Writing Fiction: Creative Writing Advice & Tips
"Ask any mystery writer... writing Mysteries really is fun! But it does require a lot of resources and background information to make the stories real for your readers. So where do you find information on forensics, plotting, and character creation? Murder By Proxy!" - Dianne Thomas
WRITING FICTION -- Mystery, History & Other Creative Forms
>> GENRE HOPPING - Should You Do It? Articles by Suzette Saxton
Genre Hopping - Should You Do It?
John Grisham does it. So does Orson Scott Card. So, what is it? Quite simply, genre hopping is writing books in more than one genre.
When is it okay to genre hop?
Rumor has it that genre hopping is frowned upon in the publishing industry. This is not the case. In fact, there are two times in your career when genre hopping is encouraged.
* One: Before you ever get published
According to the brilliant Ms. Jessica Faust of Bookends, "Part of the publishing process involves discovery--discovering your voice, which genres suit your voice best, and which genres you really have a passion for--and until you get that magic publishing contract in hand, there's no one out there telling you what you can or cannot do. For the unpublished, you should use this point in your career as a time of exploration and growth. And you should have fun with it."
* Two: After you have successfully published multiple books in one
For an explanation, I'll defer to the ever-popular Mr. Nathan Bransford: "Here's the best method: first you become hugely successful. It's really, really hard to break out in one genre. It takes mountains of time, effort, luck, perseverance, luck, effort, perseverance... time... The kings of genre fiction have worked for years to steadily build an audience (and a brand) within the same genre. You make it even harder for yourself when you splinter your time, attention, learning curve, and, eventually, your audience by jumping around to different genres. Genre hopping should really only be undertaken in close consultation with your agent and after a lot of soul searching."
Are there exceptions?
Absolutely! The most notable being Children's Literature. Of all audiences, this is the one with the most wiggle room. Take author Cynthia Jaynes Omolou, who writes picture books, YA, and everything in between.
I have this talk with my agent all the time, and her answer is "write what you love." -Cynthia Jaynes Omolou
Annnnnd if you want to get really sneaky…
You can use a pen name to write (and submit!) in more than one genre.
>> HOW TO UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVE GENIUS
How to Unleash Your Creative Genius - Six Tricks to Capturing Dreams
Few realize the way dreams have shaped our world. I'm not talking about the aspirations of visionaries, but the literal dreams people have had while sleeping. If you are like most people, your dreams are forgotten within moments of waking. Here are some tricks to help you capture - and make the most of - your creative power.
Trick One - Stay in Bed
The average human spends one third of their life sleeping. Twenty percent of that time is spent dreaming. Dreams are a good source of new material for writers, but how can you capture them? The first step is to stay in the half-awake state for just a few moments longer. Keep your eyes closed. Think about your dream. Try to run through it from beginning to end; this will help you remember it later.
"I woke up from a very vivid dream," says Stephenie Meyer on her website regarding the origination of her book, Twilight. "Though I had a million things to do, I stayed in bed thinking about the dream." Later that day she penned it in its entirety. Readers will recognize it as the now-famous meadow scene.
Trick Two - Write It Down
Otto Loewi nearly failed to capture the dream that led to his earning the Nobel Prize. He dreamt of an experiment that would prove once and for all how nerve impulses were transmitted. He woke up long enough to scribble his idea on a scrap of paper, but the next morning couldn't read his own handwriting. The day that followed was, he later said, the longest of his life because he could not remember his idea. When he dreamed of it the following night, he jumped from bed and went straight to the lab to conduct the experiment that made medical history.
Take a lesson from Loewi. Write legibly or use a computer to record the details of your dreams.
Trick Three - Look Deeper
Don't be afraid to look for a deeper meaning in your dreams; the answer to a problem may be just under the surface. Albert Einstein dreamed he was sledding down a hill at night, faster and faster until the stars blurred as he reached the speed of light. This dream gave birth to his Theory of Relativity.
Trick Four - Expand and Expound
Robert Louis Stevenson gleaned many plots from dreams, most notably that of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. His wife related how, one night, Stevenson cried out so horror-stricken that she roused him. "Why did you wake me," he protested, "I was dreaming a fine tale!" She described how the next morning he awoke exclaiming, "I have got my chilling shocker, I have got my chilling shocker!"
Stevenson discovered he could dream complete stories and go back into the same dream on succeeding nights. If you have a dream you want to expand upon, or a plot in which you have reached an impasse, think about it as you fall asleep. You may be surprised when you wake with more material or a solution!
