NO YOU CAN'T!

Yesterday I wrote a post on my other blog called, "Should Chicks Write About Superheroes?" I was wondering if the Superhero genre was one of those sacred things women aren't meant to mess with. And, I also wondered if my work had a chance at being taken seriously by true fans of the genre.

So, I asked...

My geek buddy Maurice was kind enough to chime in. He left this comment on my blog.

"Jessica, its tricky. The immediate reaction is probably 'What does she know?' That's a big hurdle, but good writing is good writing."

He makes a good point, doesn't he?

Keep in mind, that in my other post, I was addressing whether or not my books could ever be accepted by TRUE superhero fans (meaning geeks), being that I am female and the genre is now, and always has been overrun by sausage. And then I realized that this wasn't really a question of whether or not females belong in the superhero realm. It was actually something much more profound. Maybe instead, the real issue is, should I try to succeed where others have failed?

The real question is, why take on something people might possibly avoid? (because geeks are a fussy bunch) Why venture into uncharted territory? Why go where no chick has successfully gone before? Why not play it safe?

And, my answer to you is WHY NOT?!

Kevin Smith, one of my role models and greatest loves, tweeted this the other day. He said, "Do creative shit just to see if it can be done. When people tell you to do your shit the same way someone else does theirs? You be YOU. #UbU

And, I thought, "You are damn right, Kevin Smith!"

I WILL write kickass superhero novels. I WILL go where no chick has gone before. I WILL contend with the sausage fest that is the Superhero genre. Tell me I can't! Tell me I'll fail! Do it! I Triple dog dare you.

The same goes for YOU! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something. How in the hell would they know anyway? 

Do girls belong anywhere near the superhero genre? Perhaps not yet. But when I'm finished with it, that will no longer be a question. I'm blazing a trail, people! Hang on to your colorful tights and capes.

Oh, if you wanted to read that post I referenced, you can do so by clicking here.

Bits of Randomness

It was such a busy week and holiday weekend that I totally fell off the face of the Earth as far as the internet is concerned. Here it is Tuesday, late afternoon, and I am just now mustering the ambition to do some Tweeting and write a blog post. I don't feel too guilty about neglecting Twitter over the weekend. I am not one of those chronic self-promoters that are found there, and as it turned out, that was pretty much all there was to be found when I popped in on Saturday night. It was nothing but a bunch of scheduled tweets asking me to...

LOOK AT THIS! RETWEET THIS! BUY MY BOOK OR ELSE!

(caps lock will get someone's attention, right?)

Ick. I hate that. I like people, not tweeting robots. What is it with that anyway? Do these people think that if they pester enough, people will give in and buy their book just to shut them up? Well, to be brutally honest... That's no way to win over customers and we all know you'll never shut up.

I get that you are trying to make yourself visible in a vast sea of options available to potential readers. But, let's be real. Your incessant tweeting is just white noise. That's it. There are better ways to market. Period.

Moving along...

I want to take a minute to say thank you to all of the men who were a positive influence in my life during my adolescent and teenage years. If you were a school teacher, dance teacher, volleyball coach, track coach, church youth leader, drama leader or other authority figure of mine, I apparently owe you a huge debt of gratitude for being upstanding, non-creepy men of good morals and self-control. I sincerely appreciate all of your effort in teaching me, coaching me or otherwise directing me, thus helping to mold me into the person I am today. It is great to know that it is possible (or was) for men to be motivators and positive role models. Thank you. Thank you for not ever trying to kiss me or otherwise come onto me.

The reason for this sudden list of acknowledgments is because our state (our county in particular) has been overrun with news stories of men in positions of power and authority, having inappropriate relationships with teenage girls they were supposed to be teaching. I am even sad to say there is an alleged incident at my own Alma-mater. So, to all of you legitimate male teachers and coaches out there, thanks for what you do. We need more in the way of positive male role models in society. They are evidently hard to come by.

I needed to get that off my chest.

In other news...

