Resources for Artists & Content Creators

I use resources from all over the internet to create covers and graphics, and to teach myself new techniques. These are some of the best sites I have found and used for completely free photos, fonts, textures, vectors, clipart, tutorials and more. Be warned - I thought I had kicked my font problem until I found DealJumbo ;).

Some have thousands of things, some just a few, but they all have something useful. I hope others may find them useful to. And ALL RESOURCES are 100% legal.

If anyone has any to add, please do comment - always glad of new resources!

If I find more I will add to the list.

Royalty Free, Use for Anything (Personal & Professional) Image Sites

• Pexels.com - best site out there at the moment IMHO
• Rene Asmussen on Pexels.com - some seriously great posed photos perfect for book covers and promo material
• Unsplash.com
• Pixabay.com - sometimes have to weed through some crap to get to the good stuff
• UnrestrictedStock.com
• StockPhotosForFree.com
• NegativeSpace.co
• Picography.co
• Gratisography.com - quirky
• DesignerPics.com
• NY Public Library
• StockSnap.io
• DealJumbo.com
• SpoonGraphics.co.uk - some free (great stuff), some for paying members
• FreePik.com
• All-Free-Download.com

Textures

• LostAndTaken.com
• Textures.com
• TextureKing.com
• Texturer.com
• DealJumbo.com
• SpoonGraphics.co.uk - some free (great stuff), some for paying members

Clipart

• Clker.com

Fonts (some free for commercial use - some only personal use)

• DaFont.com
• 1001FreeFonts.com
• FontSpace.com
• DealJumbo.com

Vectors

• VectorArts.net
• DealJumbo.com
• FreePik.com
• All-Free_Download.com

Tutorials

• Line-Of-Action.com - drawing tutorials
• SpoonGraphics.co.uk - Photoshop & Illustrator

Other

• Mandelbulb.com - fractal generator
• Palette Generator
• ObsidianDawn.com - Photoshop brushes (credit required)
• SensiStock - pose reference
• Pixeden.com - Photoshop mock-ups
• CoverVault.com - Free Photoshop mock-ups - many of various book displays - brilliant for author marketing
• DealJumbo.com - mockups
• Incompetech - Royalty Free Music - Kevin Macleod creates royalty free music for which liscenses can be purchases or credit given under Creative Commons.

Cover Composition - The Rule of Thirds and The Golden Ratio

 Cover Composition

The Rule of Thirds and The Golden Ratio

We all know the adage, don't judge a book by its cover, but we all do! The cover is what grabs the reader's eye, especially in this age of the Internet, when you make have even less time to snag a reader as they scroll down Amazon or Smashwords, than while they wander through a book shop.

I design my own book covers, mostly because I enjoy it and, now that I am on Wattpad, it's kind of important because even fanfic needs a cover. Over time I have learned many things, and one of those things is how to layout a book cover to make it pleasing to the eye. Let's not mention my early attempts when I knew nothing - I am gradually replacing any of those that still exist ;).

The thing is though, there is more than one way to do it.

Of course there is :) - there couldn't just be one magic formula could there. Today I'm going to talk about 2 techniques I have used in, what I hope, is a successful manner.

The Rule of Thirds

Until recently, I have almost exclusively used The Rule of Thirds, which is the easiest to layout quickly. It is very straightforward to add to an image:

1. Add guidelines to the cover vertically and horizontally to divide the cover into 3rds like so (I made a cover template with the correct guides in place and use it whenever I start a new project).
2. Use the thirds to divide up the elements of the cover, e.g. put the title in one part, the main image in another etc.
3. To build drama place significant parts of the cover over the lines or intersections, which are known in some circles as power points.

Here is an example of a cover I designed using the rule of thirds (it's for The Soul Reader Series, books 1-3 that will be coming to paperback soon):

 

As you can see I used the bottom third for the title and the top 2 thirds for the image. I also made sure each of the figures was place over a power point and the main action was nearly completely in the middle third.

I don't know why the human brain finds this pleasing, but it does :).

*If you would like to know more, here is a great article about The Rule of Thirds from Cover Design Studio.

The Golden Ratio

The other option I am learning about for book covers is the Golden Ratio. This is a little more complicated to layout, but also seems to give a good feel for a cover. I've only just started using this, but I find is especially useful for laying out titles. Because this golden ratio can be scaled, it can be used within elements of the cover as well as for laying out the full cover.

