Thursday, August 22, 2013

I Should’ve Zigged Instead of Zagged

How often do you write yourself into a corner and how do you escape?

I rarely write myself into a corner, mostly because I’m an outliner.point a to point b

Of course, I outline myself into a corner all the time.

But the great thing about word processors is their cut-and-paste function. So I play around, adding scenes, deleting scenes, rearranging scenes, trying to find the best fit or testing out new sequences and new ideas. Different, more compelling, paths to the final destination. If I like the new order, or some variation of it, then it stays.

If not, I hit DELETE, and try again.

When it comes to the actual writing, I don’t slavishly follow my outlines, so I have been known to go astray (once or twice or several hundred times). Usually, I’ll just plow ahead, knowing that certain subplots or threads or tangents will need to be changed. I’ll make a note in the figurative margins, or I’ll highlight a scene in a different color, so that when I go back for the next draft, I’ll know I need to fix things in order to have my story make sense.

In other words, I usually address all the disjointed stuff when I work through the revision process. (After all, they (whoever they are) say that a good book isn’t written, it’s rewritten.)

In the first draft, I have one goal—to get it finished. BICFOK*, all the way!

Full speed ahead!

 

*Butt In Chair, Fingers On Keyboard

(This entry is “simul-posted” on Criminal Minds.)


Share/Save/Bookmark

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

RIDE-ALONG! FREE! FOR KINDLE!

If you’re reading this on Wednesday, August 14, RIDE-ALONG is FREE!

If you’re reading this on Thursday, August 15, RIDE-ALONG is FREE!

If you’re reading this on Friday, August 16, RIDE-ALONG is FREE!

If you’re reading this on Saturday, August 17, RIDE-ALONG is FREE!

Download your very own FREE copy!

Ride Along 600x960

 

Trey Powers never killed a cop before. Never had to.

But after his cousin Jimmy has been framed and murdered by Officer Karla Cheng, one of Hafton Police Department’s finest, Trey has no choice.


He must avenge Jimmy’s death, one way or another.


To get closer to his quarry, Trey joins the police department’s Citizen Action Team, and when a rival team member is killed, fingers point at Trey.

Now, he’s the hunted one, and the harrowing race is on: Can Trey bring Cheng to justice before she frames him for murder?

Or does something even worse?

Ultimately, Trey finds his life in jeopardy—along with the lives of those he loves—after embarking on a terrifying ride-along with Jimmy’s cold-blooded murderer.

Trey Powers never killed a cop before.

Never had to.

********************************************************

RIDE-ALONG is a full-length novel of suspense, approximately 78K words.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Zak Allen also wrote FIRST TIME KILLER (thriller) and THE TASTE (horror/thriller), both ebook originals.

Zak Allen is the darker pseudonym of Alan Orloff, author of the Agatha Award finalist DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD and the Last Laff Mystery series (KILLER ROUTINE, DEADLY CAMPAIGN), from Midnight Ink. Visit him at www.alanorloff.com


Share/Save/Bookmark

Thursday, August 8, 2013

So Many Books!

What are you reading now? What have you read recently that you’d recommend?

I once picked up a book with a very cool premise. I read about 200 pages, then decided it was pretty ridiculous not to my liking. But I really wanted to find out what happened, so I finished reading it. And it didn’t end any better than it had started.

Fast forward about three years. I picked up a book with a very cool premise. I read about 200 pages, then decided it was pretty ridiculous not to my liking. But I really wanted to find out what happened, so I finished reading it. And it didn’t end any better than it had started.

Yes, that’s correct. I read the same book twice without realizing it until the very end. So I guess you could say I’m not very good about remembering books. At least not bad ones.

However, I am much better about remembering good books (not the plots or the characters, but the overall impression the book left me with).

Here are a few books I’ve read recently that I enjoyed:poachers-son1

The Poacher’s Son by Paul Doiron (award-winning debut in his Mike Bowditch series)

Shotgun Lullaby by Steve Ulfelder (the third in his excellent Conway Sax series, starting with the Edgar-nominated Purgatory Chasm)

A Wanted Man by Lee Child. (I love Jack Reacher)

Right now, I’m in the middle of Live By Night by Dennis Lehane (one of my all-time favorite writers).

What will I be reading next? Well, as I posted on Facebook last week, I have a new policy:

From now on, I will only read books that: are written by people I know, are written by people I don’t know (yet), have been nominated for awards, have won awards, have been overlooked for awards, seem interesting, have great covers, have, uh, interesting covers, are from experienced writers, are from debut authors, are in genres I like, are in a genres I usually don’t read, are serious, are funny, are recommended, I find on the shelf without any fanfare, are purchased, are borrowed, are received as gifts, OR are written in English.

BUT THAT’S ALL!

(The entry is “simul-posted” on Criminal Minds.)


Share/Save/Bookmark