Fantasy…or what a ten year old knows…

About ten year olds that I don’t.

I love talking to my kids. My daughter is ten; my son is seven. Their perspective on the world is so hopeful, curious and at times surprising. I read somewhere that the only power children have is their imagination (since my daughter believes that she runs the house…I’d add that by using it they can also learn to manipulate). My children both imagine.

Which takes me to what I love about their childhood that is different from mine. When I was young I could imagine being in control through reading a book or watching a television show/movie. Putting myself into the main character’s shoes suddenly I was in charge. Powerful stuff in a chaotic family environment. My imagination could wander into other scenarios or expand upon the original fantasy but mostly it was a passive experience.

My kids kill zombies (and other creatures), dress in amazing outfits, shop, design their igloos, earn money, plow fields and the list goes on. While they may get bossed around after school and told to do their homework on their time they design worlds. The experience is so active.

Asking my daughter about the story I’m writing (for a work project) from a child’s perspective she took me out of the school and put me into fantasy. Which makes sense. In school she’s told what to do; in a fantasy world her options are limitless. And that’s what a ten year old knew that her mother needed help figuring out.

The picture? Decided to support the Jasmine Revolution this morning.

Chaos to clarity?

Or, is the jumble in my head leading somewhere?

I don’t have a hard time brainstorming and coming up with ideas. And they come out clearly enough that I can usually sit down, organize my thoughts and write them out coherently. My problem lies in having too many thoughts, ideas and light bulb moments. And I can seem like a disorganized (disoriented) mess when brainstorming. That glazed eyes and staring off into the distance with a smile look.

So I:
-Take my ideas for granted and not seriously

-Write them in a notebook then forget about them

-Never bother writing them down then eventually forget them

-Give them away

-Don’t have time to explore or build them all

-Make myself crazy by trying to frantically follow up on more of them than is realistic

Creativity is such a blessing. The world takes on a magical light when you dress up the realities around you. I romanticize everything and have since I was a child (also known as denial). This quality makes you an optimist (because if you don’t like something you dress it up internally and move on). It’s also a good one for a writer. I really see the beauty outside my window and how that might shape people, good or bad.

Visiting Watts last week had a profound impact on my imagination. Parts weren’t so easy to romanticize. There was beauty in the people and some of the interactions I saw, but the back drop was grim.

How do you dress up the realities that defy denial?

Busy…busy…and staying super busy I’m now sitting down to reflect on all of the people I’ve met and spoken with over the past week. Then I need to ponder what I read. Jumble up the mess with my brain storms and scrawled notes and you get chaos. But as I now just stop and search for the clarity within, pictures are taking shape.

What is magic? Wonderment or mastery? That’s part of the clarity I’m seeking in an issue still internally in chaos.



Picture from the Jet Propulsion Lab

Every book starts with a word

Then a sentence follows. Next comes a full page.

That’s how to write a book.

It’s born in your imagination but takes shape by the hard work of writing it down.

I’ve been asked a number of times now about how I wrote Captive. The story remains the same and like so many other things in life it centers around discipline. If there is one issue I complain about constantly it’s the sunny Sunday afternoons that I spend at my desk writing. Life would even be better if I could take my research/reading outside and at least do that. My friends are enjoying the day; I’m working. And believe, me, today here in Santa Monica is lovely/

But that’s how you get just a little bit more done.

Today I won’t work on the book. I’ve taken a few weeks off to focus on another project. And, with the sequel, I’m behind on my research anyways. I’ll read later but have one more thing to do first (after this posting)

But last week I did do an updated outline. I know what happens (in Escape; Captive’s sequel!). I just need to write it in a narrative. Expect bombs and perhaps, I’m, weighing it, a Harold Robbins turn. Anyone remember those days?

And, if you can’t get past the idea, take a class like I did on novel writing. I did one online, at UCLA Extension. It helped me get past word one, and page one.

Happy Sunday!

The picture is Malibu...one morning...a few weeks ago

Sample reading group questions

I was asked for them….I’ve never written reading group questions before. So, below is draft one. If you haven’t finished the book stop reading now!

1. Captive is about two men who’ve had different options in life and made very different decisions. Character wise, are they similar? Were their lives shaped more by circumstance or by character?

2. The story is told from a woman’s perspective twice: once from the viewpoint of Khalil’s mother, Leila, and the other from George’s wife, Karen. Do their insights add to the story or detract from it? Do you sympathize more for the men after learning something about them from women who love them?