This is the golden ratio:

It is made by dividing a quarter of a circle by 1.618 and adding the part together to create a spiral.

The easiest way to get it, is to google it and download a png or vector of it someone has already made :). (Like this one).

THERE IS ONE IMPORTANT RULE - never scale the golden ratio without the relative dimensions being fixed, or you will wreck the whole point of it!

There are many ways to use the golden ratio, it can be used to frame an image, or to arrange an image, but what to remember is that important bits of the image should line up with bits of the ratio pattern.

This is a cover I created for my fanfic Opposites (ReVamped) (which I am currently posting to Wattpad) using the Golden ratio to lay it out:

 

The main elements of the image follow the ratio, ending with Richie as the focus, because he's the star of this particular story.

F.Y.I. I also used the Rule of Thirds to place the title, which was created as a block, once again using The Golden Ratio, as well as using RoT for my name.

As I mentioned I'm new to this technique, and I'm not sure I quite have it yet (I think Richie might need nudging to the right a smidge ;)), but you see the general idea.

*If you would like to know more, here is a more in depth article about The Golden Ratio by the Keith Draws Blog .

The Rule of Thirds vs The Golden Ratio

Personally I like the look of both layouts. I think some covers will lend themselves to one, while others fit more with the other.

The Rule of Thirds is definitely more intuitive and straightforward than The Golden Ratio, but they have a similar effect, on my eye, at least.

One thing I do know for sure is that having a layout in mind when designing a book cover makes the process easier if nothing else. Deciding where to place things it one of the hardest decisions when creating something from scratch and a layout really helps.

In my experience it also makes the end product superior.

Do you design book covers? Do you use one of these techniques or do you have another?

As a reader, do you have a preference for cover layouts, or do they not make a huge amount of difference to you?

Comments Recently Not Appearing

This is just a shout out to let people know, I am so sorry if you commented and it had not yet appeared.

I had asked Blogger to email me when comments require moderation (had to turn it on because of changes they made), but it wasn't telling me about them.

I have just been through and moderated all comments - so hopefully it won't happen again!

Now I can go through and reply. :D

Soul Reader - Cover Reveal

Soul Reader - Cover Reveal

So I am currently working on combining the Soul Reader series into a single book so I can publish it as a paperback. The stories are too short to work as cost effective individual books, so I'm putting them all together in one volume.

I'm on the proof with a red pen stage at the moment. That's what I shall be getting back to as soon as I hit publish on this :D.

I'm also working on finishing the 4th part to the series as well, but that's going to take a little longer.

So, new book means a new cover.

I spent most of the weekend on it. The original image is from pexels.com (best site for free images ever!) and is by a chap called Lalesh Aldarwish. He has some other fantastic images on there for free download too, so check him out.

From there I had some fun with the rule of thirds and the golden ratio and fire. I've just started using Illustrator as well as Photoshop and it's really good for text. Still learning, so it took me ages to get the title right, but there are many wonderful tutorials on Youtube, thank heavens.

Cover Reveal

Are you ready? I know you're on the edges of your seats, aren't you ;)

Soul Reader Books 1-3 All Rights Reserved

And here's how it will look in paperback:

Thank you for dropping by.

Do you have any favourite covers, either on your own books or on ones you have seen on the internet?

~*~

P.S. I was lucky enough to be asked to guest post on the blog of the lovely  Ronel Janse van Vuuren this last weekend. I wrote all about eBooks.

eBooks - The Future or a Mistake?

Let's All Go to the Movies - Another Blanket Box

Let's All Go to the Movies

Since last week's blanket box went down so well and no everyone can see Pillowfort yet, here is another one. This is all about films. I love movies, so this was the next one I picked.

Your favorite movie of all time

Start with an easy one why don't you! :) Oh heavens, how am I supposed to choose?

Given that this is from a horror loving, sci-fi watching, fantasy obsessed, vampire nut, this is going to seem odd, but:

A Nun's Story with Audrey Hepburn. I just love it, I always have and I can watch it over and over again. It is totally not what I usually choose, but it is simply a great film.

A movie you watch to pick you up when you feel sad

RED or RED 2 - they are both full of explosions and laughs and Helen Mirren being badass!

A movie that makes you feel invincible

Wonder Woman - it's an awesome film make with the female gaze showing a woman who can be anything she wants to be. It is simply brilliant.

Which genre of film is your favorite?

Vampires! What? you expected a different answer. I don't count them as horror movies because they just aren't scary and I love them. I have over 400.

