Jolyn Palliata

I'VE MOVED!!

2011-11-05T06:12:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone!

I've created a new blog/website here. I've found it to be much more functional to post and interact with my readers. I hope everyone finds it okay!

Thank you for all your support!

Awesome Review on Amazon for Connected!

2011-10-28T21:42:00.000-05:00

"I tend to gravitate toward stories that grab you from the prologue and this one does just that. It is the first book in the Twists of Fate series. I have been trying to review it for several days and am having a time telling about the story without giving too much away, but here goes: The story starts with two people from very different walks of life (he is a Rocker and she is a Photographer, he is completely outgoing, she more reserved) in entirely different physical locations, who happen to die at the same time. In the process, they connect on the metaphysical level even though they have never met. When Addison is brought back to life in the OR, somehow Rhys's spirit is inside of her, and is able to communicate with her and she with him. In fact initially she cannot even have a thought without Rhys knowing what that thought is. Of course she believes she is going crazy, is in denial, and is trying to get rid of him using every possible means at her disposal. When she realizes she can't get rid of him, they finally start to really communicate and get to know each other, and then he tells her what he needs from her. He needs some closure to his life, due to the extreme circumstances of his death, and she can help him with that. Their interaction is funny and clever and before too long they are depending on each other more and more and growing closer and closer. Their dialogue is what makes this story. He exhibits jealousy, wisdom, comfort, arrogance, humor and much more. She is smart and sexy and can definitely hold her own with him. I don't want to give anything else away because I really want the reader to get the full impact of this story. But, I will say that there is laughter, tears and a surprise ending before all is said and done. It is a fairly short story that you will not want to put down. I loved it and am looking forward to the next book in the series." - TLM

The Day Has Come!!

2011-10-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

Connected (Twists of Fate #1) is now available for purchase on Amazon!! Click here to access.

Still truckin' on Twisted (Twists of Fate #2) as we speak, and edits/revisions for Impending Reprisals.

Busy, busy!!

Twisted Cover

2011-10-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

I'm nearly done with my Connected edits/revisions (I hope!), and have started Twisted. So here I was, puttering with my outline and trying to hold the guys back from tweeting (Come on...we've got work to do!) when I realized I never posted the cover I made for Twisted! *gasp* Travesties beyond all travesties! ;) That being said, here it is...

Connected is done!!!

2011-08-28T17:42:00.001-05:00

Just wrapped up the first draft of Connected today. Next stop...critiques followed by revisions and edits. Then, off to the editor it goes!! I'm hoping to publish late 2011 or early 2012. We'll see how long it takes me to get it "just right". :)

But, I do have my pretty cover ready to go!!

Black Codex

2011-08-17T05:55:00.003-05:00

My novella, Connected (an offshoot of Twisted), is coming along beautifully!! As inspiration and promotion of the overall series, I've created an album cover for the band in the story, Black Codex. The album title, Scripted Lives, also comes into play in the story.

It might get a little more tweaking, but this is what I've come up with so far. Next, I'll be making one for Persevere, the other band mentioned in Connected and the main focus in Twisted.

Man, I'm having fun with all this!!

Trying Harder

2011-08-07T09:24:00.003-05:00

Between work and family, the only time I have left is dedicated to writing, so (unfortunately) my blog and website have been left behind in the dust. But as of now, I'm going to start trying really hard to keep up on everything. Let me stress the try part. Getting words down will always be first and foremost, followed by edits and revisions (*gag*), but I'm making a mental note to ensure everything else is up-to-date as well.

That being said, I have updated my website's Current Projects listing. Now, everyone knows this changes like the wind, but it's good to go as of right....NOW.

As those of you who follow me on FB know, I’ve been focusing my attention back on Twisted (Book One of the Twists of Fate series) after a painful, year-long hiatus. And, as those of you who have been longtime fans know, Twisted is a story about a rock star (Tavion) and a novelist (Devan) hooking up. It’s been a blast jumping back into it, and I've kept pounding away with a solid, unweavering focus…until now. Connected (my new obsession) is an offshoot of Twisted—a novella that centers around a few of Tavion’s friends. They also have their own story to tell, and (not known for their combined patience), they demand their story be told right now. So, instead of waiting until I finish Twisted, I’m writing both simultaneously.