3. Shortly before Khalil turns up at his door, Omar begins to question whether he really wants to die for his jihad. Is this questioning consistent with his character? Why, when pushed, does he ignore his misgivings?

4. Stacy and Jennifer are both smart women who make foolish choices with respect to men. They are minor characters in the book so less fully explored. What about them or their romantic partners provides insights into these disastrous romantic choices?

5. George and Khalil both love to read. George brings Khalil an assortment of books during the captivity. What insights do the book choices add?

6. Captive is essentially about people who are captive in different senses of the word. Is it easier for these characters to break out of their physical or mental captivity? Do any of them truly escape by the end of the book?

7. Is the story line very situation specific or does it have recurring elements from a larger literary or historical perspective?

8. Do George and Khalil ever begin to like each other? Why does Khalil shoot George but not kill him (presumably, he could have ensured George died with another or better placed shot but doesn’t).

9. What happens after the book ends to each of the main characters that perhaps wouldn’t have happened had the Captive events never taken place?

10. George struggles to get information from someone who doesn’t open up easily. Is he effective at his job based on how events occur at the end?

The picture is of the San Francisco Bay and taken by Jonathan Dugan of BitTorrent

Learning from Hollywood: story telling

Story telling is simply the ability to engage with an audience and draw them into a world of your own creation. It was a central topic of discussion at a recent conference I attended.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center Leadership Forum was at the USC School of Cinematic Arts on May 16 and 17. As a writer, I’m obviously a huge believer in the power of story. What did I learn at the conference on the topic? Or, perhaps to be more precise, what was the message on weaving an effective story?

1. Engage your audience.

2. Make them think differently.

3. Customize or personalize.

4. Touch emotions; no overkill.

5. Keep the characters authentic and believable. None of us is perfect; humanize our characters’ flaws and bless them with some. Certain types of people will dress, think and speak in a predictable way. Portraying them otherwise is false at best, preachy at worst.

6. Context. Always.

7. Respect your audience. Don’t pander or talk down to them.

8. Immerse them in a new world that you create.

9. “Good artists borrow: great artists steal”. Draw story lines from mythology or other common narratives that have crossed history and generations (the Bible, Shakespeare, coming of age...). “A myth is news that’s still news”.

10. Trust the audience’s ability to take on something (a willful suspension of disbelief). Let them decide what they want to take in of what you provide.

11. Artistry and technology work hand in hand.

12. “Good stories are familiar with the content of our unconscious. Bad stories are too turbulent, violent or emotional”.

13. Create a predicament for our character and then provide a solution.

The above draws heavily from a panel of super producers: Don Hahn, Doug Wick and Marcy Carsey.

While a list can’t tell a story a conference is a dense flow of information and hard to summarize in a blog posting. Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.

But to sum, I view a story based on its outline or structure…then how does that narrative flow? The above rules provide the meat that then sits on those bones and grabs (or doesn’t grab) an audience. I’ll be reading The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim, recommended by Doug Wick.

I also wrote a related posting on my investment banking blog that covers a broader range of topics from the conference. www.ibla.us

Why not on Nook…asks Barnes and Noble loyalist?

Umm…

Captive is now!

And I did it myself on Barnes and Noble’s PubIt! site (my main publisher contact is abroad; I retained the rights to Captive; Nook sees going directly through them and going through PubIt! as essentially the same). I was surprised to realize that Captive wasn’t on Nook, and even more shocked to receive an email stating such. For, Captive (hard copy) is on barnesandnoble.com and in some of their stores through my publisher. I’d just assumed it was also on Nook (first rule in life and publishing…assume nothing).

As my publisher (and many others) knows I am pretty proactive about publishing and marketing opportunities. I’m the original “just do it” type which is why I’d partnered with BitTorrent to explore that opportunity.

Unfortunately, I can explain technology better than I can implement it (I’m too literal and start every service call with “tell me what web page you’re on. No, read me the url letter by letter, please.”). But, to my credit, I did set up my home network just because…why not? And, though my son claims it doesn’t work in his room (Linkys…location of his room with respect to the box) it works everywhere else in the house. The PubIt! process is much easier than setting up a network.

So…Captive… I went to the site, downloaded the book (in ePub format though a word file will do), compressed my cover and blew it. As I tend to do. But I figured out my mistake (a kink and PubIt! is fixing it…it would be me) and now my book is on Nook! It took under an hour, easily. One note, I had a cover already so I’d advise pre-planning that part.

