THE END IS NIGH

I recently tackled how to begin your story and now blog-reader Sleepycatt wants me to tackle endings. What you all don't realise is that middles are the really tricky bit: we must work very hard to avoid saggy middles. I think it's the chocolate and sitting down all day hunched over our keyboards what does it.

Telling you about endings is easy. Writing them is easy too. You just put "THE END"

Good Things

Okay, so I still can't divulge specific details about what's happening in my career, but this is how the last two weeks have gone for me.

• My first sci-fi novel, TIMECASTER, was accepted by Ace/Berkley. Pub date TBA.
• German rights to AFRAID sold for a tidy amount.
• I've had a story accepted into the horror anthology BLOOD LITE 2
• I've had a story accepted into the horror anthology BATS IN THE BELFRY
• Chinese rights to the Jack Daniels books have sold to China
• I've had a story and an interview accepted by CEMETERY DANCE magazine
• I've had another story accepted into a CEMETERY DANCE anthology
• I'm in negotiations for a 7th Jack Daniels novel
• I just signed a very high six figure deal for a thriller trilogy (more on this later)
• I finished my Jack Kilborn novel ENDURANCE two days ago
  
• I just got these links in my email this morning:
  

http://ramascreen.com/the-dowdle-bros-are-afraid/

http://blodic.us/entertainment/quarantine-s-dowdle-brothers-directing-adaptaiton-of-afraid-55-0.htm

http://networkedblogs.com/p25034176

So, in a nutshell, I've gotten more good news in two weeks than I have in 19 years of struggling in this business.

I don't deserve it any of it. But I'm sure happy it's happening.

More details to come as I'm allowed to reveal them. But feel free to spread the word about the AFRAID movie deal. Building buzz is important for this project to get greenlighted by a major studio.

I'd also be curious, for those who have read AFRAID, who you think should be cast as the heroes and villains. Since I have zero say in this, it's purely a fantasy exercise.

For the good guys I'd like Tom Skerritt as the Sheriff (though I wrote it picturing an older Bruce Willis), Mark Wahlberg as Josh the firefighter, Gwyneth Paltrow as Fran the waitress.

For bad guys, Andy Serkis would be a perfect homicidal pyro Bernie, William Baldwin would do a good job as the Ted Bundyesque Taylor, Lou Diamond Phillips would be cool as South American interrogator Santiago, and the hulking Ajax should go to Kane Hodder, who is a pro at that sort of role.

As for directors, the Dowdle Brothers are already attached, and a perfect fit. I loved QUARANTINE. I also loved their first film, THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES, about a serial killer who videotapes his victims (anyone who has read my Jack Daniels book WHISKEY SOUR will see some strong similarities.) POUGHKEEPSIE isn't out yet, but I got a bootleg through my nefarious underground connections. It's really a chilling movie, brilliantly executed. Can't wait until it comes out so I can get an official version.

Now I've got to stop fantasizing about Hollywood and get some writing done...

WALK LIKE AN EDITOR (AND AGENT)

One skill that authors need to learn is the ability to see into the minds of the editors and agents who will read their proposals. (Another skill is the ability to understand sales and marketing departments, but I'm afraid this skill eludes me. There are some lovely people in them but their minds are beautiful mysteries.)

Since I am neither an editor or an agent, I bring you the words of some

PRITHEE, HOW SHOULD I TACKLE HISTORICAL FICTION, FAIR LADY?

When I asked what topics you'd like me to cover this year, Dan Holloway asked about historical fiction [HF]. He says that he loves history but hates historical fiction. He doesn't like it when it is verbose, pompous, archaic, and shows off the research. He wants a story which:
"has sharp, active sentences, brilliant plotting, doesn't tell me about the history of whalebone just because someone's

Luck You

I haven't blogged in a few weeks, because I've been busy. Besides working on a deadline, I've had a ridiculous number of good things happen in my career lately.

I'll make official announcements when I can, but I will say that I'm going to be around, in various genres, for the next few years, and I'm going to make a nice amount of money.

I've told a few of my writing peers some of the details, and their remarks have been genuinely supportive. They're happy for me. This means I pick my friends well, because I haven't encountered a single smidgen of envy.

But I am noticing something they say which I don't agree with.

Everyone I've told has told me I deserve this. Every single person.

They back up their statements by saying, "You've worked so hard" and "You've done so much" and "It's about time your writing got some recognition."

They're sweet to say so, but they're wrong.

Long time readers of this blog know that I truly believe, deep in my heart, that no one deserves anything.

But sometimes, we get lucky.

If people truly deserved things in life, it would imply there is some sort of fairness in the world, and some sort of guaranteed way to get rewarded for our talents and efforts.

I'm pretty sure that's not the case. Many talented writers languish in obscurity and poverty. Some newbie writers get huge deals without "paying their dues."

It's always been about luck.

Luck dictates where you're born, and who your parents are. Luck dictates the traits you're born with. Luck plays a part in your education, your career, your love life, the friends you have, and pretty much every facet of life.

As I write this, Haiti was just hit by a massive earthquake, and tens of thousands are dead. None of them deserved that. It was just horribly bad luck.

By the same token, no one deserves to land big publishing deals.

We all want big publishing deals. And a select few get lucky.

I believe if you work hard, learn to understand the business, and work at bettering your craft, you can improve your odds.

But at the end of the day, it's still luck.

Now, I understand why my peers said this. I have worked hard. I think I write pretty good books. They're telling me my efforts have paid off.

But the writing business isn't like planting a seed and growing a tree. There are many other factors involved. This isn't science, where you can run an experiment and always get a predetermined result.

People really hate to think that we don't have complete control over our lives. In fact, even those meticulous folks who measure out their lives with coffee spoons have less control than they think.

The fact is, you never truly know what's going to happen. You can create incredible works of art, toil your entire life, and never sell a single thing. Landing a big publishing deal is not something within your control.

So focus on what is within your control.

Read. Write. Improve. Submit. Learn. Experiment. Try.

I'm not entitled to all of these good things that are happening in my career. I don't deserve success. And neither does anyone else.

But I can say, with complete candor, that getting lucky is a lot more fun when you work your ass off. :)

So ditch that poisonous sense of entitlement. Don't be bitter if things don't go your way at first. Concentrate on what is within your control, and keep at it because you love it.

Happiness isn't the destination. Where you wind up is determined by luck.

Happiness, true happiness, is the journey that takes you there.

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

It beats me how I could have done a whole and very long post on how to start your novel and how not to start your novel, without mentioning that all time classic way not to start your novel: with the weather. Especially when the weather is supposed to denote mood, as it so often is in books.

"It was a dark and stormy night" is the infamous opening clause of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel, Paul

WHERE DOES A STORY BEGIN??

Even blog posts have to start in the right place. There! I started! We often angst about where exactly to start when writing a novel. We're right to angst about it because if we don't start the right way, we risk losing readers before we've got going. On the other hand, we're wrong to angst about it.

Why are we wrong to angst about starting points for novels?
because you can change it later -