I couldn't be happier about how it's turning out! By writing Connected, I'm gaining an whole new insight on Twisted...something I totally didn't see coming. And by writing both together, the next novel in the series (Jaded) is starting to show it's beautifully delicious face.

I still have a ton of research to do to make sure the worlds I'm creating are seamless, but I've got to say...even that has been enjoyable. I am in awe of my small little world lately. Writing has never made me happier!

Inspiration

2011-05-01T15:51:00.004-05:00

Someone recently asked me, "What inspires you?", and it really got me thinking.

I suppose to fully answer the question, I have to explain what motivates me to write in the first place – what drives me. That part is simple: emotions and the catalyst behind them. I love creating characters with pasts and emotional scars and then throwing them together in various situations, watching how they interact and grow. I love digging into the human psyche (and not-so-human psyche) and delving out the how's and why's of their actions, the emotional drivers. And what better way to explore them than in the context of a relationship, the most complex product of our emotions.

As to the actual "thing" that inspires me... Well, that can take on various forms from story to story. Sometimes it's just a random thought, sometimes it's a song, sometimes it's a picture.

For the Entwined Souls Trilogy (a project still haunting me), I just thought "What is the strongest bond that could form between two people?" Answer: soul mates. And then I thought more about it. If such a thing existed, what would it all entail? It grew from there. And man, did it grow!

Clandestine started out with me wondering what it would be like to have an out-of-body experience. So I created one...albeit with fantastical creatures in a parallel realm.

Impending Reprisals. Hmm...that one slammed into me like a freight truck. It started as a scene and betrayal playing out in my head, and from that moment on, I was totally obsessed. I wrote/edited the entire 102K MS in a little more than two months (a record for me). Despite working full-time and my home life, that little vixen would not settle into the back of my mind. I even dreamed about it – waking up in the middle of the night and scribbling thoughts and scenes down so I wouldn't forget them. I think I averaged four hours of sleep every night until it was done. But the amazing part of that was, I was wired the entire time. Of course, once I wrapped it I crashed, but what a ride!

Lastly, A Modern Love Story. Another obsession of mine, although not quite so consuming. This one was born from a song by one of my favorite bands, Framing Hanley. The song got me thinking "Why would a man be in love with one woman, but be with someone completely different?" So I figured it out, in my own way. Mix in some death, abandonment, murder, drugs and a sociopath...and I found my answer. "Ohhh...THAT'S why he'd do that!"

Whatever the inspiration, I'll take it as it comes. Although it sometimes feels like a curse, I am truly ecstatic with how my mind wraps around and rips apart a story just because a song lyric caught my attention, or a picture drew me in. I don't know what I'd do if the ideas stopped flowing, and the words ran dry. (For some reason, the image of a padded white room is popping into my head.)

Keep on writing everyone!

Harbinger (excerpt)

2010-01-18T19:22:00.011-06:00

The wrath comes near, that in which threatens the foundations of righteousness, endurance, and heart. It will steal into our world under concealment of a dark cloud and sate itself on the fear of man, engendered by the atrocities inflicted by it's will. It will amass and achieve a corporeal state; a score of creatures from the bowels beneath, frenzied by the covenants of it's depraved existence and to reap the rewards of it's pursuits. The earth shall be painted red and the sky shall shift to black as the scourge befalls mankind, devouring those to which have fallen, and hindering transcendence beyond their mortal years. It will prevail and proceed unmet until pillars of unyielding fortitude come forth from the heavens, defenders against that which defies the natural order. Therein lies the beginning of an epic battle, a struggle to foresee the ultimate destiny of humanity.

FIO - Writing Partnership

2009-12-15T20:48:00.005-06:00

I received a copy of an email that Danae Ayusso sent some fans. They had requested advice regarding writing partnerships. She was kind enough to copy me in so I could post it for everyone to learn from. I have pasted the email (word for word) below. Enjoy!!

Writing a story together can either reap amazing results or kill your friendship, I speak from experience. Everyone, no matter how close they are, have differing in opinions on how something should be, will be, and they want it to be. So you have to keep that in mind. If you are hell bent on writing a story together first figure out what the story is about, you have to do a lot of homework because you are working with someone else, and write out a guideline/timeline that will have each chapter broken down in order to prevent going off course and causing conflict. Write out your characters, in each of my books, because I have so many characters and their names are always really weird, and they are all vastly different, I will make a WORD DOC called CHARACTERS and it will list the name, physical description, meaning of name if it matters to your story (it matters in my stories), personality traits (hyper, blunt, funny, dry sense of humor, jerk, villain, heroic, ect) and any weird little habits they have (bites nails, picks nose, twirls hair when nervous). Some people don't get into those little habits but there have been many articles by publishers and agents that say it is a good thing to have personality traits and bad habits or little tics that a reader can relate to (a lot of mine bit their lower lip when nervous, or cracks their knuckles or neck).

