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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

So, you want to be a writer?

I think we all agree that a book is the best choice when we want to relax, to rest or simply to leave the real world behind us and enjoy the magic of the story that hides between the lines. 

I love those moments, sitting on the couch, or a comfortable chair, wrapped in a blanket and drinking a hot tea while I read a book of my choice. A good story can make us forget our troubles, inspire us, isn’t that right?

The same way I feel about writing. 

The moment I sit down to continue a story a whole new world materializes in front of me, waiting for me to lead the way. Since I started writing, when I was a child, I had in my mind short stories which could teach something. I never read those to anyone except for a few, but it wasn’t my intension to read them either way. I just was feeling complete by writing them. 

I believe we must write because we have the need to write and not because might come something out of it. I want to continue writing and lately I decided to share my novels with others thinking that they may enjoy the story I have to tell them. And that's enough for me.

I want to share with you a video that inspires me and makes me chill. The title is “So…you want to be a writer?” and I want to shout a big YES to that, but I guess only time will show. 





Sunday, October 28, 2012

How good it feels to write!

I don’t have anything specific on my mind this time; I just want to share with you my feelings when I’m writing. Writing it is a very personal procedure, especially if you are starting a new story or if it is your first attempt. Whatever is the case, you are lost in your thoughts and time seems to fly along with a million scenarios on how this is going to work. At least that’s how I felt.

I remember when I decided to write something that I could publish. I had a story on my mind but only some pieces and I was hesitating. One night I said to myself that there is no point wasting time thinking about it and so I started writing. I still didn’t know the whole story but I knew how I wanted to start and just like that I wrote the preface. After that everything came naturally. I kept writing and the story unfolded before me. Sometimes even surprised me! I can’t explain the feeling when I completed it, but I am sure that any writer out there knows what I am talking about.

I have a lot to do yet, since I am editing, but I know it is a unique experience. Now I understand what they say that when something ends another begins since when I was finishing the first, a new idea was born and now I am in the half of the second book, which is completely different from the first.

What can I say…? I feel so enchanted by the writing world that I want to transmit my feelings across the world. Hope I did it!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

What makes a good book?

What makes a good book? There is more than one answer that someone can give to this question and so I am going to give mine. I will not talk about preferences, everyone has his own. There are those who enjoy mystery, adventure, fiction, paranormal, those who like romance, historical, non-fiction and many-many more. I want to talk about the things that anyone expects from a book.

A good story.
The first thing we do when we see a book is to read the description which tells us a bit about the story we are going to learn. This is our first encounter with the book and I believe an important one. We want to be excited, curious and even thrilled and that’s a reason to make us read it. So, an interesting description is crucial but it will not be a surprise if at the end it wasn’t a good book. Yes, there is the case that an astonishing description may lead us to a book that we wouldn’t choose for many reasons.

An interesting start.
The second thing that I do when I have a book on my hands, is to read a few opening lines. This is a way to take a peek at the way the author writes and a hint about how the story begins. This may be a prologue or a preface or even the beginning of the story. Whatever is the case it must be something that we will remember.

Well written.
A huge presupposition is for the book to be well written. This takes a lot of discussion and I know that there are many experienced people who can explain it better than me. From my experience though, even if it is a little one, and form my aspect as a reader, I have to admit that a well written book is the most important thing. But…this doesn’t mean that the author must use some difficult technique or something. Of course when you have studied and you have spent years analyzing, reading and taking advices from experienced people, you see things more clearly than someone who just writes. Writing is not easy but I believe people can do it, and I don’t speak of those who force themselves to do it, because there are those too. I am speaking about people who writing comes from their souls and they will do mistakes and everything will not be perfect to an experienced eye, but those people can create a good book too. The reader doesn’t know what the author has studied; he only enjoys the story and travels along with the characters. If a book can do this to you, then I don’t think that there is anything more we can tell.  So, my advice is to anyone who writes because he likes it, because he is passionate with it, is…write! I do the same thing. I write and I don’t know if it will lead me anywhere but I love to write and I just wouldn’t be myself if I stopped for any reason.
Of course there are a million more that we can tell about a good book but those three are the top on my list. Which are yours? Feel free to tell me.
 xoxo
A.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Our reading affects our writing.

Our reading affects our writing. Don’t you agree?

I personally believe that this is a fact. Every person has his likes and dislikes and I guess that we all read different kinds of books and not just one. After all it helps us create a general opinion. What happens though when we write at the same time?

I can’t speak from everyone (of course!) but I think in one way or another, what we read affects our writing. I am not saying that we copy another author but even the slightest detail or idea we have may be triggered of something we read. Or the way we write may have been affected.