Trick Five - Pick a character
Have you ever started out as one person in a dream then seamlessly become someone else? Some experts believe we play all the characters in our dreams. For writers, this means we can expand our repertoire endlessly. Pick a character (any character!) from your dream, and you should be able to understand their viewpoint and motivations.
This trick gives you as an author great versatility. That boogie-man that chased you in your dreams the other night? You already know how he thinks, and can nail his or her voice in your writing.
Trick Six - Invigorate and Inspire
You may be surprised to learn that Thomas Edison invented, among other things, the power nap. He renewed his creativity by curling up on his workbench to sleep for twenty minutes at a time, often gaining great flashes of insight on a particular problem that had been plaguing him. He trained himself to remain in that in-between sleep state for as long as possible.
Artist Salvador Dali took this technique one step further. He napped with a fork clenched in his fist, held out over a plate he'd set on the floor. As he began to doze, his grasp relaxed and the fork clattered onto the plate, waking him. He would immediately sketch the images he had seen in his dreams.
While you don't need to go so far as finding a workbench or plate and fork, a short snooze will give you a burst of energy and some fresh inspiration to go along with it.
Why It Works
The dreaming mind is free of all the creativity blockers that are usually present in the conscious mind. While you sleep, the power of your creativity has free reign over your brain. Dreams take you to new and exciting worlds. Your writing will be more vivid; as far as your brain is concerned, you are writing about places you have been and events that have happened to you, albeit while dreaming.
Don't be surprised if ideas come to you in their entirety. "...because I had dreamed it, I couldn't believe I had written it," said Paul McCartney of Yesterday after waking with the song in his head. "I thought, 'I've never written anything like this before.' I had the tune, which was the most magic thing!"
Apply It!
Keep a dream journal and write your dreams down. If you don't have time to log the whole dream, write down a few details. You may be surprised when you come back to your notes and discover that you can recall the dream in its entirety. Refer to your dream journal often, most especially when inspiration seems to run dry. It's possible to weave many dreams into a single story.
Now, close your eyes, dream big, and let the magic of your own creative power come to you!
Earn Up To $325 a day! Get paid to write short articles from the comfort of your own home!
Writing for a living, getting published, is a lifetime dream for some of us. There are writing assignments to be found online -- if you know where to look:
Previous experience is NOT required, and there are actually full-time,
part-time and contract jobs available.
Most of these jobs can be completed from the comfort of your own home.
Some of the positions that are available are:
- Write Short Reviews Of Restaurants (Up To $150 per review)
- Write Simple Blog Posts (Up to $30 per Blog Post)
- Review Hollywood Movie Scripts (Up to $500 per Movie Script)
- Write Short Articles About A Variety of Topics (Up to $200 per article)
- Review Websites For Inappropriate Content (Up to $20 an hour)
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These companies pay either bi-weekly, or monthly, by check, Paypal
or direct deposit.
OH, and one more thing, you can complete these jobs from anywhere in the world...
Want to know where these jobs are?
>> FROM GRIEF TO GOLD Turning Bad Memories into Good Writing
You pen the most heartbreaking scene of your entire novel, sure your story will move readers to tears. When you're done, you read back over what you've just written… and not only is it totally lacking depth, it's so overwritten that it's comical. The only tears anyone will be shedding are tears of laughter.
You're devastated. You need to be able to write sad stuff, and you want to write it well. But how does one do so? This article will show you ways to utilize your own misfortunes in order to make your writing more believable.
Every one of us has lived through some sort of difficulty in our lives. It is normal to want to put memories of these times behind you, never to be revisited. But bear in mind that these events have shaped who you are. Furthermore, there are ways to tap into your misfortunes and use them to your advantage.
You can take yesterday's tragedy and turn it into today's inspiration!
First, you need a recollection to draw upon. This could be:
• Loss of a spouse, family member, or pet
• Bullying, harmful teasing, or other painful childhood memories
• Loss of a job, your health, or even of a sense of safety
• Any difficult times from your life
You may wish to compile a list of these so that you can refer to them for writing purposes. (If you are new to this type of memory-tapping, be sure to start with a benign recollection. You can work your way up to more difficult memories later.)
Now let the magic begin! You'll be surprised by how truly simple this is.
Sit somewhere comfortable with pen and paper in hand, or at your computer with your fingers on the keys. Think of a scene in your story that needs to be written, or perhaps rewritten. Now select a memory that contains the mix emotions you want to portray. Close your eyes. Take a deep, relaxing breath.
Keep in mind that this memory can no longer hurt you; in fact it can help you, so don't be afraid. Put yourself back in time, back into your own shoes (or someone else's!) and let the recollection run through your head like a movie. Allow yourself to really feel what occurred.