Once you have all of that down (that is a week worth of work right there!) figure out what Point of View (POV) you are writing from. www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-point-of-view-in-literature.html and www.learner.org/interactives/literature/read/pov1.html are very helpful for that. Once your POV is picked you then pick the tense: past tense or present tense. Is the reader writing it as it happens (very hard to write this tense, trust me) or are they telling you after it happened.
So now you have all of the specifics down. Awesome! Let's write! Uh oh, you both want to write? Yeah, that is a common problem with buddy writing. Here is my suggestion since you're both starting, and most likely you are writing from one of the characters POV, do a split perspective story like Undiluted Minds, Forbidden Alliance: A Werewolf's Tale, or the Pathfinder (available on WATTPAD.COM). Split POV is really easy to write from, and I have a feeling in the future that this is going to be a rage in Young Adult (YA) books (to have a dual perspective.) Each of you take one of the main characters that the story is going to be about and alternate chapters. You write the odd chapters and your buddy writes the even chapters or vice versa.

Okay, so you've decided to write a past tense book in a split perspective from a male character named Dick and his love interest Jane. Great!! Now for the unofficial rules of split perspective writing with a buddy (I will refrain from going all Fight Club on you)

Rule 1 - DON'T repeat what just happened. If Dick is telling about seeing this hot chick at the dance, Jane, and goes up to her and they dance and kiss and all that other cool stuff you want to write about, awesome! The next chapter doesn't need have Jane talking about Dick coming up to her at the dance and dancing, making out, and all that good stuff. WE JUST READ IT AND NO ONE WANTS TO READ IT TWICE!

Rule 2 - If you feel the need for (we'll use the above example) Jane to tell of something from Dick's chapter, recant it after the fact. In the shower she was thinking about the way held her in his arms, they kissed later that night, blah blah blah. Just a one paragraph or two at most. It isn't Sunday night football thus we don't need a play by play of what we just saw on ESPN.

Rule 3 - Since you are working with a writing buddy, make sure you get their input with the character they are writing from (They are owning it, in essence) about what they say and actions and such. That is when your study guides from your planning stage comes into effect. Otherwise Dick could be this sweet romantic guy in the ODD chapters but in the EVEN chapters he is a total prick because someone else is writing him. Make sure it flows and keep the integrity of the characters. This is where those little traits/tics and habits comes into play. Perhaps Dick has a catch line that he always uses, mine is 'You act like you just met me.' Nearly all of my lead characters say that, I don't mean for it to happen that way but it works and is a trademark. When reading Prophecy you will know without a doubt you are reading from Tynan's POV when she says with a smirk, "You act like you just met me." (Okay I'm getting off track)

Rule 4 - If there is a big moment in the story, i.e. that first kiss, write it together. That way you are both part of that epic moment, you don't feel left out, and both of your characters will be real to the character and the story. Nothing is worse then getting half way through a 300 page story and both of rip you each other's hair out because you don't like a major epic scene that the other wrote. (Play nicely in the sand box girls!)

Rule 5 - Don't edit the others work. Nothing makes a person feel more belittled and like shit then someone picking apart something that they spent a lot of time on and put a lot of their soul into. If you see a spelling error or something that is one thing, but to say "OMFG YOU ARE SO RETARDED HE'D, NEVER SAY THAT!" yeah no. No one wants to hear that. If DICK says something in a previous chapter and it works and flows and is funny or important, even if the writer for JANE doesn't like it but DICK's writer feels that it is him, carry it over into JANE's chapters as well. Don't hurt their feelings or ruin a friendship over something as stupid as DICK wanting to wear his damn hat crooked.

Rule 6 - Have fun. When writing isn't fun anymore it isn't worth doing. It isn't worth reading. A reader can tell if the writer was in a bad mood, happy, sad, giddy, rushing through it, dragging ass...all of that will come out in your writing. If ODD chapter writer is in a bad mood and just pissy as hell, ODD chapter writer needs to refrain from writing (unless your character is pissy as well, than embrace it!!) Nothing is harder than going back through and editing out negative emotions when they don't apply to the story. Your readers will feel everything that you are while you are writing this. Never under estimate your readers.