I am preparing to begin the third draft of my book, "Alliance." And, in the mean time I have started writing a new book that is completely unrelated to my other series. It is of a different genre and targets a different audience. If you were wondering, yes it is the book my grandparents pitched to me a few weeks ago. Not sure what I am talking about? Click HERE.

This will be a huge multi-tasking event for me. But, I am all about a challenge.

Truthfully, I have this other story swirling around in my brain and it is messing with my superhero mojo. I will not be able to accurately portray a battle scene ripe with superhuman capabilities until I get this story about a troubled young woman and an old lady out of my head. There is a battle going on inside my head and S.T.H. is currently losing. So, I decided to write the first draft of this other book to silence the voices. It must me done!

I know this post was all over the place, and I appologize for that. I promise to get back on track with more organized subject matter after today. Thanks for putting up with me.

Feel free to comment on any portion of this post you feel compelled to chime in on. It was a mess, I know.

Stop, Collaborate and Listen

My muse is of her frickin' rocker. Here I am, smack in the middle of a trilogy, and she's all of the sudden pulling me in a completely different direction. I am overcome with inspiration at the moment. Unfortunately, that inspiration has little to do with super humans and dudes running around in capes. Actually, it is more about an old lady. A very specific old lady. What the hell?

At this point, I am considering dropping everything and getting the details of this story out of my brain. It is really quite a distraction at this point. But, I guess it is foolish to shush your muse. She might get offended. She might say, "Fine. You want me to be quiet? I'll be quiet alright. Good luck with that." It is never wise to shush the muse.

So, what the heck? If I go through with writing this completely random book that is not only out of my comfort zone, but in a completely different genre; I will have to do so under a pen name. I can't be Jessica Stank: Author of YA Superhero Fiction and sometimes random books about old people. It doesn't have much of a ring to it. I am still on the fence, but I am leaning toward writing the stupid thing just to get my muse to refocus on the things I intend to write about. Should I?

So, why the Vanilla Ice lyric for a title? I thought it was fitting. I feel a little bit like I am being told to, "Stop, collaborate and listen." And, I also really happen to love the song, Ice, Ice Baby. I can still recite it. And I find that when I shuffle my mental I-Pod, it pops up every now and then.

I am always asking muse to cooperate, be my friend, and work with me instead of against me. In this case, I think she might be asking those things of me.

Who's the real boss around here?  

Should We Be Censoring Content in YA Books?

I love me some Huffington Post. I find that of all of the news outlets, I flock to their site most often. I find their opinions and knowledge pertaining to the business of books to be foreword and unbiased. I also happen to think that they hit the nail on the head nine times out of ten.

Today's BIG STORY on HuffBooks is called "Should YA Books Be Given Ratings?" Be sure to check it out if you have the time. It is thought provoking.

So, as a writer of YA fiction, what are my feelings on this subject? Should the books be censored, or at the very least rated?

I think this is a slippery slope. You start throwing around the word CENSORSHIP and panties all over the country are instantly in a bunch. And, it really doesn't matter to some people why you are bringing it up. They just apparently loathe the word in general. I happen to have a dog in the fight. So, I guess I have a right and maybe even a responsibility to voice my opinion on the subject.

It seems like the hot ticket right now is everything YA. And, some authors are pushing the envelope with their content to try and score the big audience. This has some groups up in arms because, don't we as adults have a responsibility to the youth of the world to spoon feed them stories with high morals and positive messages?

Okay, I understand that viewpoint. But, the truth of the matter is, teens like to read stories they can relate to. And, unfortunately, things like drug use, premarital sex, pregnancy, rape, abuse, violence and suicide are a part of their world. To think otherwise is naive. It doesn't mean all of those things should be graphically detailed in every book, but they certainly shouldn't be off limits.

So, what's the answer to this? Should there be a rating system to warn parents about a book's subject matter? I'm not totally against it, but I think there is a simpler solution.

The problem is, the YA genre covers a wide age range. The exact target ages are different based on who you ask, but you can ballpark it at about the thirteen to nineteen range. There is a HUGE difference between a thirteen year old and a nineteen year old and they are rarely going to be interested in the same content.