Now, open your eyes and immediately start writing the scene for your story. Don't worry about errors, just let the emotion pour out. If necessary, slip back into your memory for a refresher. When you are done, read back over what you have written. You might be surprised; the depth of your grief has been translated into depth in your writing.
Let me give you an example of how this technique worked for me. Several years ago I needed to write the separation scene of my two main characters. I was very attached to them. They loved each other. I had hoped (along with them) that they would spend the rest of their lives together. But it wasn't to be. After writing a lovely day for them that included their first kiss, I put on a very sad song. I closed my eyes and thought about a time in my life when I had been permanently separated from one I loved dearly. I thought about what it would have been like had I been given the chance to say goodbye. And then I wrote that goodbye, with all the tenderness and sorrow that would have been mine if I'd had the chance.
Though this type of immersive writing can be be emotionally draining (you may need to rest after trying it) there is a bonus to this kind of exercise. You may notice your own grief easing.
Baroness Karen Von Blixen-Finecke lost her father to suicide when she was only nine. Her marriage ended in divorce, she suffered lifelong health problems, and the love of her life died when his biplane crashed. Her beloved coffee plantation failed and she was forced to return to the land of her birth. It was only then that she began writing. She adopted the pen name Izek Dinesen; Out of Africa is considered by many to be her most acclaimed work. I think she said it best:
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.
Now, go tell your story. The world is ready for it… and so are you!
==>> Earn Up To $325 a day! Get paid to write short articles from the comfort of your home office!! Click Here to Pick and choose from 1000s of at home writing jobs!
Flash Fiction - Your Fast Track to Publication
It's all the rage, but what exactly is it?
Though flash fiction has been around for years, only recently has it become important in the literary community. Also called the "smoke-long" story because it's just long enough to read while smoking a cigarette, flash fiction has become important largely because the whole story can fit nicely on a web page. Its brevity helps it hold a busy reader's interest.
Flash fiction is usually written as a single act and is between 300 and 1000 words in length. (In comparison, a short-short is 1000-2500, a short is 2500-7500, novelette 7500-17,500, and a novella is 17,500-40,000.) Flash fiction collections are sold in bookstores, usually as anthologies.
1000 words sounds easy - What's the catch?
To quote Jason Gurley of WritingWorld.com,"The challenge of flash fiction is to tell a complete story in which every word is absolutely essential, to peel away the frills and lace until you're left with nothing but the hard, clean-scraped core of a story."
There's no room for back story, and your characters must be immediately interesting and strong in order to invoke a reaction in your reader. The plot must be tight, the setting conveyed completely with only a few words. The goal is to write something memorable.
Can you get paid for writing it?
Yes! Flash Fiction Online, for example, pays $50 for each entry it accepts for publication. (It's also a great place to read flash fiction.) Some magazines and e-zines do not pay, but the exposure you get is well worth the trouble. It will help you build your platform as Carolyn discussed last week.
What about flash fiction contests?
Another good way to get your story published! While there are many accepting entries right now, there's one of particular interest for you agent-minded folk: WOW (Women on Writing) hosts a quarterly flash fiction contest judged by a literary agent.
Where can I submit my flash fiction?
Duotrope provides a full listing of all magazines accepting material for publication. The site is free to use and, with a free membership, you can track your submissions.
The skinny on flash fiction:
Writing a flash fiction piece is the perfect way to get out of a slump (like writer's block) and start submitting material. It's a great project that can be done in as little as a weekend. Many mags accept email submissions, so it couldn't be easier.
Can it put you closer to publication of your big project? Absolutely! Agents look for writing credits. You can mention it in a query. This is an easy way for them to see a polished sample of your work, and for you to begin sharing your stories with family, friends, and colleagues.
Now, start writing!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: "I am a freelance writer with both fiction and nonfiction publishing credits. Most of my books target the very youngest of readers and often stem from time spent playing with my own children. My story, The Bone Setter, was published in the Summer 2008 edition of Mindflights ezine and recently re-released in their Volume 3 print edition. You can read the story online at mindflights.com." Suzette Saxton's idea of a perfect day includes a picnic lunch, laughing children, and her laptop. When she's not writing books for kids, Suzette can be found gardening, doing finish carpentry in her home, or walking in the canyon in which she lives. Visit Suzette on Facebook, Twitter, or at her blog: http://suzettesaxton.blogspot.com/
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>> The Art of Creative Writing Articles by Tom Evans
There are two really common reasons why authors get writer's block. The first is a lack of inner confidence about their writing ability. The second is a belief that they simply don't have the time to write.
