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Write! Dammit! Write!!! KIll Writer's Block!!!

I was looking through some old posts today on a forum I used to frequent and I found this little rant about a writer's worst enemy: Writer's Bock!!! EEK!!!

I read it over and I really like what I wrote. I still keep to this philosophy a year later. So I'm posting it here again for all those writer's out there that may wonder how I shove through the nefarious Writer's Block.

With over 1,000 pages of formatted story for As The World Dies and another full length novel being prepped for publication and numerous COMPLETE novels (that will sit quietly like good children until I want to rewrite them or just pack them away), I have faced writer's block a million times over. I have been writing since I was 12. And I'm...errr...dammit...now 37. Writer's Block is an old Nemesis of mine.

Let me say firmly that walking away from a story is dangerous. Leaving it sit is dangerous. Ignoring it for another project is dangerous.

For a lot of writers, a new story is like a new crush. You get all giddy and tap away at your keyboard (or write long hand) and write and write and write then bam! The wall hits and you're like.."err...I didn't know my crush was a total BITCH/ASSHOLE."

So you either work on the relationship or you walk away. Walking away (i.e. taking a break, writing on something else, etc) is a good chance of blowing that relationship for good.

I hit the wall when Jenni and Katie reached Nerit and Ralph's place and again when they reached the Fort. I hit about a hundred more walls along the way. Each time I felt daunted by what was to come.

Now taking a walk, etc, may help you out, but commit yourself to the story before you do that by writing at least a few lines down of what you think is coming next. Keep focused on the story.

With As The World Dies, I could not read any zombie genre, but I watched zombie flicks and other horror that had that feel. I wrote down notes for future stuff in the story even though I felt I was slogging through muck in the present chapter. I did not commit to any other writing projects because I KNOW the danger there.

I look at the slew of unfinished stories that are on this forum and others and its obvious how fickle writers can be. I found an unfinished short story on my hard drive a few weeks ago. I could have SCREAMED when I realized I never ended it. I have no freaking clue what the ending would have been. It's been annoying me ever since.

I have a friend who writes awesome screenplays. Well, at least the first part of the screenplays. He gets very enthused with the concept, writes in a flurry, then hits a wall, gets frustrated, chunks it and repeats the cycle with another story. He never finishes ANYTHING. And it sux, because he's got this amazing mind and so many good ideas.

So what are my tricks to push through? Here are a few of my tricks.

1. Commit fully to the story and make it my only love. -- If it feels half-formed or like just an idea, I write down all the details I "know" and save it for later. If it feels ready to be born and I have nothing else on my plate, then I fully commit to the story. It becomes my focus.

2. I find music that fits the story. Something that keeps me typing. Something that stirs the imagination. Marylin Manson, Sneaker Pimps, Johnny Cash and Rob Zombie were my friends when I wrote As The World Dies. NIN, the soundtracks to Dracula and Queen of the Damned, and various fav goth songs kept me company for my other novel. One idea I have brewing perks up if I put on Crombiechrist or Psychobitch. Another one lives in VAST's debut album. I will NOT listen to music for another story when working on my committed story. I will write notes for the other stories though, but nothing like a chapter.

3. I find someone I can talk to about the story. - This is so important. Find someone who wants to hear about it and can ask you questions or push you to explore something more fully. My friend Morris was a great help with As The World Dies. (and no..there is no sequel, Morris!) Its good to have someone to bounce things off of.

4. Write Anyway- This goes against the grain and it may feel utterly empty, but do it ANYWAY. Sometimes, what you write when there is no flow, kicks ass. Sometimes it sux. Sometimes it shows you that you've gone a wrong way. Sometimes it just lays there lifeless until something switches in your head and suddenly you get this burst. Some of As The World Dies chapters were push throughs. I HATED them. And usually those were the chapters that people loved.

I honestly do not believe in walking away from a story unless you intend to walk away for good.

So my bet advice when Writer's Block hits......WRITE. Just fucking write. And you'll bust the wall down.

And that is all *steps off soapbox*

Hehehe...I"m off to battle...WRITER'S BLOCK!!!


*note I cap Writer's Block because in my head its this mean ol ogre sitting in my way and that is his name. :)

As The World Dies: The First Days on Library of the Living Dead!! Episode #65!!

Dr. Pus has put up his latest and greatest podcast at Library of the Living Dead.

Here is a rundown of what is in the episode.