Holy cow, when I was thirteen, I had just experienced my first period and I had to ask my friend to ask a boy if he liked me. At nineteen, I was married and had my own place. You see? BIG DIFFERENCE!

My solution to this problem is that there needs to be a genre created that exists between middle grade an young adult. It could be for readers age twelve to fifteen, or something. This would keep writers and publishers from having to devise a ratings system and would also keep them from every having to utter the dreaded C word. It seems so simple to me.

YA currently encompasses too broad of a target audience, in my opinion. The jump in maturity from age thirteen to nineteen is far too vast for them to be lumped into the same... well, anything really. You don't see many thirteen year olds hanging out with nineteen year olds. And if you do, chances are, they are up to no good.

How do you feel about it? Should the YA books be censored? Should they be rated? Chime in!

Fifty Shades of This Means War

Like it or not, today is the day of the Indie Author.

And, your feelings about that statement depend upon which side of the fence you reside. For aspiring and self-published authors, the news is very promising. If you're a book lover, times have never been better for you. But, for publishing houses, agents, and traditionally published authors, it is a straight kick to the nuts. And, they are not happy about it.

The Huffington Post ran an article last week called, "Sticks & Stones: The Changing Politics of the Self Publishing Stigma," where they chronicled what is quickly becoming a nasty battle. If you want to read it click HERE.

Those who support Traditional Publishing as the only credible source of quality books have drawn their line in the sand it seems. The Huff article quoted a traditionally published author (who they kept anonymous) as saying self-published books are nothing but, "literary karaoke."

Really? Literary karaoke? I'm sorry, but being traditionally published, does not a Hemingway make. You want to throw out the "Literature" card? Then let me ask you something. Is Twilight a great literary work? What about The Hunger Games? Will that series be known as an example of classic literature in a few years? Hardly...

Hold on folks, because I am about to throw Fifty Shades of Grey under the bus, for the sake of argument.

I have nothing against E.L. James. She's a writer like me who is living out her dream. More power to her. But, are her books great works of literature? In my day, that was called SMUT. And that's what it is. Smut; plain and simple.

Did I sit and devour the series like so many other thirty-somethings? Nope. But, I downloaded a sample to my Kindle. I just wanted to to see, number one: what all the fuss was about, and number two: if the writing was as atrocious as I had heard. How bad was it?

Well, in the very first paragraph, James begins with a "standing in front of the mirror scene," which every author knows is cliche and a major no-no. From there, she goes on to say things like, "I roll my eyes in exasperation." I'm not even sure that's possible! She uses words like, "satchel," instead of purse or handbag, which are a dead giveaway that she's a British lady trying to write an American novel.

Ok, so I picked that apart... The reason I did is because this chick's writing is no better than mine. It's far worse than many talented Indies who's work I have enjoyed very much. E.L. James is certainly not the greatest writer ever, but her books sell. And, at the end of the day, that is the real issue here.

It's not that Indies are offering up mediocre books or that they are somehow doing readers a disservice by publishing sub-standard content. It's that the BIG DOGS don't like us getting into their Kool-Aid. They hate that we can sell a book for $2.99 and make a 70% profit. They hate it! It really has nothing to do with writing quality (obviously). It all has to do with the green stuff.

Traditional Publishing's high and mighty can build as big a wall they want and they can throw stones until the cows come home. But, the fact is, Indie authors are here to stay.

Kicking Asses and Taking Names

It is really amazing what having one book under your belt can do. There was such an incredible learning curve during that first year in the long journey from aspiring sorta-wanna-be writer, to self-published author. But, now that I've totally been there and done that, I feel much better equipped to handle the writing process the second time around.

For one thing, you know that little jackass of a troll that sat on my shoulder, taunting me and whispering horrible things into my ear during the writing and subsequent editing of Small Town Hero? (I mentioned him about a zillion times). Well, I sent that a-hole packing. I flicked him off my shoulder into the toilet and flushed him down. He was such a Negative Nellie. And, since he's been gone, I have had a much better time writing and revising, writing more and revising a little more. I am finding the pitfalls of self-doubt fewer and farther between, which is great for productivity.