The blocks caused by lack of confidence can be caused by an innocent criticism of something written earlier - like an essay that got a black mark at school perhaps and has created a deep and lasting belief in their ability to write well.
The solution is to identify the old behaviours and beliefs and replace them with new beliefs and patterns that are much more resourceful. This can be done at either a conscious or unconscious level and can sometimes be as simple as turning a belief around from 'I can't write creatively' to something like 'the more I write, the more creative my writing becomes'.
To deal with the second type of block, there are many excellent books on how to improve your time management. Books like this are brilliant at pointing out where you can claw back time by better managing your day. Additionally, I would like to propose a more lateral and fundamental approach to time management - and that's to change the perceived speed of time itself.
Now this might seem far fetched, or in the realms of Doctor Who or Back to the Future, but scientists are coming to the conclusion that our reality - our space and time - are linked to our consciousness. In fact, it's more accurate to say that it's our very consciousness that actually creates our reality. So all you need to do to change time is to make a change in your consciousness.
I am sure you have heard about athletes who have been "in the zone" - a sort of timeless place - or perhaps you have had a light bulb moment where in less than a second, you get a flash of inspiration - a whole picture for a new idea. If you were able to MRI scan your brain at this moment, you would see both the right and left hemispheres light up in synchronism. For that split second you were Whole Brain (or even Whole Mind) Thinking. A brain scan would show that your brain was generating alpha and probably even theta waves.
Now you can access this state while meditating. When I mention this to authors, their first reaction is that they don't have time to meditate. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but I can testify that 20-30 minutes meditation before a writing session will deliver not only the time back by a factor of 3 or 4 but also much better quality writing.
"But I can't make my mind go quiet," is normally the next protest swiftly followed by, "I'd like to meditate but I don't have time to learn how." Well, if you hear yourself saying this, help is now at hand. You don't need necessarily to enter an ashram for two months. Although, if you did, it might well be time well spent ... Meditation machines are now available that help get you into both alpha and theta states. I have been using one for over a year now and even though I am reasonably adept at meditation, I can testify that they really do work.
I've written a free companion guide for users of meditation machines to specifically help authors through writer's block and to tap into their creative muse. After a few weeks of use, you will even find it easier to enter the meditative state without a machine and while you are in what is normally thought of as the waking state.
For a writer, this becomes significant as time seems to stretch out so that in a single hour you write what would normally take a whole morning or afternoon.
The benefits to your productivity are therefore immense and you will be amazed at your output in all areas of your life. People who have used machines even get comments of how well they look.
>> How to Write a Book with a Best Selling Title
I believe that having the perfect title for your book from the outset is really important. Visitors either enter a web site or go elsewhere within 10 seconds.
In the same way, readers decide if they want to know more about a book based on the title, in a similar amount of time.
An evocative title will resonate with the reader and make it easier to remember, share and recommend.
Jerzy Kosinski, the author of Being There said, "I always start a novel by starting its first page and last page, which seem to survive almost intact through all the following drafts and changes."
Once you get that perfect title and those opening and closing words, the rest just seems to flow.
I have been able to channel for my own writing for some time now. Recently though, I have started to do this for my clients and some amazing stuff is happening. Once you get going in this way, a chain of quantum entanglement is set up that leads to a sequence of coincidences that get your book written, published and just in the hands of the right readers ….
>> Do you want to write a book - what's stopping you?
It's a commonly held belief that it's difficult, or well nigh impossible, to get published. This misconception stops many people starting to write in the first place.
The reality is that it has never been easier and as inexpensive to get published. To get into the written and publisher quadrant, all you need to do is to write and then use the numerous options and routes now open to authors to getting your words in front of readers.
With new print on demand technology, you can even have a printed book in your hand within a week.
Better still, if you upload your writings to one of many ebook aggregator sites and you can 'publish' instantly. You can also upload your book so it can read on the new breed of ereaders from the likes of Sony and Amazon. The new breed of smartphones also allow 'books' to be read on the move.
There are several authors who have blogged their books and have got advances from publishers as a result. There are even some intrepid scribes who are now using Twitter to the same end.
Even the traditional publishers are now getting in on the act and have set up social networks for writers to pre-publish their work. The ones that get the best reviews get picked up by editors and get commissioned.
It's important though not to put the cart before the horse though . Before deciding on your route, or routes, to publication it is important that you discover what exactly are you going to write ... and why? In my free Ebook - How to write a book and get it published - I talk more about this subject plus further information on the pros and cons to the many routes to publication.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tom Evans is an Author and Business Mentor who specialises in helping aspiring authors to write and publish their own books. Tom offers a range of services including writer's workshops, home study courses, 1:1 mentoring and epublishing support. "Sign up for my FREE ebook entitled How to Write a Book and Get it Published."