A movie that scares you

Ju-on The Grudge - the Asian horror market is simply superb and the Japanese really know how to do movies that will scare the pants of anyone. And take no substitute - the originals are nearly always much better than the remakes. The only one I think that came close was The Eye.

A movie that makes you cry

E.T. - every damn time! With a special mention to Steel Magnolias, which also makes me cry every single time I watch it.

What movie is guaranteed to make you laugh?

Grosse Pointe Blank - I love it. John Cusack is brilliant at Martin Blank the hired killer, but my fav of all is Joan Cusak are Marcella, his secretary. The way she goes from chewing someone out for not getting her the right ammunition at exactly the right time to talking to someone else about soup is so perfect it's difficult to describe.

Your first R-rated movie

I think it must be Evil Dead II - I didn't see it in the cinema, so I have no idea what it was rated in the UK, but I saw it on VHS at a friends and it was the first real horror I ever saw. Scared me silly at the time - I'd only really seen Hammer Horror before that.

The first movie you remember seeing in theaters

Pinocchio, I think, on one of it's re-releases. I seem to remember it was on with A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court - which is apparently also called Unidentified Flying Oddball (because in those days there were b-movies before the feature) and I enjoyed the b-movie much more than the main film :)

The most boring movie you've ever seen

Now this is hard because I tend to erase such things from my mind. Don't think I can answer this.

What movie have you seen that you will never watch again?

Recently - Tom Cruise's The Mummy - OMG, it was so bad. It didn't even pass the Bechdel Test. I thought maybe Tom Cruise was getting over his I-have-to-be-the-only-thing-in-this-movie-that-matters stage, after the MI films started changing, but nope, apparently not. The film should be called Guy With a God Complexnot The Mummy. The plot doesn't even makes sense as far as character motivation goes, let alone a whole.

Also any of the Lethal Weapon movies, which used to be some of my favs, but I can no longer watch anything with Mel Gibson in it.

And Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil thanks to Kevin Spacey.

Your favorite documentary film

Diving Into The Unknown - on a dive in a cave in Norway, a Finnish dive team lost two of their number. The international recovery team deemed it too dangerous to retrieve the bodies and the authorities closed the cave to divers. The remaining members of the Finnish team, plus more of their friends, went back illegally to get their friends' bodies out. They filmed it all.

What movie did you love the most when you were a kid?

Jason and the Argonauts - they used to show it every year either at Christmas or Easter and I never got to see the end because we were dragged off to church, but I loved it nevertheless. Have never lost my love or Ray Harryhausen films.

One story you want desperately to see as a movie (can be a book, videogame, comic, etc.)

Wolf's Hour by Robert R McCammon - werwolves, the Russian Revolution and World War II - brilliant book and it was supposed to have been optioned for a movie, but I've heard nothing about it lately. I want this movie - lots!

What movie do you always recommend to friends?

Fright Night (1985) - it is a brilliant vampire movie that is often overlooked. I knew I would love it because when Barry Norman mentioned it on his film review program he hated it and I always really liked movies he hated ;) Sexy vampire, horror and comedy and Roddy McDowall - how could it not be amazing?

A movie series you love to marathon

Fright Night (1985), Fright Night part II (1998) and Fright Night 2: New Blood (2013) - and yes, I did deliberately leave out the Fright Night remake because it is a travesty!

Also the Evil Dead movies make a good marathon :)

Favourite superhero movie

I'm going to hell because I am a Marvel fan, but I have to say Wonder Woman, with The Avengers and Black Panther coming in at joint second.

Favorited movie based on a book

The Fellowship of the Ring - love that movie.

Favorited animated movie

Zootopia - now that is how to go 'racial profiling is a bad thing' and get the message across.

Free space: Mention any movie you love that you haven't talked about already!

*cracks knuckles*

The Mummy (1999) - there is nothing not to love about this movie.

Star Wars - all of them except Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

Dracula (1979) - Frank Langela is so sexy!

Dracula Untold (2014) - best Dracula origin story I have seen.

The Lost Boys (1987) - it's a classic, everyone should see it.

The Breakfast Club - another classic everyone should see!

Um ... I had better stop - there are far too many more ;)

Do the Blanket Box Yourself

And also like last week, if you would like to do the Blanket box on your blog, here are the questions in easy copy and paste format. Drop me a link if you do so I can come take a look.