Rule 7 - If you are both grammatically impaired like me, that is okay, it happens and comes with age and experience, try out one of those editing programs on the net. There are many free trails you can get (Write a chapter or two first so you can plug them into the program) and take note of where the errors are and that will help you correct them going forward.

For more helpful writing tips Check out http://www.jolynpalliata.blogspot.com/

Remember to have fun. It may seem like a lot of work initially but you have to learn to crawl before you run.

D

FIO - Editing

2009-11-16T18:47:00.013-06:00

If you're in a position to hire an editor, then go for it. But if you're like me (it's not in the budget), then expect lots of hard work ahead of you. Believe me, it's absolutely worth it! You don't want to submit anything less than stellar to an agent.

You may be asking yourself "What can an agent tell by the first 5 pages?" Answer: A lot. You really don't want to skip this step. Besides, you owe it to yourself (and your ms) to make it the very best you can. I'm not saying that if you put blood, sweat, and tears into your editing, you'll definitely get published. But you'll certainly get closer.

I learned so much during the editing process -- it was invaluable! One resource I highly recommend is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King. GREAT info! When I read it, I started flagging the really helpful pages, but gave up when I realized I was flagging almost every page. Ha ha!

Below is a list of tips for editing. They come from betas, editors, and authors -- as well as some I've figured out for myself.

Show, don't tell. Ugh! I read this one more times than I could count, but it doesn't make it any less true. Would you rather have an author state the protag is mad, or discover it through the protag's actions? Obviously, the latter of the two is more interesting. There will be times when you need to "tell", but always "show" as much as possible. It's a tricky one.
Read through your ms very careful, and ask yourself two questions: 1) Is this information vital to the plot? 2) Is this information I've already conveyed? If it is unnecessary or repetitive, then cut it. It will only add to your word count, and slow down the flow. (I actually cut 20K from my ms by doing this and it made such a difference, plus it brought me down into a more marketable YA word count.)
Figure out what genre you are writing for, and match ages, word count, and vocabulary accordingly.
Watch your adverbs. You will use them here and there, but don't go nuts. I've found that most times they are simply cluttering the ms. Example: He quietly gasped. A gasp, by definition, is quiet...so the adverb isn't necessary. If you feel one is needed, but can figure out a different way to word it, you should. Adverbs are not our friend.
Make your dialogues real and interesting. First, imagine your characters in your head. How do they sound? What are their speech patterns? Do they use slang? What age are they? What is their background? Write your dialogues to fit the characters and how they would interact with each other. Second, you want to make sure you keep the dialogue flowing. Don't interrupt it with long explanations. If an explanation is required, work it in beforehand or during the conversation. And lastly, set the tone and mood, and watch the intensity. If it is an long, intense conversation that is constantly zinging from one character to the next, you may want to interject a description of something (the character, the setting, whatever) to give the reader a chance to reboot.
Read your ms out loud. This is actually a tip from Stephen King. And it works! I didn't realize how much I missed until I did this. You can catch all kinds of errors this way: grammar, punctuation, misused words, things that didn't make sense. When you read silently, your mind fills in the blanks for you. When you read out loud, you're approaching it at a new angle, and seeing it in a different light. Best advice I ever got!

Good luck with your editing!
If you have more tips, please email me so I can add them.

FIO - Word Count

2009-11-16T17:59:00.006-06:00

I have found that opinions vary greatly regarding word count, as well as agent's thoughts about them. Some agents say not to worry about it, while others may use it as a tool for weeding out the ever-increasing number of queries being received (high word count may indicate you can't self-edit). This is something you may want to watch for when researching agents. A lot of them have very useful information on their websites and blogs.

From what I can figure, the trend seems to be at the lower spectrum. It appears that word count requirements have taken a downturn with the economy. Publishers are taking a closer look at word count regarding costs incurred. Basically, higher word count means less cost effective. Of course, you still need to make sure it's long enough to be worth it to the buyer.