New bumber intro by Unoshato
"Zombie From Empanina" by Laura Best
Doc intro
Professor Emcee Square pimpage
Rhiannon Frater's "As The World Dies" Chapter1 Part 2
Monster Librarian's Zombie Novel Reviews
Rob Fox's "Z-Day Is Here"
A.P. Fuchs' "Blood of the Dead" Ch 2
"Zombie Zcience" Contniuation of Zombie Running
Mur Lafferty's "The Takeover" part 7
WZOM "Real Zombie News You Can Use"
James Melzner's "Zombie Chronicles" Ch 4, Part 1
"Alive Inside" by Eric Busby "Season of the Dead" Part 3
Long ass outcomments
Rob Best's "Chapter 10" for ZombieSurvivor

This is the episode where I give voice to Katie! Yay!

I hope you enjoy!

--Rhiannon

So Basically This Is What Is Going On....

Good news and bad news in this post. I actually put off posting until I had a good handle on what exactly was happening (or not happening) in this craziness I call my life.

First things first...

New Website Is Up!!
Check out my new and improved website! My husband has totally revamped it and I think it looks pretty cool. He was not satisfied with the first version. I liked it, but I saw his point. I think the new one looks really good.

I'm Not Going to BiteFest....WAAAAAAAAH
Our car continues to give us issues. We considered renting a car to head down to San Antonio, but I just started getting flash fevers and I'm having issues with asthma. I know this feeling oh too well. I'm getting sick. So we have opted to cancel (sadly) and stay home. I think I'm going to go on a horror movie marathon to make myself feel better.

*sigh*

Maybe next year...

I'm Not Going to Zombie Fest at the Monroeville Mall...but As The World Dies Is!!!
Dr. Pus is a total love and he is taking pamphlets of the book to Zombie Fest with him. They have the first part of Chapter One in them along with information on where to buy the book and a little bio about me. I'm so excited! He is SUCH a great guy to do this for me. He will also be putting them as bookmarks in the first Library of the Living Dead novel called "Dead Tide." It just came out, so I haven't read it yet, but you may want to check it out.

What Katie (from ATWD) and I Have In Common
We share the same voice! I am now doing the voice work for Katie Kiel in the Library of the Living Dead Podcast! Episode #65 will be my debut. I think I'm doing a fairly good job doing her voice. I absolutely adore the voice work of April as Jenni. Her performance is GREAT! And Dr. Pus is doing a fantastic job at narrating the story. I'm so excited about this endeavor and I hope you check it out.

Pretty When She Dies Is Closer to Publication!!!
If you love vampires, please check out my new vampire novel, Pretty When She Dies, when it is released. I think you will really like it. It's modern, its fun, it's gruesome, it's sexy, and it's intense.

The new cover is now done and the proof copy of the novel is ready to be reviewed by the proof reader.

Check out the final version of the cover!

I absolutely love it!

Once the proof copy is reviewed, we will set a publication date and announce it on my blog and website. The first chapter will probably be going up sometime tomorrow night for you to get a sneak peak at.

Amazon. Com Reviews
If you hop over to Amazon.com and look up my book, you'll see that reviews have been coming in for both the paperback and Kindle version of ATWD:The First Days. Yes, I do read the reviews. I do it for two reasons:

1. To find out what people think of the story and characters
2. To see if there is any critiques I can learn from

My husband takes negative comments a lot harder than I do and I love him for that. I do try to examine what is being said and determine if I need to adapt. So far, nothing has really stood out to me.

We have been praised (and criticized) for the editing of the book. This does not really bother me considering we had 3 editors work on the novel. All are highly qualified to do that job and I felt they did a good job. If there is a goof up, it was probably me missing one of their editing notes. Plus, I have read so many NYC bestsellers filled with misspelled words and grammar mistakes, I just kinda shrug it off. I can't do much more than I am with all my proof readers and the editors scouring the books for any goofs I committed.

As for remarks on the plot or characters, I read those comments, consider them, and discuss them with my husband. So far I think the comments that have been made are very subjective. It reminds me of the old days when the story was online and there were comments about a variety of things that didn't make much sense to me.

For example:

Comment: Katie is a lesbian so she should be hooking up with Jenni.

My Answer: Katie is actually bisexual (is attracted to both men and women) and Jenni is straight. Their relationship was that of sisters/best friends. There is no reason for them to "hook up."

Comment: Isn't it convenient how they find a hunting store and everyone has guns..not realistic!!!