• Your favorite movie of all time
• A movie you watch to pick you up when you feel sad
• A movie that makes you feel invincible
• Which genre of film is your favorite?
• A movie that scares you
• A movie that makes you cry
• What movie is guaranteed to make you laugh?
• Your first R-rated movie
• The first movie you remember seeing in theaters
• The most boring movie you've ever seen
• What movie have you seen that you will never watch again?
• Your favorite documentary film
• What movie did you love the most when you were a kid?
• One story you want desperately to see as a movie (can be a book, videogame, comic, etc.)
• What movie do you always recommend to friends?
• A movie series you love to marathon
• Favorite superhero movie
• Favorite movie based on a book
• Favorite animated movie
• Free space: Mention any movie you love that you haven't talked about already!

Music or Ambient Noise - the Key to Focusing #TipTuesdays

Music or Ambient Noise - the Key to Focusing

You know how sometimes, when we sit down to write, our minds just don't seem to want to focus on the task in hand? Sometimes our thoughts flick all over the place and refuse to settle, causing all sorts of difficulties.

When this happens to me I use background music or ambient noise.

Now, I'm not saying this is a cure all, but if focusing is a problem this might be worth a try.

The way I see it, the music or background noise entertains the part of my brain that is trying to flit from thing to thing, so the creative part can get on with the work.

I suspect there are more scientific explanations, but this is the one I like :D.

Of course there are a few provisos.

For music:

• We need to make sure we're not listening to our favourite songs - singing along does not help!
• Anything with intrusive or catchy words can be a problem - again, singing along does not help.
• Depending on what we are writing, different music may be appropriate:
• if I am writing a battle I like something fast, with a heavy rock rhythm, something exciting
• if I am writing a love scene or something more thoughtful, I prefer mellow music

For Ambient Noise

• The noise can't be too mellow or it will send us to sleep - seriously, I have found myself dropping off ;).
• Likewise, if the balance of strong sound is incorrect, noises that are too loud may break us out of our concentration.

There are occasions where neither of these work and, frankly, I think the only solution then is to go and have a nice cup of tea and stare at something else for a while.

Assuming everyone has their own stash of music or Spotify or Deezer, here as a couple of ambient noise sites I found, just by googling 'Ambient Noise Generator':

• Noisli
• A Soft Murmur
• My Noise

As I said, this might not work for everybody or in every situation, but sometimes I find it bordering on miraculous to help me focus. We're all different, so it might take time to find what is right for each of us, but it's worth a try.

Q: Do you use music or ambient noise to focus? Does it work in all situations for you? Does it not work at all?

Vampires - Be Still My Heart!

Vampires - Be Still My Heart!

So I'm on a new blogging site called Pillowfort, which is still in beta so unfortunately everyone can't just come along and sign up, even though it's great. On there we have things called Blanket Boxes, which are a set of questions for certain subjects to get people talking. I created one for vampires and since I know you're dying to know all about my vampire obsession, I thought I'd post it over here too :)

1. Why do you love vampires?

I love that vampire media can go from the darkest of the dark (Salem's Lot, John Carpenter's Vampires) through action (Underworld, Moon Child) to romance and comedy (Fright Night, Sundown the Vampire in Retreat) and combine any of these and still seem as believable as vampires are in the first place. Vampires can slot into just about any fandom if you try hard enough (I know, I made it my mission to write them into as many fandoms as possible ;)). Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic - they can be found anywhere, and they give that spicy edge to anything.

2. Which vampire(s) brought you to the dark side?

The Lost Boys - I never really though about vampires before that film. I saw it when it first came out in the cinema and never looked back. It's only looking back that its possible to see how the film changed vampire movies and how ground breaking it was, but, at the time it was definitely ground breaking for me. I never identified with Dracula or Mina or Lucy, but Sam and Michael and the very good looking Lost Boys - now them I could totally feel.

3. TV, Movie or Books - have a favourite vampire medium?

I love vampire movies. While I enjoy TV and books and occasionally comics, it is definitely movies that have me. I collect them, so I have some really, really bad ones, as well as the ones I really love. I think I have over 400 of them - not that I have seen them all yet - some are yet to be watched :). There is such a range in vampire movies and every time they have a resurgence I cheer.

4. All time favourite vampire?

Um ... this is hard ... I think I have to go for Regine (Julie Carmen) from Fright Night part II - she is bold, she is beautiful, she is ruthless and I love her style.



