So, probably THE WORST (and definitely the most painful) part of my process is writing the blurb, but, by some small miracle I did it! and it's amazing! I am still putting the final touches on the cover, but all will be revealed soon soon! I am just awaiting the final feedback from my Betas, and then I will share my Sam & Erin with the world! Yay!


So here's the blurb for BRAO (Between Rubies & Opals, of course) 


Between Rubies & Opals
Since the dawn of time, there has been a violent race feud between the vampires and the werewolves, and many lives were lost through the centuries. Until this day, the feud continues…

Vamp-governor Marcus Wasilewski rules Algharakh with a marble fist, as he classifies the vamps as the superior race, which severely oppresses the wolf race. Racism is eminent and the wolves demand justice, as Senator Frank Morton, leader of the political party W.O.L.F, brings Algharakh on the precipice of a political shift.

In the midst of all the chaos, a forbidden love blooms between Sam, a werewolf, and Erin, a vampire. The two lovers, even threatened by attacks from their opposing races, do the unthinkable, and the illegal, not knowing the significant impact their decisions will have on the people around them, and on themselves.

Will their unique love withstand the cruel prejudice and put an end to the race feud that pumps through the residents of Algharakh’s veins, or will they be ripped apart by the very thing that brought them together?

xxx S

So after successfully completing steps one to six, you should now have your completed first draft, but wait, it doesn't end there! The next step is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT step of all. The editing...

Step Seven
After your first draft is completed, you have to reread it, often more than a few times.
You have to check your consistency, whither your plot is strong and there are no plot holes. Grammar, spelling and sentence structure needs to be checked. Unnecessary words can be edited out ('just' and 'very', for example) and often you would need to rewrite either the beginning or the ending, or, in some cases, multiple chapters.
I often have to shuffle my chapters around, not only in chronological order, but also to enhance the particular scenes in the chapter.
There is no time limit on how long this would normally take, so don't ever feel like your editing takes too long. There's no such thing. You need to be happy (195% actually) with your manuscript. If you're not, then it's not ready yet. Take your time. Read through every single sentence. I always read mine out loud, to hear if it make sense, especially the dialogue. 
Get someone to alpha-read your manuscript, to check the grammar, the spelling, the consistency. A fresh set of eyes can do wonders. They often spot little mistakes that we overlook, as we, the writer, know the story so well, that we skip over it. Don't ask why, that's just the way it is! :)
Also, look for a few Beta Readers as well.
They're a little more 'advanced' than alpha-readers, in a sense, and extremely handy to have.


After all your edits, rewrites, more edits, more rewrites, shuffling of chapters, another rewrite, YOU ARE DONE!


xxx S

After you have written most (or the most important) dialogues, the next step awaits you!

Step Six
This step is simple (as simple as they come at least)
Write the story!
With all the previous steps, you can now progress to this step, and actually write your story!
The reason why this is a simple step is:
1 - you have your idea
2 - you have a thorough knowledge of every aspect of the topics in the story
3 - your characters are "real people" - even if it is only in your mind
4 - you have the music to inspire you in every scene
5 - you have your plot planned out thoroughly and
6 - you have your dialogue ready.

See? Simple :)

Now you've got to write.
Set a yourself a minimum word count goal, and stick to it. If your end word count exceeds your goal, good, but DON'T STOP WRITING until the story is finished! DON'T RUSH IT! Often writers get so excited about writing the ending, they rush the last few chapters, which often results in plotholes. Massive ones.
Take your time, don't rush it, and finish in the same style and pace as when you started. Don't mix your tenses, if you start writing in past tense, stick with it, unless its a flashback... (CONSISTENCY is key!)
Most of all, HAVE FUN!

xxx S

My apologies for not posting step four yesterday, but it was a rough and busy day. So to make up or my temporary absence, I will post both step four and five today.

Okay, so after you've gotten your initial idea, done your extensive research on on your idea, and created your characters, you're ready to move on to the next step.

Step Four
Outline your plot.
Okay, so this sounds simple enough, but again it's a daunting step, and a necessary evil.
Plot outlining takes me about three to six weeks to complete (taking into consideration that I am only a part time writer, and have a full time job as well)
What I do is, I write down every single scene that is important (aren't they all?) and what happens in that particular scene on an A4. I then arrange them accordingly. Many times, their order change many times, to make sure that the scenes flow nicely. Most are in chronological order, ie the events start at the beginning and end at the end. When you have flashbacks, those need to be relevant to the next scene, otherwise the reader may get confused.

