Write like your book is a movie

I've been boggling around in my head this concept to write a book like a movie would play on your TV screen. Even NaNoWriMo sent a message last November to it's writers' advice to write out your book's plan like it's a movie trailer.

When connecting all this and wondering about it constantly as I have, all I needed was proof, someone doing it successfully (maybe unconsciously).

And today...I have found that book!
Ally Condie's Matched series (in particular would be book 2: Crossed) is written like a movie's transition from scene to scene.

You may think this wouldn't turn out so great but these books have turned out to be quite successful! But the way it's written keeps the pages turning, and that I can tell as a writer learning from author's writing, is a way that can get you published if you're doing it right.
Ally Condie continuously writes in sections in her chapters. These sections are shortish scenes where they will cut off when they are done. They're short because it's written like a movie scene!

With Condie's creative story of a Society's complete and totally horrible control over people and the point of view of a teen through it all trying to escape make's this style of writing truly unique.

But you have to be careful when using this idea to write like it's movie scenes. PLEASE USE GOOD FORM OF WRITING THAT YOUR COLLEGE PROFESSORS PROUD!!! Writing these days isn't showing up as good but in my opinion, what people consider good writing has HUGE writing flaws as well. In content writing, writing like a movie is cheap, but it's effective in today's society and it makes good books.

The Hunger games single- Safe and Sound- lyrics

Putting these lyrics on this post because we can always learn from music's words and this is a really good one because the song has so much personal meaning that connects fully to the YA trilogy, The Hunger Games So here's a link to the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZeY0CwPtLA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

and you can follow along and really understanding the words is what it's all about, including it's relation to the Hunger Games. So here we go:

I remember tears streaming down your face when I said, "I'd never let you go."
When all those shadows almost killed your light.
I remember you said, "don't leave me here alone."
But all that's dead and gone and past tonight...

(CHORUS) Just close your eyes, the sun is going down.
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now.
In the morning light...you and I'll be safe and sound.

Don't you dare look out your window , darling everything's on fire.
The war outside out door keeps raging on.
Hold on to this lullaby.
Even when music's gone.
Gone.
(CHORUS)
Ooo's ooo's la la (la la) la la (la la) ooh (ooh) ooh (la la's) (la la's)
(slower chorus) Just close your eyes, (you'll be alright.
(harmonized) The morning light...you and I'll be safe and sound.
(ooh's) ooh (wow wow) (ooh's) (ooh's wow wow) (ooh's) ooh (wow wow) (ooh's) ooh (wow wow) (OOH's) OOH (wow wow) OOH OOH (wow) wow.

Pretty good? Did you notice how I included the ooh's and the back up parts? I did this for a reason (not because I didn't know what I was doing [lol]) because everything about a song is important. It's practically another way to read a book (out loud). Swift, singing with the Civil Wars, is telling a story of how it is in Panem for people. But as Hunger Games fans, we know it's more than this. The song brings in all sorts of meanings (like the most popular): Katniss' love for those she loves, how she wants to protect people like Rue, Peeta, Gale, Prim... The feeling in this song really helps you as readers understand what the main character, Katniss Everdeen, has to go through in a dismal a place as Panem.
But the way this song is written is also important. You can learn how to write certain ways through song's like this. You can also think of songs like this that can give you the motivation and determination to write a scene that means more than it's being described. Because words have meaning that can become thousands of numbers! That's why it's really great to get different opinions on ideas and sections in text of what is being portrayed.

I thank Fireside Chat for inspiring me to write this post, for their #39th podcast on "Safe and Sound" really went in-depth on the situation for us fans about the song and how it really is a good choice for the hunger Games movie (companion CD or not).

Dont Stop Believing

Through my constant research on advice from authors on publishing books has singly been all on the same thing. It must be pretty important to ANY AUTHOR! After going to the Northwest Book Fest in October and talking to children's book authors, such as Howard Shapiro, the advice is wholly "...believe in yourself and your writing and don't EVER stop trying to reach your goals." - Howard Shapiro. Authors can't stop and say anything else is more important!

In school, we (as in the International School of Communications [ISC]) believe to have the right mindset on anything will help you achieve success in anything you do. I can't but not recall this as authors tell me to never give up and believe in what I am writing.