Top Ten Books – What’s Been Famous around The World Articles by by Ondrej Dyrka
Most of authors or writers dream of success. It can take many shapes and sizes. In the world we are currently living in, there is one simple measurement that can tell us whether a book has been successful - a number of sold copies.
If people are buying a book, it must be good, right? Or when it comes to modern ones, they could just have a good marketing campaign, in which case we should reward those who came up with it anyway. Let's have a look on top ten books that made a killing and sort them based on the number of sold copies:
1. The Lord of the Rings
* Author - J. R. R. Tolkien
* Number of Sold Copies - 150 million
* First edition - 1954
Although this series has become even more famous after being filmed, it's fair to say that the tale of Middle Earth is an ingenious work of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. It reaches deep inside of us and plays on our imagination, wishes and inspiration.
The story of one little hobbit named Frodo Baggins succeeding where immortal elves or noble kings have failed gives us a very truthful message that literally nothing is impossible. Tolkien did a wonderful job in creating a living world and it will take a long time before his legacy is forgotten - if it will ever come to that.
2. Dream of the Red Chamber
* Author - Cao Xueqin
* Number of Sold Copies - 100 million
* First edition - 1759
Let's not forget that China is indeed a big country and consequently, being successful on the Chinese market has its charms. Although I've personally never heard about this book in particular before, the numbers do not lie and over one hundred million sold copies seized the second place in our top ten books' list.
Dream of the Red Chamber is one of the Four Great Classical Novels (as they call them in China). It depicts traditional Chinese cuisine, mythology, proverbs etc. It is based on the author's own experience with the Chinese aristocracy in the 18th century.
3. And Then There Were None
* Author - Agatha Christie
* Number of Sold Copies - 100 million
* First edition - 1939
It's hardly a surprise that Agatha Christie as one of the best authors of detective novels out there made it to our top ten books list. She is well known for her excellent plots and surprising endings.
Mrs. Christie also created a bit of a fuss by originally calling this book "Ten Little Niggers" - the name was changed to the current And Then There Were None so that it is not offensive towards Afro-Americans.
And what's going on in this book? Simply put, ten people of different social classes are invited to an island where they are accused of murders and they start dying, one by one - but you'll have to read it yourself, we all know it's a bad idea to talk about plots too much when it comes to detective stories.
"Also known as Ten Little Indians, this 1939 murder mystery moves the classic 'locked room murder' to an island off the south coast of England and ups the ante to ten victims.' - David Loftus
4. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
* Author - C. S. Lewis
* Number of Sold Copies - 85 million
* First edition - 1950
C. S. Lewis has provided us with another grand tale of unusual heroes. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is but one part of a gigantic masterpiece describing a strange world full of magic and strange creatures somehow co-existing with our own.
4 siblings named Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy enter the world of Narnia through a wardrobe, only to find out that they are both persona non grata and expected saviors.
In case you were thinking that Chronicles of Narnia and LOTR are a bit similar at times, keep in mind that Lewis and Tolkien were very close friends, in fact Lewis helped Tolkien with a few passages in LOTR.
5. The Da Vinci Code
* Author - Dan Brown
* Number of Sold Copies - 80 million
* First edition - 2003
Having a successful book release in the 21st century no longer depends simply on writing a good book, but also on the marketing and distributing channels. Dan Brown and his team obviously managed that, because selling 80 million copies over 7 years is simply remarkable.
The Da Vinci Code is a mysterious story depicting a cohesion between Catholic religious beliefs and the modern world. Galileo Galilei gave us all an excellent example that religion and science can work together and Dan Brown danced around this subject in a different way.
You should fasten your seatbelts before you start reading it, because the pace is quick and you could easily get off track!
6. The Alchemist
* Author - Paolo Coelho
* Number of Sold Copies - 65 million
* First edition - 1988
"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it". I don't know how does the original in Portugese sound, so the translation will have to suffice. The point is that Paolo Coelho tells us that if you want something real badly, you shall have it.
The Alchemist narrates a story of a young shepherd boy who overcomes love and danger on his quest for a treasure. Apparently, the story is so good that it had to be translated into 67 languages and breaking a Guiness record in translations for a living author.
What might especially young people find very appealing is that Paolo Coelho encourages people to use peer to peer networks, because he perfectly understands that people are honest and they will pay for good work - eventually.
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
* Author - J. K. Rowling
* Number of Sold Copies - 44 million
* First edition - 2007
Yet another fairy tale made it to our list, I'm beginning to think that people might like fairy tales after all... anyway, a lot of children around the world grew up on the stories about Harry, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Hogwarts.