My Answer: I had to wonder if this person had EVER been to Texas.

Comment: Jenni is so dreamy and off-kilter in the beginning and its all nightmarish and surreal...why does that stop? ...not realistic!!

My Answer: Err...she comes out of shock...and gets a gun. And wants revenge on the zombies.

Comment: pfffffffft..an old woman who was an Israeli sniper...yeah right!

My Answer: I know one in real life. It happens. Get over it.


And it goes on and on and on....hehehehehee... I've come to realize people are always going to have an opinion on how they perceive that the story should go, or how a character should act, or how you should write the book in general. And they absolutely, positively have a right to that opinion. But in the end, its my story and I have to write it the way I see fit.

But if someone were to point out a legitimate issue with a plot point or in the character development, I would embrace that in a second and learn from it. I have in the past and I will in the future. I am not a perfect writer, but I try damn hard.

So far, I really like all the reviews I've read and I'm so pleased that those people took the time to write them. I am very thankful.

Of course, when that one star review comes in....I may rant. :)

Meanwhile...
FearFest 3 is coming up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and I will be there!!! If you're anywhere in the area, please come by and say hi!!!

In closing, it's a crazy but good time right now.

Thank you for all your support!!

Interview, Website, and other Fun Stuff!!!

The Odd Mind Magazine Talk Radio Interview!!!

My interview Monday night with AngelLesa of The Odd Mind Magazine was quite a bit of fun. I rambled on (as I'm tend to do) a few times, but I felt we had a good discussion on why I chose to be an Indie Author and about As The World Dies: The First Days.

Indie Author Thoughts

Being an Indie Author is a scary, but fun experience. I do feel, sometimes, that I am flying without a net, but it is exhilarating. I'm not sure where all this is heading and I'm fine with that. The reality is I wanted to take creative control of my writing and I have. What comes next is a big unknown, but I'm happy with how things are progressing thus far.

Someone asked me if any publishers have approached me. The answer is yes. What did they discuss with me? That is private, but I am still standing firm at this time to being an Indie. Will my mind change in the future. I don't know. I would have to consider any offer made very seriously and see if its in sync with my personal writing goals.

But even if I do sign with a publisher at any point, I will STILL be putting out my own books and free fiction. I just love the whole process of creating my own novel from the story itself to how it is presented.

Progress

Edits for Pretty When She Dies are almost done. The proof editor is doing a GREAT job catching the tiny stuff (that I tend to not see) and it's coming along nicely. I hope to order a proof copy of the novel very soon. The cover looks amazing. My husband has done a really great job. I cannot wait to see it on the cover of an actual book.

Website Update

My husband is also revising my website. Since we are new to the publishing game, we're still figuring things out and he realized we needed to revamp the site. The new version should be going live soon. Once we're sure we have what we like, we'll most likely be moving the site to rhiannonfrater.com at the end of the year or the beginning of next.

As The World Dies: Fighting To Survive

I'm writing away. Writing on the way to work, on my lunch hour, and on the way home. The evening is left for spending some time with my husband and having dinner, before diving into the edits for Pretty When She Dies. But what I am writing out by hand for ATWD2 is really, really awesome and a lot of fun. Today was a huge Jenni scene that I forgot to write the first time around. Or maybe I thought I had written it. I was shocked to not find it when I read through the story. It left a big huge plot hole and it left me shaking my head.

That is definitely one good thing about the rewrite: patching up the holes!

Interview TONIGHT with Angelesa of The Odd Mind Magazine

Check out my interview with Angelesa tonight at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/angellesa a 8PM Central.

Call in and ask me the tough questions! 347-945-7025

Talk to you soon!!!

As The World Dies: The First Days on Library of the Living Dead!!

Dr. Pus posted his new podcast for the Library of the Living Dead late last night. And I'm very excited to announce that the first part of Chapter One-Tiny Fingers-is awesome! I had heard the mp3 (complete with voices, sound effects and music), but to hear it intertwined with the rest of the show was a great experience.