While I was writing If You Only Knew #1 and If You Only Knew #2 which was written in dual POV, I still used the order of events in chronological order, but only changed the POV, switching between the two characters.

Highlight the key events that happen in the story, make sure everything that happens, is either the result of an previous occurrence, or will result in a future occurrence. Everything must tie together, no plotholes.
Usually, I outline on the floor of my living room, covering the the whole floor with pieces of papers, getting the perfect order. 
You can always change it up, see what works for you. 
After you get the whole plot worked out, you can move on to the next step.

Step Five
Okay, so step five is almost as fun as doing the character profiling. 
This step is all about DIALOGUE.
In this step you get to put your mouth where your money is, or something like that.
Think of conversations that your characters would have with one another. Think of something original, make it conversational and easy to follow. Unlock the witty part of your brain. Use words that are relevant to the era/age group/race/location of your story. If a character is a housewife, she's not going to talk like a gangster, or if it's a older person, not a lot of slang will be used.
Okay, you get the point.
You don't have to write every single conversation, I don't, but just to get the feel of the characters, and the way they speak, it helps a lot.
Also, while you are writing the dialogue, read it out loud to yourself. 
Yes, you read that correctly.
Read it out loud, to make sure it makes sense. If after reading a piece of dialogue, and you ask yourself, "Do people really talk like that?" the answer should always be yes. It should be natural, flowing, not forced.
I think (or rather I know) my neighbors think I am completely insane, having conversations with myself.
 
Happy writing!
xxx S

After you have completed step one (finding your idea, and then becoming obsessed over it) and step two (researching the crap out of it), you are now ready to move on to the next step!

Step Three
Create your characters!
For me this is also one of my favorite steps, a necessary evil to some, but it has to be done.
You are basically creating people from scratch, their physical traits, their personalities, their back stories, EVERYTHING!
Here's the list of questions that I usually answer when I am creating my characters:

Full Name
Nickname
DOB 
Place of birth
Residential Address
Height
Weight
Body type
Hair color
Skin color
Eye color
Hair length
Hair texture
Voice tone
Hobbies
Smoking Habits
Drinking Habits
Diet preferences
Education
Distinctive features
Scars
Tattoos
Occupation
Likes
Dislikes
Clothing style
Music preferences
Sexual orientation
Parents
Siblings
Family history
Traumatic events
Relationship status
Medical Condition
Nervous habits
Normal habits

Okay, so you get the general idea. There are obviously more questions that you can ask, but those are the basic ones. Depending on your genre, of course, add your own questions, like their race, their physical age (in the case of vampires that look 20 but are really 300)

During this process, especially the physical traits of the characters, select your cast. Scour the internet for celebrities that you can "see" as that specific character. Make sure the couple (if applicable) fit well together.
Your characters are freaking important to the story, so make them good ones. Make them interesting, make them over the top. Nobody pays any attention to bland, boring and ordinary characters. 
Well, I know I don't.

xxx S

So yesterday I spoke about getting the idea, becoming obsessed with it, etc.
Today I will move on the next step of my writing process.

If your idea has managed to survive so far, congratulations! Now the real fun can start!


Step Two
After you've created your idea (which is your basic plot), then you can start fine tuning all the important details of the story.
Decide on:
Where will it take place?
When will it take place?
What time of the year is it?
Are the characters human? If not, what are they?
What does the city/town/world look like? 
Do your research. And I do mean RESEARCH! 
Research ALL aspects of your story. Places, people, ANY topic that is involved in the story, no matter how small you think it is, it is important that you know everything! In a previous book of mine, I had a chapter that briefly mentioned formaldehyde, and I had to research the crap out of formaldehyde, it's uses, what it does to the body, etc. Leave no stone unturned!
If it has cities/towns in, Google Earth it. Google Earth is THE BEST research tool with regards to places. When you've decided on where the story will take place, find out how the residents act, and how they speak. It's very important to make it feel as real as possible.
If it''s a fantasy novel with supernatural creatures and/or elements, don't feel forced to follow the normal myths and folklore trends, unless that's what you want. A fresh approach is always better, and more original. Let your imagination run wild and be as creative as you can be. 
Don't be afraid of your own imagination.
When you think you're done with ALL your research, research some more. Become accustomed to the lingo of the particular place, know your surroundings (albeit virtual) and most importantly, have fun! 


xxx S

So as promised, here is part one of my personal writing  process.
Look, I'm not an expert, and don't want to pretend that I am, I am merely sharing my process.
Obviously this is not the perfect way, or the MUST USE way, it is simply the steps that I follow. I found it to be much easier, and it works for me.