I am currently half way through my first official edit of book two in the S.T.H. series, "Alliance." And, baby I'm on a roll! It is obvious that this second book isn't going to take nearly as long to revise and make worthy of an audience. I'm thinking maybe half as long. I attribute that to my first draft not being nearly the grammatical nightmare that my first attempt at a first draft was. Good God, it was like I hadn't written properly in ten years (at least). 

I have already passed my rough draft off to be proofread and it wasn't nearly the terrifying anxiety-fest that I experienced the first time around. In fact, I even found myself excited to hear some feedback instead of afraid of what they were going to think.

It feels so good not to be GREEN anymore. Being a rookie (in any situation) straight up sucks. I enjoy knowing what to expect, the emotions that occur, and how the whole process plays out. And that makes it neither frightening nor intimidating. It's fun and exciting, and thrilling, and it gives me a high. I totally dig it.

I would encourage anyone... if you know you want to be a writer, but you just can't seem to push yourself through the process to get that first book under your belt; man up and do it! Once you get through that first one it's all good. I'm not going to promise smooth sailing, but there is something to be said for experience and the confidence it brings along with it. You can do it!

Me and my Superheroes are busy kicking asses and taking names. We're not messing around. 

If you've got a little devil on your shoulder whispering things into your ear like, "You're a horrible writer. Your ideas suck. Just hang it up, you can't do this." Send him for a ride. Flush him. Knock him out. Get rid of him. Because, he's a total jerk and you don't need that. You CAN do it. Your ideas ARE worthwhile. Flush that prick! You'll be glad you did.

Begin at the Beginning?

There are some differing opinions out there when it comes to the best way to start a book. Some stick by the old standby of, "Once upon a time," where others feel starting a story at the beginning is the worst possible thing you can do. Is there a right way and wrong way to start a story?

I would like to explore both of these styles and then let you in on my personal preference as it pertains to the way a story starts.

First, let's take a look at Once upon a time...

Books that start at the beginning, so to speak, first and foremost introduce you to the characters and the setting. You get a general feel for the time period and surroundings. There is generally a good deal of back story and explanation before any action or conflict takes place.

The problem many readers (and some writers) have with this type of start is that it can be boring. It can be bogged down with too many details that can easily be revealed little by little throughout the story. These types of books usually start out slow and then pick up after everything and everyone has been properly introduced. That isn't true for all books, as it is very possible for a story to begin at the beginning and be very captivating and well done.

Some say books that begin this way are old fashioned and a red flag of a rookie writer.

Then, there's books that start in the middle. 

You know what I'm talking about. On the first page of the book there's a random dead guy and the MC is trapped in a dark cellar. You have no idea who they are, where they are, or what is happening. It's like BOOM! The reader is thrown right in the middle of the action from the get go.

These books tell you very little about the character and setting right off the bat. Things are often revealed piece by piece. This method is becoming the normal among many writers. The thinking behind it is that readers need to be captivated immediately or else the author risks losing their attention to other, more interesting and exciting things. Books are competing for reader's attention with various social and electronic distractions. Because, who wants to waste time reading back story?

Good arguments:

Both of these styles have their place in literature and I don't think it would be wise for writers to accept one way over the other as the only acceptable way to begin a story. Which do I prefer? Well, if you care to know, I prefer the old stand by. I enjoy a story that begins at the beginning. I'm a woman, I like a little foreplay before the action starts. And, there's nothing wrong with a little get to know you session with the main character before they are dropped down a well or left out at sea. I enjoy warming up the person before things really get going, otherwise I get confused and frustrated; flipping back in the book to try and figure out who these people are and how they are connected. It's very distracting.

I like a writer to warm up the car first instead of just putting the pedal to the metal.

Granted, it is possible to share too much in the beginning and that is also a no-no. To me, the best way is to share a little in the beginning so the reader knows their hero and then get to the conflict, revealing other details throughout the story.