Writing Fights

Even though it seems ironic for me to be writing about fight scenes, I'm doing it any way. 

I've struggled with writing good, intense fights from the very beginning. If you do too, maybe what I've been doing will help you out as well.

Problems with Fight Scenes and How to Solve them:

Problem #1: I don't know about you, but one of my biggest issues with fights is that I've never been in an actual fight. How the heck am I supposed to write something so intense when I have no idea how it feels?

Solution #1: There a couple of things you can do. The big thing for me was to live through others in order to experience fights. Since I was writing a sword fight, I looked up scenes from Lord of the Rings, The Princess Bride, along with other movies that had sword fight scenes. I also looked up scenes from favorite books for inspiration and to see how they kept things moving. Even though it doesn't have any sword fights, Divergent was a great source to see how to keep any fight moving. 

Problem #2: My second issue was that I didn't know how to keep the fight going. Things always seemed too rushed and it made it move too quickly for most readers. 

Solution #2: Again, Divergent was amazing for this. I read scenes, analyzing how the author would keep the fight going long enough. Here's what I discovered: Keep a scene flowing with more moves when they fight, imagery as the fight goes on, and the character's reactions and thoughts throughout the fight. Another thing I did was take it piece by piece. Since I needed to slow it down, I needed to slow down the writing process. I wrote a page or even less a night, picking up where I left off the following night. I'm still not finished but I am much happier with how the fight is going.

Okay! So I hope this was at least semi-helpful. Let me know if you have any other suggestions or other comments.

Thanks all!

When Should I Send in my Manuscript?

So, you've written a novel. It's been polished a few times and you really like it. Now what?
Now, my dears, it's time to find an agent or a publisher. I know, I know, you're freaking out, right? I know it seems kind of scary, especially if you aren't sure your writing is ready for rejection or acceptance. I'm guessing you're worried about these kinds of things:
What if it gets rejected?
What if they say yes but I don't think it's right yet?
What if I lose my chance because I sent in the manuscript to soon?
I get it. I was worried about the same kinds of things. But I was lucky enough to get an extra push from my mom (LOVE YOU MOM!). If she hadn't sent it in, I probably wouldn't be published still. Point being, I understand your fears. They were mine. But you can't let that take control. There will come a day when your story is ready. It could even be today. But YOU need to be ready, too. And that's what this post is all about: figuring out if it's time or not.
How to know if your manuscript is ready:
1. You're happy with it.
So, yes, we all have those days where we just hate every word. But, for the most part, do you genuinely love it? If so, it might be time to consider checking out agents and publishers.
2. You're considering publishing.
So, if you find yourself wondering if someone would pick your work up, then maybe you're getting close. You may very well find your thoughts straying to publishing because it's time to move on to that step.
And now a few points on your worries:
1. What if it's rejected?
If it's rejected, it's rejected. It's as simple as that. I know, easier said than done. I'm sure rejection letters can't be easy to deal with. But have faith in yourself and your writing. Your chance will come.
2. What if they say yes but I don't think it's right yet?
Okay, here's the thing. The moment it's picked up doesn't mean you are done and it's published as is. I went through four or five more revisions with the publisher before publication was finished. Point being, there's still time to fix the things you don't like.
Of course, you've got to remember that NO STORY is perfect. That's impossible.
3. What if I lose my chance because I sent the manuscript too soon?
This is a silly thing to fear. How are you ever going to know that? If you live in fear of sending it in too soon, you may never send it to anyone. You're going to have to take a leap and hope for the best. If it's ready, it's ready. And there are so many publishing options. I don't know how you can really "lose your chance" so to speak. Besides, what if you send it too late? You never know what the future holds. Just trust it'll happen when the time is right and jump.

So I hope this has been helpful. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask!

Fresh Start

So today we're going to start fresh with my blogs. This blog is going to be all about writing. I'll post advice, videos, links, and memes all about writing. It's to be used as a resource for other writers. If you're looking for information on me and Segolia, you should head straight over to my other blog: http://segoliablog.wordpress.com/. That is the official Segolia blog and will have information and fun stuff regarding the book(s).