But as we all know, authors and soon to be ones, have to face rejection. "If one publisher rejects you, which many will, just keep moving forward because eventually if you work hard enough you will find someone who believes in you and your writing." -Shapiro

Before I have talked about "What Makes You a Special Writer". The hardest thing to consider ,as a writer hoping to get published, is your creativity. Creativity is being cut in schools all across the country (the arts) but those of us, who will work hard enough, have to be incredibly creative to catch that one publishers eye that believes in you and your book. It's a tough job ahead of us all but we can not give up. But you HAVE to believe in yourself. That perfect "mindset" will help you get there!

If you can't really see this mindset, let me give you an example:
My thoughts: "All right Ashley, this essay can only be great if you work hard enough and actually understand the lessons." (ISC DAILY TO DO:) find the problem, ask the questions, do the research, find the solutions, figure out the improvements, etc. Doing any essay, lab report or any books you plan to write lies wholly on the work you put into it. To be proud of something you must believe you can do it! But you must put in that work ethic and you can practically achieve anything!

"Don't Stop believing! Hold onto that feeling!" This song came to mind on this whole subject and it helps people like me to get into that perfect "mindset".

I hope all of you can achieve this mindset because you can achieve it and I believe in anyone who wants to be published to find some sort of success with this. Remember it has been proven by many authors, like Howard Shapiro, and you can be one too! Please check out Howard Shapiro on Facebook to discover his awesomeness of success as a children's book author here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Howard-Shapiro/296610707017204?ref=ts

Creating A Facebook Page for your Book!

Around a year ago, i stumbled blindly on an author about to publish her first book, DEMON KISSED. There was an add about liking her Facebook page to get to know the author and the book series before the book would even come out! I was so excited and liked her page without a second thought.
As a supporter or amazing authors and future authors, I found this coincidence to be a super amazing one and automatically wanted to support her I liked her page and have been fallowing her news and achievements of her teen book series and she has been doing REALLY WELL.
The author is H.M.Ward.
She wrote the DEMON KISSED series and she has been quite successful.
I didn't realize how successful till she posted today on her blog: "How I Did Facebook Wrong and Got 43,000 fans- A Writer's Guide To The Social Media"

http://sublimeromantic.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/how-i-did-facebook-wrong-and-got-43000-fans-a-writers-guide-to-social-media/

Wondering how such an author did some seriously creative ways of building a HUGE fan base SUPER DUPER FAST?! Check her out! Even like her own Facebook page:

http://m.facebook.com/DemonKissed?_rdr

Or on her website: http//:www.demonkissed.com

12 Days of The Hunger Games song lyrics!

(this is the best that I've got and this is just the days. HOPE YOU GET A KICK OUT OF THIS!!!)

On the first day of The Hunger Games, Effie said to me: "Happy Hunger Games!"
On the second day of The Hunger Games, Haymitch said to me: "Keep yourself alive."
On the third day of The Hunger Games, Cinna said to me: "You'll be on fire."
On the fourth day of The Hunger Games, Haymitch said to me: "He wants separate training."
On the fifth day of The Hunger Games, my memory said to me: "Buy with a loaf of bread."
On the sixth day of The Hunger Games, Peeta said to me: "That little girl is watching."
On the seventh day of The Hunger Games, Peeta told the world: "She came with me."
On the eighth day of The Hunger Games, Caesar told them all: "Let the games begin!"
On the ninth day of The Hunger Games, Rue showed me- the Trackerjacker nest.
On the tenth day of The Hunger Games, Rue asked of me: "Sing me to sleep."
On the eleventh day of The Hunger Games, Caesar told us all: "Two of you can win!"
On the twelfth day of the Hunger Games, I had to tell him: "It was all a lie."

Check out this song on www.YouTube.com Hunger Games fans! It's pretty sweet and here's the lyrics so you can sing along!!!

What makes you a special writer?

Had some really concrete things to delve into this past week of school, but before I go into all this REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS THAT A WRITER (OR EVERYONE IN THE WORLD) NEEDS TO KNOW, let me give you a little dish of THE most influential facilitator that anyone could ever have.