5. Current favourite vampire?

Adam (Tom Hiddleston) from Only Lovers Left Alive - he's so melancholy, but so focused and sexy. It's also a great film with a moody arty feel - not the usual kind of vampire movie I enjoy, but totally captivating. Okay, yes it also might have something to do with who plays him ... I'm not obsessed, I'm focused! :P



6. All time least favourite vampire?

Mama Dracula! Got the VHS out of a previous viewed bin at Blockbuster many years ago and hated her and it. There are many things I will forgive in a vampire film, but being deadly boring is not one of them.

7. Favourite vampire book?

It's a toss up between Salem's Lot by Stephen King and Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice (read the 1st 3 vampire chronicles books, but can't get into the rest). On balance, given how many times I have read each and seen the film/mini series adaptations, I think I have to go with Salem's Lot. I either love Stephen King books or I loathe them, this one I adore and my copy is so battered I probably need to get a new one soon.

8. Favourite vampire movie?

Fright Night (1985) with Fright Night part II a close second. The original Fright Night is a classic (don't get me on to the remake, I will rant ;)) and has everything I love about vampire movies. It has dark moments, it has comedy, it has wonderful special effects, it has plot, it makes me laugh, it makes me cry and I love everything about it. It comes out at least once a year, if not more often and I never get tired of it (except the cafeteria scene which makes me cringe). Fright Night is about Charley Brewster, an average teenager with an obsession for horror movies. He gets new neighbours and notices something very strange about them, becoming convinced one is a vampire. Things get tricky from there.

9. Favourite vampire TV show?

I have several :) it could either be Moonlight with Alex O'Loughlin and Sophie Miles or Blood Ties with Kyle Schmid and Christina Cox. They are both private investigators and vampires, only in Moonlight the PI is the vampire and in the other the PI knows about the vampire. Or Kindred: The Embraced with Mark Frankel, C Thomas Howell and Stacy Haiduk from way back in the 90s - that is a re-imagining of Vampire the Masquerade. Or Forever Knight with Geraint Wyn Davies and Catherine Disher - cops and vampires ... I should stop.









If I have to choose one out of all of them, I think I have to go for Kindred: The Embraced - after all I have written fanfic for it :).

10. What trait does a vampire have to have for them to be a "real" vampire for you? (e.g. fangs, speed, strength, hopping, nocturnal etc)

For me they have to have fangs. There are a couple of exceptions, but the fangs have it usually, I am afraid. It doesn't matter what kind of fangs, but I do like my vamps to be able to snarl ;).

11. Any vampire fanfiction recs?

Um - I will have to think about this and come back to fill in this space later.

12. Do you create vampire content - what is your favourite of your own creations?

Oh, lord, which to pick. I think I am most proud of my Harry Potter/Anita Blake crossover. It took the most work and I think I did a good job of melding the two universe. It's called Black Magic By Moonlight, it's 35 chapters and 169.6K long and it can be found on: AO3 or Wattpad

Harry gets himself almost sacrificed on a trip to St Louis, which ends up involving Anita Blake, most of the preternatural community and Draco, who was the one who sent Harry away to get some rest in the first place.

So when I originally wrote this I was totally in fandom mode, but decided to cheat and mention original fic too :). I have a vampire book out I am very fond of called Dead Before Dawn: The Vampire Curse - it's in eBook & paperback from Amazon, just eBook from Smashwords. Gay characters, bi characters, poly relationship, angst, humour - I tried to get it all in there.



Max Statton's life will never be the same again. While in Moscow for the premier of his new movie he is attacked by one of the city's resident vampires. Bitten and infected, only a team of local vampire hunters prevent him being dragged into the violent underworld of the undead. Fighting for his very existence, Max must resist the vampire curse with everything he has.

13. Any unusual vampire law you would like to share with us?

Vampires don't have to just be staked with wood in folklore - sometimes they were staked with iron or other metals. The original idea was that if you impale the corpse into the ground or into its coffin, it can't rise as a vampire.

Have a go at the Blanket Box

If you would like to have a go at the Blanket Box, here are the questions in a neat little list for copying and pasting. You don't have to answer all of them, just have fun :) Drop a link in the comments if you do it so I can come look at your answers!