Me for example, I wrote my first novel while I was reading Game of Thrones. DAZED is a mystery/adventure and it takes place in Boston. It has absolutely nothing to do with George R. R. Martin’s masterpiece, but due to that I wrote it on the third person. It was something that happened unconsciously but I was reading in the third person and so I was thinking in the third person and I ended up writing in the third person too.

I don’t know, it may be different for you out there, or you think that I was affected too much, but how a good book can’t affect you? Isn’t that its purpose after all? And I say again that I don’t mean to copy it! Personally I am glad when I finish a book and I have beautiful feelings and ideas which can make me create something good and give me the sparkle I need to keep going.

What about you? Have you ever had a similar reaction to a book? 

Monday, October 22, 2012

Children's Book on the way...

New week, new step! I am a little excited today because I made a decision. I will publish (self-publish of course since I am doing everything alone) one of my short stories for Children! It is a very short story, meaning 14 pages, and it is childish. Of course it is that way because I wrote it when I was 11 years old! (About thirteen years ago.) The story is about a man who is selfish and uncaring and he ignores his family but when something tragic happens, everything changes. The story is simple and speaks about the value of family, love and helping people who need you the most.

Well, I searched my documents and I found it sneaking somewhere between a few unfinished ones and I said “We will need to spend some time together.” I have read it three times while I do the editing part. I don’t want to make extreme changes because it is a story from a child and that’s how I want to maintain it. I will have to find a cover and edit some more but I hope that soon enough I will publish it on Amazon. And that is another step of daring!! (if you have read my post “Daring” then you know what I mean). 



Saturday, October 20, 2012

Hope!

Well, today I was thinking about hope! If you have read my older posts you should know that I am writing because it’s something I love and I think that it’s worth trying to share it with readers. The first novel I wrote it is an adventure/crime/mystery and it is a lot different than the second one that I am working on. But I will come to this another day.

So I was thinking…what my hopes should be? Of course every new writer hopes big and dreams big which is understandable I think, but I am not like that. I believe in my novels a lot and I hope that one day at least one person will read them but what more? I don’t even know if that will happen. I am a little pessimistic I know, but that’s who I am!

Careful though, there is a fine line that we mustn’t cross. We should hope and dream because that’s helping us continue and inspires us but we must do it in a healthy amount. If we give too much hope and we fail, we could lose the love to write again. On the other hand if we are not hopeful at all there is the chance that we don’t find any reason to write and once again this is something we don’t want. Acting wisely and with faith it is important and even if it won’t pays off we will know that we did the best we could and keep aiming for something better. There is always something better we can do. All we need to do is working hard, believing and loving it. Well, we need a little talent and luck too but we all have a bit of those. We just need to nurture it and grow it and make it ready for the others to enjoy.


So, we keep our heads down and our hands on the keyboard working for the best. I don’t know about you but that’s what I am going to do and I hope it’s worth a try. J

Friday, October 19, 2012

Passionate about writing.

Something funny happened yesterday. I was writing my YA novel like crazy. It is an urban fantasy novel with a bit of love triangle in it. I knew what I wanted to do with the story and I was confident about my writing. But here is the interesting part…in some point my story took a turn that I hadn’t thought about. It’s just happened like the characters said “Hey we want this to happen here.”…and it happened. So, I continue writing it without changing it back to what I had thought and it turned out to be better than I expected. No-no I know what you are thinking, I am not crazy. I’m sure that this has happened to you too. Think about it! It is what I’ve said again. At one point the story has its own existence and that’s amazing. It’s not just words on paper. At least I don’t see it that way. It’s that sparkle of creation that tickles inside me.

This is what I love in writing (and reading too). It is fun, it is interesting, it is coming naturally and it can surprise you. I know many people who believe that reading is boring and I don’t want to know what they think about writing! Well, I don’t judge, people aren’t the same and that’s the fan of it. Like writers aren’t the same. Everyone has a unique writing and that’s what makes them special. I just hope one day someone will love my writing too. 

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

I'm just wondering...why??

I am a little disappointed about a “separation” that takes place between the regular publishing and self-publishing. Looking around the internet I saw that many sites and blogs that accept books for review can’t review self-published work.

And I am wondering now…if someone has a literature agent or a publisher, wouldn’t be easier to advertise his novel? Of course he would need a review but he would have already made a step in that world. On the other hand someone who writes and edits alone finds it harder to appear in the world. And don’t give me wrong. I am not talking about money. I am referring to put your story out there. This is, I believe, what a writer wants, this is what I want; to entertain and keep the reader excited with my work.