As expected, the final piece of the Harry Potter puzzle with its quite original name Deathly Hallows was extremely successful.
Only time will tell whether the Harry Potter series has the qualities of say Lord of the Rings or it will fade with the upcoming seasons. On the other hand, no one can deny Miss Rowling a great impact on both children and their parents on the turning point of two millenia - that has to count for something...
8. War and Peace
* Author - Leo Tolstoy
* Number of Sold Copies - 36 million (USSR)
* First edition - 1869
Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer, decided to demonstrate his beliefs that there is some greater power forming our history. Along with the fact he didn't like popular history and being a war veteran, he then wrote one of the largest and most popular novels in the world literature, War and Peace.
This jewel among books is divided in four volumes, each being a follow up of the previous one. War and Peace has indeed a lot of characters, both fictional and real historic figures. The plot is set in the beginning of the 19th century when Napoleon invades Russia.
Interesting fact is that although War and Peace is clearly a Russian literature from a Russian author, parts of the book are written in French - probably because most of the story is focused on 5 noble families and nobility in Russia used to speak French in that particular era.
9. Think and Grow Rich
* Author - Napoleon Hill
* Number of Sold Copies - 30 million
* First edition - 1937
There are tons of motivational books these days. Some are better, some are worse and it's up to you to choose the one that can really help you. Think and Grow Rich is probably a safe bet, because it takes a bit of ingenuity to write something everybody knows these days - only 70 years ahead.
The best way how to become successful is to find out what others did before success came to them - and that's exactly what Napoleon Hill did. According to his mentor's (A. Carnegie) advice, he studied the life paths of 16 wealthy individuals and pointed out their steps to victory.
If you're looking for personal development tools, Think and Grow Rich should be on the top of your priorities.
10. Nineteen Eighty-Four
* Author - George Orwell
* Number of Sold Copies - 25 million
* First edition - 1949
History has shown us that mankind is capable of both terrible and good things and it's a matter of conscience which side prevails. George Orwell took the liberty to tell us how what the world look like if despotic and oppressive regimes took the upper hand.
In an alternate year 1984 the Earth is divided among three major nations which constantly wage war against each other. The main character named Winston Smith lives in Oceania ruled by one party - called The Party. Everything is scarce, basic human right and emotions are constantly being twisted and above all, The Big Brother is always watching.
Although 1984 is quite gloomy and despairing, we have to acknowledge that it's still in our "grasp" to create such a scenario. It needed to be said out loud in order to realize how absurd and sick such totalitarian practices are.
Conclusion
Reading good books makes our lives better, because it brings us new perspectives and knowledge. Wise man knows that he never knows enough and reading several of the most popular books out there is almost a cultural necessity.
Top 6 Book Sharing Sites
Although reading is usually a habit you perform alone, that doesn't mean you couldn't use some people for talking about the book after you're done with it. Such "reading colleagues" can be difficult to find in your family or among your friends, and that's where Book Sharing Sites come in.
There are literally dozens of book community websites, where people can collaborate together in order to provide ratings about books, discuss them or simply hang out with people having the same hobby.
I'd like to share what I believe to be the Top 7 Book Sharing Sites - nothing stops you from using more than one, but I think it would be a little counterproductive. Let's get started, shall we?
1. Library Thing
The first site that pops up in my mind when someone is looking for a book sharing site is Library Thing. They are uniting over 1.2 million book lovers and provide a perfect background for any book fan.
After you face a perspicuous registration process, you can fill your profile, name your favorite books, "add" them to your Library and maybe start engaging in the community right away by adding existing friends / go out and make new ones.
Library Thing Perks
Local Events - you can use it as a Facebook for books and organize a local book event.
Tag Cloud - you can save tags during your searches and then easily replicate your search whenever you want. Especially handy for fans of a specific genre or author.
Early Reviewers - Library Thing actively works with famous authors and provide its members pre-launch copies of brand new books for review.
Last but not the least, I use Library Thing to obtain images of pretty much all books I'm talking about - I've already given credits in the Privacy Policy, but another "thank you" never hurts.
2. GoodReads
Being a strong competitor in the group of book sharing sites, GoodReads offers a brilliant platform to hang out on. Simple registration process will land you on the homepage and you can immediately start to fill your profile and add your favorite books.
GoodReads also provides something called "Reading Challenge" - you can announce how many books you plan to read in the current year and post regular updates, plus perhaps reviews of the books you read.
GoodReads Perks
Twitter-Like - you can build your crowd by being constructive and adding value to the community; it doesn't hurt to follow big names either to see what's new.