Step one:
The first step is probably the hardest part; get the idea, but make sure it's a good one. Most of my ideas either come to me the moment I wake up in the morning. I have a notebook next to me on my bed side table, and a smaller one in my handbag.
Don't start writing the story as soon as you get the idea. Let it fester in your mind, let it become your obsession. Get obsessed with the idea. The more you think about it, the more it will develop, and the better it will be.
If the idea simmers down, toss it. That may sound harsh, but if the idea isn't good enough to start off, it's not going to get any better. 
Write your ideas down in your trusty little notebook, which should be with you at all times. Except in the shower, unless you write in pencil ;) 
Let your idea be the only thing on your mind. Let it become your obsession, like a drug you are addicted to and cannot live without. Annoy the crap out of people. Observe people, a lot. Listen to people, a lot. That is where ideas come from. Be original, be creative. Create something that is never done before. Be extravagant. Be bold. Don't let anything hold you back.

If your idea, however is a flop/bust/disaster/epic fail, don't stress, it happens. 
Just start again. 
My first idea for a story never even made it to Step Two. I still have the original notes of it though, tucked away in my closet of shame, never to ever see the light of day again.
The most important is that you don't give up. Believe in your idea, and believe in yourself.


xxx S

Today I have taken up the near impossible task of writing to (very different) scenes for my current work in progress. A violent action scene, with lots of blood and rage, and a very soppy, heartbreaking scene. And surprizingly, I am doing quite well. I've got two playlists, one on Winamp, and the other on iTunes, so as soon as I switch to a different scene, I switch the playlist as well. 
Music is a very important part of my writing process. Associating a certain song with my scene allows me to see the scene playing out in my mind. It works for me, and a lot of others, so I've read.
Also, I need to see something, before I can decide if it works or not, hence the trailers page on the site. I make these trailers to help me with my scenes. 
But that's only me, you know. Everyone has their unique style, and the way they do something, as with all things. The way I make coffee is not necessarily the way some (or most) people would (Maybe I'm just weird like that...)

For the next week, starting tomorrow, I will post my writing process in seven posts.
They will all be numbered accordingly, to avoid confusion, and for everyone following to keep track.

For now, I am off to my little fantasy world <3

Happy writing
xxx S

Writing, in general is not the piece of cake everyone thinks it is. Sure you sit down in front of your laptop or PC, and you write, right?
Wrong!
It's much harder than that. It's character outlining, plot outlining, making sure there are no plotholes, enough drama, proper flow, character development, correct grammar, punctuation, the list goes on! Sure it's all fun and game until someone dies, but, unless you're a writer, most people don't realize what the writing process is really like. I'm not even mentioning the editing, proofreading, rewriting, adding, deleting, second round of editing... A list too daunting to finish. 
Anyway, before I get completely sidetracked (as I usually do), there's a part of the process even more scary than the actual writing...
Dum dum duuuum!
Writing the synopsis...
Okay, everyone settle down now. 
So even though my knees tremble at the thought of writing a short synopsis, it has to be done.

Now, here is my dilemma...
My draft is 90k+ words... Over seventeen chapters, and I have only three paragraphs to write a basic description to hook the reader, WITHOUT GIVING TOO MUCH AWAY.... hmmm...
Conflict is throughout the whole novel, lots of drama, lots of things happening, how to summarize it all?


There are lots of blogs, pages etc online to help with the writing of a synopsis, or blurb as they like to call it. People tend to look at me funny when I talk about a blurb (I'm from South Africa). Most of these pages give you valuable tips and hints how to write the best blurb you can.


Makes the Blurb Mountain seem more like a blurb molehill, doesn't it?
Well, I'm off, starting with step one, turn off all wifi...


Happy writing
xxx S
  

Hey everyone! Sonja here! 
Thank you for dropping by at my OFFICIAL AUTHOR PAGE! (woo hoo!) 
I hope everyone enjoys themselves! 

So this is my first blog post, and as luck may have it, I cannot think of a single thing to say. Typical hey :)
I'll be posting about different topics every day. If there are requests for anything in particular, drop me a line, and I'll share my thoughts and views with you all :)

That's all from me for now! Be sure to check back for regular updates from me!

Cheers all
xxx S