1. Why do you love vampires?
2. Which vampire(s) brought you to the dark side?
3. TV, Movie or Books - have a favourite vampire medium?
4. All time favourite vampire?
5. Current favourite vampire?
6. All time least favourite vampire?
7. Favourite vampire book?
8. Favourite vampire movie?
9. Favourite vampire TV show?
10. What trait does a vampire have to have for them to be a "real" vampire for you? (e.g. fangs, speed, strength, hopping, nocturnal etc)
11. Any vampire fanfiction recs?
12. Do you create vampire content - what is your favourite of your own creations?
13. Any unusual vampire law you would like to share with us?

Review - Moon Child (2003) [vampire, gangster]

Title: Moon Child

Summary: After Japan suffers a major economic crash, many Japanese move to mainland china, one of whom is the vampire Kei. On the verge of death he is found by an orphaned boy, Sho, and saves him from gangsters out to take revenge for Sho, his brother Shinji and friend Toshi, stealing to survive. Sho and Kei form a bond that endures through the ups and downs of Sho's mortal life.

Cast:
Hyde ... Kei
Gackt ... Sho
Leehom Wang ... Son
Tarô Yamamoto ... Toshi
Susumu Terajima ... Shinji
Zeny Kwok ... Yi-Che

So this film is part vampire movie, part gangster film with all the craziness of a live action manga. It was written by Gackt, Kishu Izuchi and Takahisa Zeze and it's engaging and has surprising depth.

Now I know what you're thinking, a movie part written by a musician (Gackt) and staring said musician and another musician (Hyde) who happens to be a good friend of his - it's going to be terrible, right? Wrong. This film is brilliant. It makes me cry every single time I watch it ... and it makes my husband cry too.

Let me give you the low down.

This is Kei (Hyde) and he's a vampire.

When Sho first meets him he's not doing so well and he looks like this:

At this point Sho is not Gackt because he's a wee thing and is played by Kanata Hongo (isn't he adorable):

Sho saves Kei's life and in return Kei deals with some bad guys who are after Sho and his little gang. Sho then grows up into Gackt, learning from Kei and pulling off daring heists against gangster types and generally being a little shit.

There's a whole love story going on (unfortunately not Kei and Sho) while Kei angsts about being a vampire and Sho grows up to be a big shot gangster himself.

There is angst (oh boy, is there angst), there is love (familial, romantic, it's all in there), there are amazing gun battles (don't worry about the physics ;)), there are themes of deep racial divide (Sho and Kei are immigrants in a country that doesn't really want them), there is hopelessness (the story has an inevitability in its journey), there is heartache (if you have a soul you will cry ;)), there is comedy (Gackt can be very silly when he wants to be), there are vampires (they just fit)—there is everything we could ever want from a movie. This is a film that has it all.

This movie takes us through Sho's lifetime and it feels as if we are there every step of the way. It makes us laugh with him, love with him, bleed with him, and then it gives us Kei too, who has just as much depth, as well as a plethora of supporting characters who become real to us.

This is a great film that doesn't get enough respect and I thoroughly recommend it.

DVD - Amazon UK | Amazon US

Why Distance Can Be Our Greatest Ally When Drafting Fiction #TipsTuesday

Why Distance Can Be Our Greatest Ally When Drafting Fiction

We all know we can be a bad judge of something when we are too close to it. Bad decisions can come from having too much invested in a situation or having far too much information to know which way to look next.

The same goes for writing fiction.

Distance can be the answer for different aspects of the process.

Image from Pixabay via Pexels

Writer's Block

We've all had those times when we just run out of steam as we're writing, we burn out.

• All the creativity dries up. 
• We start to hate our plot or our characters.
• We can't seem to think of a way out of the blind alley we seem to have written up.
• Everything we write is clearly terrible (to us at least).
• We get caught up in an editing cycle that is going nowhere because new words and ideas are so hard.

These problems can often be solved by a little distance. Step back, walk away, work on something else for a little while. 

• Sometimes it takes hours - sleep on it, 
• Sometimes days - focus on another project for the rest of the week
• Sometimes weeks - put the manuscript away, bring out other projects, be they creative or managerial.

It all depends on the work, but putting it aside and coming back to it can give perspective and insight and reignite the creative fires.

Editing the All Important First Draft

Whether we use a professional editor or not, we need a decent first draft. It's exciting when we type the final word and sit back and know we have come to the end of the story - BUT - we should never be tempted to bundle it up and send it to everybody.

If we have alpha readers, we can send it to them, but, unless we are some sort of literary genius, we should all realise our first draft it not yet ready for other eyes.

However, we should also not be tempted to jump straight in with the self-editing.