Explore Button - GoodReads provide a vast number of ways you can use it. There are categories for writing, quotes, quizzes, giveaways or even book swaps.
Author Platform - GoodReads are very supporting towards authors (regardless of their fame) and provides them with a very large crowd or hungry readers.
3. Shelfari
You could think of Shelfari as a marvelous organization tool for your Amazon shopping list. You may not need to create a new account this time, because you can use Shelfari by entering your Amazon credentials.
Shelfari layout is done specifically to stress your shelf and the books you have on them. You can mark them in various ways (Plan to Read, Reading, Read) and add books based on your Amazon activity, by browsing the Popular Category or simply based on your search criteria.
Shelfari Perks
Amazon Connection - any book you buy online on Amazon can be instantly added to your virtual shelf.
Widgets - you can use this special attribute to customize your page and make it unique in the whole community.
Members Like You - Shelfari can compare profiles of different users in order to find similar interests and thus recommend discussion partners and ultimately, new friends.
4. WeRead
If you're looking for something simple without tons features and distractions, WeRead might be it. They have a very light and perspicuous layout. Their registration process is very quick and you can then start filling your profile as usual.
To make matters even more simple, you can choose to connect WeRead with one of your social networks account:
* Facebook
* Orkut
* MySpace
* Yahoo
* Hi5
WeRead Perks
"Popular Today" Tag Cloud - you can see right on the front page what's been popular today and join the discussion right away.
Add to Catalog - WeRead also serves as a large database of books and it's hardly a surprise that those books are being inserted by members - so why couldn't you expand the catalog yourself?
My Chucks - you can make notes about books or discoveries you make and then save them to a special section.
5. aNobii
"aNobii" is a Latin term for bookworm - an ingenious name idea for a book sharing site. You can create a new account or choose to connect Anobii with your existing Facebook account. No need to fear the registration process, because it can't get any easier with 3 rows to fill.
The motto of aNobii doesn't mess around:
* Shelve
* Find
* Share
You can socialize in two basic ways - either by Groups or by Friends. After you're done with filling your basic information, you can engage in reviews, discussions and all the usual stuff.
aNobii Perks
Simplicity - read the motto again.
Custom Link - you can create a custom URL for your profile, all the other sites base it on your nickname
Search Bar Addon - available for FireFox and IE. You can install an addon for your browser and do a quick search through more than 25 million books on aNobii.
6. Google Books
A little surprise towards the end. The fact is that Google Books have developed over the years and can now proudly compete with the sites above - especially if you don't care that much about community spirit and want your own online library instead.
What's more, Google managed to settle a lawsuit with the publishing industry, so there's literally no stopping them now in bringing a lot more books online. If you're looking for a place where you could both find books and keep track of them, Google Books will more than suffice.
Google Books Perks
Find a Book - Google Books is a different service than the others, because you can actually find a book you want to read, not just make a record of it.
Syndication - a lot of people is already using Google these days; it's very simple to add a Google Books Shelf to your existing Google assets.
It Is Different - in case you're not looking for book reviews, communities and all that stuff, you can utilize Google Books without all the hassle.
Conclusion
I'm once again shewing the point that the Internet is a vast place. I'm sure that there are many more sites I haven't mentioned, but that doesn't mean you can't do so in the comments. You have been a fantastic crowd so far and I'm very glad I can help you out with my insight.
Historical Novels - 5 of the Best Historical Novels
We have a firm grasp of our history, but there is no way how we could track every single detail that happened across the 6,000 years or so. That leaves more than enough room for Historical Novel, a genre based on some facts that happened or people that actually lived - but with a little twist of the author's imagination.
I will present 5 suggestions (naturally good books to read) from this genre. Not that it is my favorite, but these books have a certain undeniable charm. Are you ready?
1. The Egyptian by M. Waltari
Ancient Egypt has been a favorite destination of many tales and also a serious historical research. Mika Waltari put a great deal of effort in producing a novel which bears no errors in depicting the life of Egyptian people at that time - even scientific historians acknowledge he did a good job.
The main character, royal physician Sinuhe, tells a story of the rise, rule and fall of the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th Dynasty. The story is being told retrospectively in exile and is based on an Egyptian "Fairy Tale" called The Story of Sinuhe.
Waltari did a wonderful job not only by his description of general life in Ancient Egypt, but also by including his imagination and came up with a story of a monotheistic Pharaoh who was constantly threatened by the Hittite king Suppiluliuma and eventually overthrown for his beliefs.
