Still Alive!

Sorry I've been MIA for a while! It's been a very busy holiday up in New York with zero internet access. But I'm home now : ) and ready to jump back into the blog world head first... well, after a good nights sleep. I'll be posting something (probably my contest winners prizes) within the next 24 hours. See you soon.

Blogfeast Winners!

Well, I know it's coming quite late, had a very overwhelming week, but here are the winners of my Blogfeast!
I will begin work on your prizes tonight!! So exiting!

1st Place: 


Rachel!

• she wins both a full chapter crit and a "character interview"!

2nd Place:


L'aussie!

• she wilns either a character interview or a full chapter crit, her choice

Two very exciting stories with some fantastic twists!! Read and enjoy : ) And honorable mentions go to:


Remy Broussards Christmas By Kittie Howard


Gordon and Mollie by Cheeky Su

Secrets = Plot Twists! Come See The Stories Entered in The Blogfeast!

So, these are the stories that came from my blogfeast! It was a pretty small turnout (Curse you NaNoWriMo!) but these are still GREAT stories! I had a ton of fun reading them. Life is a smidge hectic for me this week, finals week is here. But, I will be posting the Top 2 (Originally 3, but with the small turn out and my lack of a co-host two prizes will be given) in the next day or two... so here are the stories! Read, comment, follow! And come back here and tell me who you'd like to see in the top!

The rules, by the way, were to write 1,500 words max of fiction that involved a holiday and a family secret. The prizes are awesome and are listed Here.

You can read my story (which is obviously not up for the prizes) at the very bottom of THIS post, "Buns and Ovens"

(in order from the Linky List)

Remy Broussards Christmas By Kittie Howard


(Untitled) Rachel


Family Secrets Revealed at Thanksgiving by L'Aussie


Gordon and Mollie by Cheeky Su

Thank you everybody who entered! You rocked : ) Don't forget to come back and see who won!

Spurt of Inspiration: Possible Titles

For those of you who've read parts of my MS, you may know that it has the working title Rebel in Remission. I'm not exactly a huge fan of that title, I think it just sounds too... um.... I just don't like it. But, I had a thought.
How do you like this:

Or Should I Go?


If you're not familiar with my WIP, what do you think of a title for a book like that? If it were a movie title, what would you think? Hmm.. I guess it's not the most spectacular thing ever, but I kinda like it.

And don't forget! My Blogfeast is still on, til the 12th!

Award Give Away! I'm Fair Dinkum Are You?

So, curiously enough, I discovered L'aussie from L'aussie Writing has given me an award : ) Yay. But I'm still not sure what it's for hehe, I think that's sort of the point though. It's called Fair Dinkum, she seems to have given it out to good commenters. So, I instantly knew exactly who I would nominate next:

Shannon! 

She's a brand new blogger and after only a few hours of following my blog she'd already commented on 5 or 6 of my posts!! She's awesome!

Her blog is brand spankin' new, and from what I can see so far, I like it! It's called On Writing: Voyeristic Explorers Unite! Here's her blurb:

A place to explore the frightening and savagely interesting world around us through a writers' lens, pick apart other novelists' skills, and bring together all sorts of useful tips, tricks, and research.

So GO! Check her out and follow! Click Here!

And p.s. my Holiday Blogfeast is still open for entry! You have until December 12th (This Sunday!) to enter the contest (PRIZES!!) and you can get more followers without doing anything but leave a comment! So GO HERE!!!

How Push the Envelope: A Lesson in Irony from "Weeds" & "Dexter"

Drug dealing soccer mom = Genius. Readers love irony. Humor and controversy are often born in irony. And best of all, it sets up for endless plot twists, literary gold. 

"Weeds" and "Dexter" are both smash hits from Showtime. Both shows have developed enormous cult followings because they have mastered the art of IRONY. The beauty is that the irony lies in the main characters themselves. 

In "Weeds", main character Nancy Botwin is a mother of two, living in the wealthy California suburb of Agrestic. Only, she's a widow now. Her husband, Judah, died of a heart attack. Desperate to keep their lifestyle intact, she resorts to a very interesting new career. Weed dealer. 

In "Dexter", there is a regular guy named, you guessed it, Dexter. He is a blood spatter analyst for the Miami PD. Oh, and he's a serial killer. Who does he hunt? Serial killers. 

Now, it's obvious when we read these plots that they're the pinnacle of perfection. But WHY? What is the formula? Why are they so damn great??

Well here it is:

The key to intrigue is:

           A                                       B                          

Seemingly Normal Person + Social Taboo  = Intrigue

But this isn't enough. This is good, but it will likely give you an unlikeable character. In fiction, your MC must be someone we care about. We don't have to think he's perfect (that's bad too), but we have to be on his side.  

This is what will happen with the Intrigue Formula alone: 

Or worse:

Here are the keys:

1. The circumstances must make it plausible to justify their actions (And their personality must be funny and witty, so we'll want to justify whatever crazy thing they do.)
2. A and B must be EXACT opposites. 
3. The MC's involvement with the taboo must be kept secret

So this is what it looks like: 

                A                                  B                                 C

Seemingly Normal Person + Social Taboo + Sympathetic Circumstances  = GENIUS

And 

This is how it's done. Balance. And genuine talent of course. It's not all about a gimmick, you have to have a truly fantastic character to back it up. These characters are really amazing. I highly recommend renting the first seasons of either one and taking some notes, there is tons we can learn from Dexter and Nancy. 

And fun fact: The definition of the word Agrestic (the name of Nancy's cozy suburb) is a rude, classless person. Isn't irony fun? 

And don't forget! My Holiday Blogfeast has been extended through December 12th! So go sign up Here!

Holiday Blogfeast Extended! PRIZES and Followers!

I'm extending my deadline for the Blogfeast because Nano hijacked the whole month of November. And the flu kicked my sorry ass during the first week of December. I need more time for promotion and you all probably just crawled out from under the death grip of Nanowrimo. Sooooo, the new date for the end of my Thanksgiving HOLIDAY Blogfeast is....


12-12-10 at 12am EST
           as in Sunday the 12th at midnight!

GO HERE  to sign up for either the blogfest or the contest or both!