Please check it out! Here is the playlist for the episode:

0:00 - New intro bumper by Unoshato
1:36 - "Zombie" by Steve Cain
4:44 - Dr. Pus' intro
7:32 - Rhiannon Frater's "As The World Dies: The First Days" Chapter 1
25:55 - "Zombie Zcience" - Running Zombies and Muscle Degredation
42:43 - A.P. Fuch's "Blood Of The Dead" Chapter 1
56;29 - Rob Fox's "Z Day Is Here" Days 64-66
1:10:50 - Poem for contest
1:11:34 - "What's Up Doc?"
1:31:03 - "Voices"
1:34:37 - James Melzer's "Zombie Chronicles" Episode #3
1:42:12 - "Out Comments"
2:01:34 - Rob Best's "All Kinds Of Things Kill" Chapter 10 for BabyGirlMinxie

I think you'll love it as much as I do! Let Dr. Pus know how much you like it by dropping him a line in the comments. He has been very supportive of my novel and his dramatization is amazing.

Zombies Invade My Book Signing on Zombie Day--EEEEK!!!

Zombie Baby, the woman behind the Zombie Ball at Elysium.

Ah Zombie Juice...I love you so.

Zombie Christa holding her brand new copy of As The World Dies: The First Days. That's me at her side.

Cassandra, owner of Secret Oktober, and her husband, Ross. He has mad zombie love for her...and her maggoty cheek.

Me and Mary, co-owner of Secret Oktober.

EEK. Zombies!! The pretty zombie beauty queen was the genius behind the zombie makeovers today.

Me and the little zombie!! The hanging eyeball thing was huge with the kids today. This little guy had fun walking back and forth in front of the store scaring peeps.

Me and Zombie Baby's husband, a.ka. D.J. Void of Elysium.

Darling, you read the book...not eat it!!! *sigh* Zombies....

We had a sign in book for people to leave us their email for updates.

My husband hates having his picture taken. Here he is wearing the t-shirt he designed for As The World Dies: The First Days. It is nicely accessorized with the earphones from his PSP.

As the photos show, there was much fun to be had.

It was a FUN day!


Yay! Zombies!!

October 11, 2008 is ZOMBIE DAY at Secret Oktober!!!

I'm off to have fun with Zombie Day!

If you're in the Central Texas area, drop by Secret Oktober, get a zombie makeover and pick up a copy of my novel! The Zombie Ball is at Elysium tonight and it should be a blast!

Hope to see you around!

Permuted Press is my BFF!!!

I've been hanging out on the Permuted Press forum for awhile now. It has been a great place to talk to other writers and meet people who love zombies like I love zombies. It has also been a place where I have gained inspiration and encouragement in my own writing endeavors.

So I'm very excited to announce that I have received a Friend of Permuted Press subforum!! You can check it out here! You can come over, ask questions, hang out, and see my daily ramblings of insanity.

October 11, 2008 is ZOMBIE DAY at Secret Oktober!!!

This coming Saturday, October 11, 2008, is ZOMBIE DAY in Austin, Texas. Not only is the Zombie Ball hosted by Zombiebaby occurring at Elysium, but Secret Oktober is celebrating all things zombie.

If you are in the area and looking for the final touches on your costume, come on down. There is also a rumor that someone will be doing zombie makeovers.

And, of course, if you want my latest zombie novel, As The World Dies: The FIrst Days, drop by, pick up a copy and get it autographed. I'll be there from 4PM to 8PM.

Remember the Zombie Day and keep it GOREY!

100 Books Sold and Updates All Around!!!

One Milestone Passed In Book Sales
First off, as of early this morning, the sales for As The World Dies: The First Days, crossed the 100 books sold mark. This may not seem like a big number to some people, but it is huge for me. The book has only been out since August 15, 2008 (officially), so I am feeling very solid about the sales.

Considering that my promotion of the book has been minimal, I have to give big kudos to the fans who are spreading the word. I read somewhere that an Indie Author should not expect to sell 100 books. And that 200 book sales was even more rare. Well, that's one milestone down and another in sight. I have a lot of faith in this book and I feel it is a solid contribution to the zombie genre. I believe its going to keep going in its sales. That would definitely help out a lot toward getting the next books into the pipeline for publication.

FearFest 3 is BACK!
I got the word toward the end of this week that FearFest in the Dallas/Fort Worth area is back on! We have gone a head and shifted our reserved tables to this event and we're very excited! Wizard World has taken over the event and the lineup is looking really good! They have also moved it to a bigger venue and I think its just going to be awesome. If you can make it out to the event, please make sure to drop by my table and say hello.

The Doc Has Spoken
I have to thank Dr. Pus from Library of the Living Dead podcast for giving me 11 Severed Thumbs (out of a possible 1o) for As The World Dies: The First Days. I have agreed to let them do the entire novel on the podcast and I'm so excited about that!