2. The Count of Monte Christo by A. Dumas
The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Christo are the two most popular books from this French writer. Both historical novels, both filled with adventure, noble men and based on the events in the early 19th century that occurred in France.
The year is 1815. A young man named Edmond Dantés is betrayed by his foes and imprisoned, only to emerge 14 years later with plans for revenge - but he has to make some friends first and so he is returning favors to those who have been kind to him before.
Dantés disguises himself as Count Monte Christo and unrecognized by his old enemies, executes a different revenge on all of them. He then leaves for an unknown location with his new lover, leaving justice and plots behind him.
3. The Name of The Rose by U. Eco
An Italian monastery faces a series of mysterious deaths. Although they have been officially classified as demonic possessions, there is one person who strongly disagree - William of Baskerville, a guest in the monastery who originally went there to attend a theological dispute.
William, along with his apprentice Adso of Melk, uses logic and reasoning to solve the problem - something pretty much unheard of in the 14th century. The Name of The Rose very closely monitors a scholastic method of investigation - open mind, facts and observations, intuition and empirical approach.
Umberto Eco came up with an interesting story of reason beating religious beliefs on the religion's home stadium. But don't worry, this novel is not offensive in any way, so you should read it regardless of your beliefs.
"An alchemical marriage of murder mystery and Christian mystery. It conveys remarkably the desperation of a dying culture, while at the same time touching on perennial issues of love, religion, scholarship and politics." - Washington Post
"An antidetective-story detective story ... it is superbly entertaining; it is also an extraordinary work of novelistic art." - Harpers
"It can be regarded as a philosophical novel masked as a detective story, or as a detective story masked as a historical novel, or even better as a blend of all three. The venture sounds improbable, but Eco carries it out ... with brio and irony ... a delightful humor. William Weaver’s translation brings out the eloquence of the original." - New York Review of Books
"Eco’s plot unfolds on many levels, at once comic, historical, philosophical and mythic. … A book with simultaneous popular and esoteric appeal, The Name of the Rose can be read as a sophisticated murder mystery—who killed the seven monks, and why?—or as a philosophical fable about—among other things—the stupidity of censorship, the necessity of tolerance, the vitality of ideas and the condition of man." - The State
"The Name of the Rose follows the Sherlock Holmes form: a series of baffling crimes which can only be solved through the intervention of a master detective who opposes his scientific methods to the prevailing emotionalism and superstition. ... But was there ever a mystery story like this? Eco demonstrates what many fans of the genre have always suspected, that sometimes a 'low' form of literature can provide the best solution to the labyrinth of the human heart." - Rochester Times-Union
"What Eco has given us beneath the guise of a complex murder mystery is a moral, intellectual, and spiritual guided tour of a time in human history that seems, for all its crudity of creature comforts, more richly textured than our own. ... We come away enriched by seeing contemporary questions unraveled through a parallel, but distinctive, historical period." - Seattle Weekly
"Eco’s novel reads like Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Mann combined forces. Once you begin it, you will certainly finish it." - Greensboro News
4. The King Must Die by M. Renault
Old Greece is another perfect background for historical novels. Mary Renault gladly took the opportunity and wrote about the adventures of a Hellean hero named Theseus. He traveled across various places in the ancient Greece:
* Troizen
* Corinth
* Eleusis
* Athens
* Crete
* Naxos
Renault focuses on creating an acceptable story from the archeological and historical point of view, rather than repeating the old Theseus myth.
Theseus encounters many adventures during his travels. He grows up in Troizen and then sets of to gather life experience. He comes from royal blood and has gods Poseidon and Apollo watching his steps.
The King Must Die is similar to The Egyptian in one way - excellent and plausible historical point of view on the lives of regular citizens.
5. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Quo Vadis is a Latin term for "where are you going?". Sienkiewicz set this novel in Rome under the rule of despotic and half-mad Emperor Nero.
The main storyline spins around the love of a Christian women Ligia and a Roman patrician Marcus Vincius.
Fictional characters (like both main protagonist) nicely mix with real historical ones, such as Nero, Claudius Petronius (the Arbiter of Elegance) or Tigellinus, the prefect of the mighty and influential Praetor Guard.
Sienkiewicz is famous for his catchy writing and Quo Vadis stands at the top of his works.
Conclusion
You have to admire the work and effort authors put in good historical novels; it's a bit harder than general fiction, because you have to do your homework and provide readers with solid facts and only then you can add your own tweak of the reality.
However, when successful, the result is an outstanding piece of literature - and the 5 books I'm recommending were more than successful. I hope I've extended your wish list and…
Find more book recommendations at Most Popular Books: http://www.mostpopularbooks.org/
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