His name is Mr. Lefstad and this guy is 100% AWESOME! He has taught me so much so that it has gotten me to this point of being a blogger to help other people young and old to write amazing books of their own. Going through his Physical Science class as a freshmen opened so many things personally, how to learn science with MY own monkey, and about life that I wouldn't feel so confident everyday to live and have a future to make something of myself...Now I've got another chance to be in his class again as a junior and the things he would say in such a stimulating environment...it's just mind-blowing all the things that make sense now...NOW I have to share with you, which is important to not only writers but just the general person off the street, will get you places if you take on your monkey and learn what will be said here. Who are you?What do you stand for? What makes you different?As a person who wants to make it out there or someone who just think about this question and says admittedly to themselves, "I don't know who I am...," you NEED to know WHO YOU ARE! You need to get off your butt and discover who you are because that side of yourself isn't going to come knock on your door and hold your hand. YOU have to do the work to truly figure out who you are because it is WAY more important than anything you could know in the working world and in life. What do you stand for? As a writer do you stand for writing because you love it? (pathetic answer by the way) NO! When your in a job interview (for a publishing house for example) they will ask, "What makes you different?" What are you going to say? How about, (in my case) "I can sell books that will blow teens' minds because I know what they're looking for and what catches their interests." Again, what do you stand for?What makes you different from the other writers out there who want to publish a book just as much as they do? To write an awesome book about vampires and werewolves but doesn't get published and can't understand why. "If two people think alike, one gets fired." -Mr.Lefstad. THIS IS THE SAME CONCEPT!!! What makes Stephanie Meyer, Rick Riordan, Richelle Mead, Scott Westerfeld, etc, different from any awesome writers out there? Meyer created a touching, dedicating, and something DIFFERENT than what publishing houses have seen before. Riordan did something DIFFERENT by creating amazing stories off of his imagination and mixing it with Greek,Roman, Egyptian mythology. Mead may have vampires but she created a system of vampire lore from Russian mythology and created a book series storyline that has NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. Westerfeld did something different by thinking about what he wanted to change among his young audience and created an amazing series of what beauty really is and the term "ugly". Who are you?What do you stand for?What makes you a special writer?

The Accomplishments of Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan has created amazing books based off of histories of myths, architecture, ect. You may recognize his most famous series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians. This series in particular was inspired by his skn who has Dyslexia and ADHD. He created stories to tell to his son before bed of Greek myths (because he was learning about the Greeks in class). He told of a young boy who learned he was a demigod and realized his Dyslexia was for reading greek and not english, and ADHD for his battle reflexes in fighting the greek creatures of myths.
My point is that Rick Riordan has made an amazing series off of his inspiration of his skn and off of real history and myths and bringing them forth into modern day.
I believe in my previous post I mentioned that you have to create an amazing story and plot to really get your book published. My example is Rick Riordan. His Percy Jackson became such a hit over the creativity of the series and the plot so incredible... His creation was so good that the fandom brought upon the attention of directors and producers. In February 2009, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Theif, was released on movie screens across the nation.
After compleating the Greek Mythology series of Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan wasn't done with doing more research for a new series. All around the same time, Rick Riordan released to new series; one of Roman Mythology (that continues off from the Percy Jackskn world), and egyptian mythology. When The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero released, fans died over all this new material of history (thats never been done before) brought on Percy Jackson fans to devour this next set of awesomeness. With the add on of The Kane Cronicles: The Red Pyramid was released, people were just baffled on the creativity and smashing hit of Rick Riordan's creations that the publishing industry really pumped up their standards for authors.
Even after the Twilight series of Stephanie Meyer, authors and writers changed what teens were askkng for. Auhors of today have to do some serious researching for something NEW. Something that will be the new Twilight. Soon (and kinda already) the new Twilight is The Hunger Games. With all the fans of this new series introduced by Suzanne Collins, fans are dieing for the Hunger Games movie to hit screens on March 23rd, 2012. Filming just completed Thursday night and now the first tast of this new Twilight will hit MTV screens this Sunday at the VMAs.
Although Rick Riordan has the amazingness of the Percy Jackson series hitting the movies, he has created a decade of challenge to better author's books.
What authors have to do since Twilight became so big is to RESEARCH! My last post mentioned that you have to have this amazing (not already done) storyline PLUS research for something new. Writers of today have the biggest challenge to do some really amazing geniusness that the competition is getting more tougher and tougher. After Hunger Games gets HUGE, the competition will be tougher than ever.