I admire the good writers and I believe that we will be amazed from their future work but…I can’t help but wonder. New authors don’t deserve a fair chance? I strongly believe that somewhere around us there are more than one persons who can make us chill with their amazing story or their will rock our world with the stunning novel they will create. Don’t you believe that we should check them out? Of course their work may not be perfect at the beginning and their first novel may not be unforgettable but…is this reason to ignore them?

I hope I didn’t offend someone. This wasn’t my intention. I’m just wondering and writing my thoughts. So what are your thoughts on this?

Monday, October 15, 2012

A sad day...

I feel a little disappointed today. Imagine a nice day: you are doing whatever you love, trying to create something good and suddenly life happens reminding you that there are things you must do in order to keep living. A bunch of things that must to be done because in life don’t anyone get to do what he loves! I am happy for those who have the opportunity to make their dreams come true. The rest of us we just hope.

I wish I could be able to write all day continuing the story that awaits me. After all…I owe it to the characters right? Don’t you ever have this feeling when writing a story? It’s like the characters on it have some kind of substance. They have a past, a future; they grow through the pages creating their own destiny and sometimes that conflicts with the one it was on your mind at first.

I don’t have much experience in writing but one thing is for sure. It comes from inside me guiding my hands on the keyboard, it expresses how I feel and it turns into words the story that hides on my mind.
If only I had the chance to focus on it…but we all need to make sacrifices.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Reading and Writing.

Today I am thinking about books. At the moment I am reading the hunger games. I am finishing the second book and I am waiting to put my hands on the third. I don’t think there are many out there who haven’t read it but, if you don’t, I strongly recommend it.

The thing is that when I read a book like this, I am not focused only to the story. While I read I notice the way the author writes, the phrases he uses, the way the story is being revealed and I believe that everything matters! A tiny little thing can inspire me to write something on my own. I strongly believe that if we want to write, we need to read a lot and many kinds. (Which means I have to read romance sometime even if it’s not my favorite.) How we can write if we don’t read? I am asking you!

Reading is crucial and amazing. We need to bury our faces into books and we need to spend time on our writing too. These things need time. You can’t imagine how impatient I am about my novel. I have written it for a while now and it is on editing process still which means I can’t put it on the internet which is like a torture for me. But we need to know that when we write a novel, it is not going to be published soon! It isn’t something easy. You can’t just write one day and publish it the next. (Ok maybe there are some who do it but I think they are just the exceptions to the rule. I am not!)

So, if I can give a piece of advice, which I also give to myself is this: Be patient, be hard working, be passionate and who knows…one day maybe our stories will be read and loved by someone. Isn’t what we want? 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

We must dare.

Today I’d like to talk about daring. I’m sure many of you out there have some great ideas but you can’t or you are afraid to put on paper. I was like this for a long time. I was thinking a million things but I never went through with them because of fear. I was writing a lot but I was trembling in the idea for anyone to read them. I was scared.

One day I realized that if a story won’t be read …what’s the point? The stories are for people to read, to feel what the characters are feeling, to travel with them in new places, to hate and love with them. A good story can make you relax or laugh or get passionate with it. That’s the point of a story. And so…I dared.
Actually I dared more than ever. I created a new file on my PC and I started to write. I didn’t know where this could get me but I liked it and so I continued and after some months I had written my first novel. It is the biggest story I have ever write-101.741 words and I am proud about it. Friends who read it say nice stuff, which I think is good, but I keep editing and editing until I will be ready to put in online and that will be another step of daring.

So…why we need to be scared or afraid? I say we don’t!
Personally I don’t know if anyone else out there is ever going to read my novel (or novels since I will keep writing!) but I am happy I dared to do this step because I love writing and sharing with others what’s going on in my mind and, believe me, it is a mess in there.!:-) 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Getting to know me

Hello,

I feel like I should introduce myself. I am Athina, and I finally decided to create this blog. It was in my mind for a while, but I guess I wasn’t ready to take that step. Well, now I am here and I hope you' ll find some interest in what I have to say.

In “Between My Lines” I'll blogabout my two passions. You'll now wonder what these may be. Well, I love reading and writing. I read many kinds of books like mystery, thrillers, urban fantasy, I can’t name them all, but I must admit that I'm not a big fan of romance.

Writing is my unconditional love. Since I remember myself I was writing something even if it was just my diary or some make up story that popped in my head. Also I have written a novel but I'm editing so I'll come to that another time.

That’s it for now, I hope we'll get along just fine and I would be pleased if you ever like something I said and you want to post it somewhere, please include my link. 

The rest will be in…Between My Lines.

Yours,
A.