angry!

In my books, one stop on the road to ruin was the Biowars. When the various factions found they couldn’t destroy each other with conventional weapons and the occasional nuke, they turned to biological weapons. Some of these manmade diseases targeted farm animals, but they mutated to affect other animals too. I’ve had readers send me angry emails about the fact that I made horses and dogs go extinct. I’ve never had a reader complain that I killed off 90% of the human population. Not sure what that says about my readers.

Bounce the Rubble!

Why stop with only one apocalypse? Heck, humans are dumb and we’ll make the same mistakes over and over again! Probably the best rubble-bouncing book I’ve ever read is the overlooked classic Out of the Mouth of the Dragon by Mark Geston. Massive armies clash to bring on Armageddon, but a few people survive, only to build up their populations and armaments to try again. If at first you don’t succeed…

Sean McLachlan hasn’t quite figured out how to destroy the Internet yet, but he’s working on it. Feel free to visit him at his blog, Goodreads, and Amazon.

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . 
A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. 
A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. 
The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. 
One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.


Amazon


Are you ready for summer? Do you have any "ironic" stories from your past involving summer?
And, have you written or read any post-apocalyptic fiction?

I highly recommend Sean's Radio Hope! I read it and loved it! It's gritty good. :) The loveable characters (can I say that about  post-apocalyptic fiction characters who shoot, fight, and bargain?), and the action-packed plot make it a great read. And, after I originally wrote this post, I went on to read more Toxic World books: Refuge from the Righteous Horde, Scavenger, and We had Flags. All continued to be fast-paced, exciting, and excellently written!




Last note (really): I've been adding some lists to listopia on goodreads, and I would love to see these lists added to by others, or get more votes for the books already listed. BTW, I didn't create lists for my own books, just other awesome authors' books. I would like some entries and votes for Urban Fairy Tales, and Best Future Noir Reads.