I seem to be becoming an expert in publishing options; I wrote a book and have a technology/media/business background so getting creative is natural for me. The publishing world is changing so fast. As with all businesses, especially those evolving quickly, proactively trying new things can and does make the difference between those who succeed and fail. Maybe it’s me, but I thought writing the book was the easy part. Turns out marketing trumps writing any day with respect to complexity.

What most disturbed me about not being on Nook was that the device (and B&N) has a loyal and devoted audience. Captive should be there. A friend (different B&N loyalist; I seem to know many) had his local Manhattan outlet send a copy of Captive across the country to him since his store was sold out. Second rule in life…don’t offend the gorillas in your industry. Okay, sorry for stating the obvious, but B&N is a huge presence for writers.

Slogging through the sequel to Captive (some days it’s sailing through writing the sequel but I’m editing now…go see my cranky tweets on twitter @meganlisajones) I’m also trying to figure out how to best distribute and promote it, using what I’ve learned from Captive.

My BitTorrent related audience is amazingly interconnected. I’m confident that I can find them when the next book is ready. Now I’m building an audience on Barnes and Noble…not a bad step to take this week. And nothing beats direct interaction with your readers.

The publishing options for new writers are great, much as many are complaining about declining sales and less support for new authors. Building an audience has never been easy; the new options are overwhelming but they also provide such opportunity. Amazon and Barnes and Noble are letting new writers develop their audience (if it exists) inexpensively; publishers can watch their efforts and better determine which writers could benefit from their resources for later books.

Please, please buy Captive on the Nook and write a review on Barnes and Noble’s site. They are supporting new writers; I’d like to support them back!

…very glad to be not only on Kindle but now also on Nook (we are currently working on iTunes books…my understanding is that it’s a formatting issue).

Feedback from other authors or questions about PubIt! or anything discussed above are very welcome. Email me at meganlisajones1@gmail.com

Dolphin photo from Ana Vitalia (thanks!)

Are we driving some of our content creators underground?

Today we “officially” released the results of the Captive/BitTorrent promotion: over 400,000 downloads in about two weeks…globally.

I wrote a book, got an agent, got frustrated, tried to find a new agent, got even more frustrated, went with a small publisher (instead of looking for an agent any more), then partnered with BitTorrent. I now have a global audience and a lot more options.

I wasn’t the first “artist” as part of BitTorrent’s new artist program. They’ve had bands, movies and now an audience funded series. The resources available to new artists are staggering: sites that promote or aggregate them with a built in following; drastically cheaper equipment or options for filming, recording, printing, distributing, editing and marketing; social networks and peer to peer communities; and even Kindle with it’s tiered pricing. I could go on with the last sentence but what I wrote says enough.

Contrast that with the “traditional” media world. They are supporting and promoting fewer and fewer new artists preferring to play it safe and stick with established “names”. Not that I necessarily disagree with them. The content world is notoriously hard to predict and studios, publishers and other promoters have lost money on too many artists (new and old) over the years.

But (see above) part of my “I got frustrated” was hearing too many times that the audience only wants celebrities, vampire books and lite chic lit. 400,000 plus downloads proves otherwise (there are lots of free book downloads that don’t build such an audience).

Isn’t it time to interact more with the audience and not force them into “alternative” media? The artists are already there with options for those who want more than celebrities, vampire books and chic lit.

What will I do with the sequel? Don’t know yet; hopefully, finish it (should be writing that and not this…). But the options only continue to expand.

Why are we not building and promoting new artists more in the traditional media world? The costs are so much lower… Some studio or publisher needs to question why they really need to spend so much in this day and age to launch a new artist.

My favorite example of how we can’t so easily define quality content, YouTube’s Annoying Orange, just got a television deal. Watch it and tell me the cost structure to launch those videos online was material in any studio budget (my kids love Annoying Orange so that isn’t a critique! Also, my son loves Superskamory…a 17 year old who makes Mario walkthrough videos…favored over any TV show in his world).

What fun we’ll have watching new artists as they build audiences outside the traditional spheres! I do believe that the traditional studio models will evolve to match the new reality that they’re no longer the only option for a talented new artist.

This piece is a companion to the one I wrote on my investment banking blog; www.ibla.us on whether we’re driving part of our audience underground.