At this point we have all the facts buzzing around in our heads, we know exactly what everything it supposed to mean, how it is supposed to go. If we re-read now, we are likely to miss things. The secret is to:

• close the file
• sit back
• pat ourselves on the back - we've done a great thing
• move on to something else for a couple of weeks at least.

THIS IS HARD!

Photo by Kat Jayne from Pexels

Yes, I know, I totally understand, the manuscript is our baby, we have worked very hard on it and we want it to be perfect right now! However, what we need to understand is this is unlikely to happen if we just dive right back in.

What we need is distance.

Taking that step back will allow us to see many things:

• Spelling mistakes - there will be many we have just not noticed and coming back to text fresh helps them pop out.
• Grammar - we often read on the page what we expect to see, or what is in our head, taking a step back gives us fresh eyes to see what is really there.
• Pacing issues - we loved a scene so much we put in way too much information and slowed it down, or we were so excited writing something it is over way too fast.
• Plot holes - we totally forget that Leopold needed a way to find out that Maxine was flying to Budapest before he chased after her.
• Missing information - the fact Leopold is addicted to chocolate but is vaguely allergic to it was in our head, but we forgot to mention it, so him having a horrible headache after binge eating a whole fudge cake makes no sense.

All of these things can be helped by alpha and beta readers and editors, but if we want our first draft to be palatable and to spark excitement, we can fix a lot of this ourselves before we send it out.

In Conclusion

Our writing comes from our hearts and minds. It is part of us. Sometimes the creative process is wonderful and everything flows onto the page, sometimes we have to force every word. However, no matter how we got there, our manuscript is close to us. 

This is amazing, but it causes issues.

If we're having trouble, or we just want our work to be as good as possible for the next person to see it, what we often need is distance. Take that step back and look away for a while, it can really help.

Have you found it really hard to step away from a project either at the end or during it? Did it help in the end?

Fanfic, Fanfic Everywhere ... But Nothing A Spreadsheet Can't Handle!

Fanfic, Fanfic Everywhere ... But Nothing A Spreadsheet Can't Handle!

So as I mentioned last week, I'm really into Wattpad these days and, while I am using it to publish original fiction, I am also using it to publish my fanfiction. Then there is also a new blogging platform called Pillowfort, which is in beta at the moment, but seems to be just the place fandom and social media needs.

Wattpad

There is a thriving fanfiction community on Wattpad and it is still growing. When I first dipped my toe in a few years ago it all seemed to be One Direction fic, but digging deeper there is much more and expanding these days. Now while none of us can make money off of fanfic, as is proper, it is a very useful tool for expanding our audience.

Because of this I am working on adding many of my fanfiction works to my Wattpad library so my audience over there can enjoy them as well.

Pillowfort

It's a site that is still growing, but it allows the kind of discourse Livejournal was always good at, as well as offering the reblogging functionality and media flexibility of Tumblr. Adding my fanfiction over there is a no-brainer for me :)

Fanfiction vs Original Fiction

Fanfiction is looked down on by some, but most people who read it are avid book worms. They love to read and read lots. It is only logical that there will be those who read fanfic and original ficiton at the same time. One kind of fiction may be set in another creator's universe while the other is in our own fictional universe, but they still have many things in common.

For example:

• I love vampires and have made it my business to write them into every fandom I can manage when writing fanfic.
• I write lots of original vampire fiction too.

or

• Most of my fanfiction is slash = male/male pairings.
• I write lots of lgbtqia original fiction.

Hence I have a crossover in my audience reading tastes. Not everyone will want to jump from one to the other, but the cross-pollination is there.

The Issue

Only one problem - I have fanfiction all over the place and I'm not sure where all of it is. Hence, this week, I have set myself the task of finding all the major places I have posted it and creating Google Sheets so I can keep track of it.

I have 338 works on AO3, but I've already found several small fics that seem to have been overlooked when going through my tags on Livejournal.

My reasoning is thus - if I have a place where everything is recorded I will know where to find it should anything happen for reasons not yet known. And I also like organising things, so my inner librarian is very happy. As long as my inner child and my inner librarian never meet, everything should be fine ;).

Over the last few years I have been writing fanfiction less and less, but I have to say, Wattpad and Pillowfort are beginning to reignite my fire, which, in turn, is helping with my original fiction mojo as well. It seems when I light one creative fire they all burn brighter :).

Do you write or read fanfiction? What are your fandoms? If not, do you have a reason for not doing so?