So, what's an acceptable word count? *shrug* :-) But I can give you a ballpark. These figures will vary depending upon where you find your information. I strongly encourage that you do your own research as it may change. Again...these are just averages:

Picture Books - 550
Middle Grade - 30K (younger MG would be lower, older MG would be higher)
Young Adult - 65K (really look into this one, I keep finding something new)
Adult - 90K
Sci-Fi/Fantasy - 110K **

** Anything with sci-fi/fantasy tends to run longer than the word counts listed above due to the added descriptions/explanations, etc.

FIO - Betas

2009-10-25T16:07:00.006-05:00

Probably the best thing that I could have done was find a beta reader (or several, in my case). Each one came with their own "specialty" and were immensely helpful. I found a couple on a writer's forum and another on Twitter. Through them I have learned much about character development, plot development and editing. They continue to be a valuable resource, and good friends.

The key to a good beta relationship is to go in knowing what you are looking for. Do you want someone to give you an overall feel for your plot development, character development, grammar, punctuation, formatting, etc.? For what genre? Determine what you need, and find a beta that fits. One of mine suggested I send them my first chapter and see how that went first -- a test run, so to speak (she thought she might be too harsh for me). We found we were on the same page, and went forward by swapping wip's.

If you truly do not care to hear anything negative (although constructive), skip the beta process altogether and find a writing partner instead. I, personally, developed a thick skin while going through this process. I thought of it this way: they would not be taking their time to critique if they did not want to help me succeed. All in all, it has made me more objective, professional and serious about my writing.

Good luck!

FIO - Manuscript Formatting

2009-10-17T16:58:00.009-05:00

I keep reading how important it is to format your ms properly. Agents/Editors/Publishers stare at these on a daily basis. If they see something “off” or different, it may distract them from the goal: to read your words. Don't make it easy for them to put it down by getting creative with your formatting.

Another thing to watch is punctuation. Misused or overused punctuation can be a deterrent to your reader. Make sure you aren’t going crazy with ellipses (…), question marks, and exclamation marks. Know the difference between a dash and an em dash. And if you need to emphasize a word use bold or italicize, but do not underline.

Here are some of the basics:
· 12-point font
· Courier or Times New Roman (Times New Roman seems to be preferred)
· Double-spaced (when using Word: turn off ‘Keep with next’ and ‘Keep lines together’ features, no extra spacing before and after a paragraph)
· Left-margin justified with a ragged right margin
· 1” margins all around
· Slug line at the top of every page (a header: authors last name/title of ms on the left, page # on the far right)
· Use paragraph indents

Tips for submission:
· 20# bond paper
· Single-sided
· Unstapled
· If you write under a pseudonym, make sure you include your real name (Ex: Amber Eyes by Jodi Smith w/a Jolyn Palliata)

FIO - Writer's Forums

2009-10-08T18:13:00.005-05:00

I'm sure that are many, many, many writer's forums, but these are the two that I have been using:

http://agentquery.leveragesoftware.com/Default.aspx

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/

FIO - Figuring It Out INTRO

2009-10-08T18:10:00.008-05:00

I know every writer is anxious to finish their manuscript and see what they can do with it, but what's the hurry? Unless you already have a contract and are under a deadline, there really is no rush. Take your time, enjoy the journey, and learn what you can about writing along the way. I know, I know...easier said than done. But trust me on this one. I've been there. (I'm still there.)

I wrote my first draft and was so proud of it - I was sure anyone who read it would love it, and I didn't want to hear anything negative about it. I wrote a terrible query (though I didn't know it at the time) and sent it off to six agents. Needless to say, I eventually received six rejection letters. THEN I started to figure things out. I had two people (family/friend) read my masterpiece and discovered that my character development was awful, my story had some holes in it, and my editing stunk.

That's when I joined a writer's forum, and found my first official beta reader. She is wonderful, and was instrumental in my character development. My second beta reader was very encouraging, and gave me great positive feedback that kept me going. And the third beta reader was an editor on sabbatical and has been extremely helpful in improving my editing skills. I am still not perfect by any means, but I am learning and want to help others in my position. And what better way than to share what I know.

I'm going to start posting websites, blog sites, etc. that I have found useful, and advice that I have received from others I have spoken/communicated with (published authors, editors, and newbies). Again...please keep in mind that I am no expert, and if you have information to share or better ideas, please feel free to email me and let me know. I'll share those too.

I hope everyone finds the blogs to be useful.

Good luck to all of us!

Twitter

2009-08-05T20:00:00.005-05:00

I'm on twitter now... www.twitter.com/jolynpalliata Come say "hi".