Also, Dr. Pus wrote a review for Amazon.com that you can find here. My favorite part of the review is this quote: "Rhiannon sucks you in with the very first chapter. A chilling account of an entire family torn apart .... literally. When I began this book I actually stopped after the first chapter and went back and read it again. IT'S THAT GOOD!"

The Doc also gave me a big shout out in his newest podcast. I got a huge kick out of him trying to say my name correctly (ree on an freighter is correct). Check out Episode #63 for lots of zombie goodness along with news on the upcoming podcasts of As The World Dies: The First Days.

Spotlight On...
This month I also made the list of Spotlight On... for independent horror/suspense novels. I have to say, I really like the way my cover looks on that page and the amazon.com reviews always make me smile.


Anyway, that is enough of an update for now! Back to working on the novel!

The Palin Debate Watching Drinking Game Was Not Such a Good Idea

I'm drunk.

Why did she have to say maverick so many times???

Sweet Dreams of Zombies and Vampires

Book Signing v 2.0

Saturday went quite well at the book signing. I actually signed books! That were already bought and brought in for me to sign, but, hey, I actually got to sign my lil' name! Everyone was cool about the shipment not arriving on time and the store has asked me back on October 11, 2008. That is the day the Zombie Ball happens at Elysium down on Red River and 7th in Austin, Texas. The store will be supporting the ball by doing a little pre-party and I will be there with my zombie novel.

I Feel Famous!!

The book shipment came in Monday. I dropped the pre-ordered books off at Secret Oktober. I also left five copies for whoever wants to snatch up a copy locally. While I was hanging out talking to my friend (who is the owner), she got a phone call from someone asking if the book was in stock. They wanted to pick one up. She was grinning like crazy when speaking to the customer and pitched the October 11th book signing. I was glowing!

The As The World Dies t-shirt RAWKS
My husband wore it this weekend and got a ton of compliments. It's really awesome. So go ahead and order one if you want one. They're really cool. I'm going to see if a local Austin t-shirt vendor can make the shirts for me locally, so we'll have them at the conventions next year.

Pretty When She Dies-A Vampire Novel

Well, what can I say? I do tend to be a ditz at times. I thought I had done all the revisions on the novel, but could not find the first nine chapters when I sat down to do them. So I thought that maybe I had already done them and forgotten. Uh. Yeah. That would make life easy. I botched it and didn't do those nine chapters. I am not going to put my copy editor through that kind of hell. So I'm reading through the chapters and fixing them up.

This is the novel I wrote in two and a half weeks. Because I was writing as fast as my little fingers could go, I have a lot of run on sentences. To be specific, I linked two sentences with an "and" that didn't need to be linked. If that makes sense.

Anyway, fixing that issue.

We're still trying to get this one out ASAP.

I hope to get the first chapter or two up on Scribd so you can take a sneak beak.

I've Been Interviewed!
CL. Fiere, the editor-in-chief of TREI Literary Magazine, contacted me recently about an interview for the October issue of the online magazine. I was thrilled to answer her questions and my interview is now up! Please check it out!

The entire magazine is fabulous and you'll have plenty to read and enjoy. I'm so glad to be part of such a wonderful issue.

And this zombie girl from TREI Literary Magazine will eat you if you don't check it out.

How's that to give you nightmares?

Dr. Pus Loves Me...or at Least My Book
To finish this off, I must give you the fabulous news that Dr. Pus' Library of the Living Dead podcast will feature the ENTIRE novel of As The World Dies: The First Days complete with voice actors, sound effects, music and Dr. Pus' own narration. Of course, this won't be dumped into one podcast, but spread out over time. I'm so excited!

Finally...
I'm making headway with As The World Dies: Fighting to Survive. I'm even dreaming about Jenni and Katie and lots and lots of zombies. That is a good thing, of course. It keeps me inspired.

I have to admit the best part of the book signing was when one woman said to me, "When is the next one coming out? I'm on pins and needles!"

It's coming. I promise. It's coming!

And One More Thing...
Here is a mock up of the cover for Pretty When She Dies. Rose Munoz of Excentric Visions Photography has been kind enough to let me use her awesome photograph on the cover!

I'm so excited!

AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGH!!

For some bizarro reason that I cannot fathom, the novel description for Pretty When She Dies was posted on the As The World Dies: The First Days Amazon.com page.

*headdesk*

I think I fixed it. I hope so. UGH!

As The World Dies: The First Days is STILL about zombies and not vampires!!!