Homeschool Click!

  I've had this blog for a while but I just wanted to tell ya'll about it again.

   It's called Homeschool Click. A fun (safe) website for homeschooled kids and teens, some things might be useful to homeschooling parents too, such as recipes and things to keep their younger children busy. Watch funny videos, read book reviews, try out easy recipes, make cool crafts, and more!

   Please Follow Homeschool Click!

   Homeschool Click is on Instagram (homeschool_click) and Facebook now! 

Thanks!!!

--
Ashley <3

How to Give Yourself Writer's Block

How to Give Yourself Writer's Block

                                                                 Ashley :)

5 Tips To Creating Believable Drama

We all have our own ideas of drama whether it is getting in a fight with a friend or arguing with your parents. However, translating drama into writing does not come as easy as it does in real life. As an author, you need to capture the emotions and tensions of your characters that the readers will pick up on! Don’t fret on this task because Miss. Literati is right on your side. So grab our hand as we give you a little lesson on how to create believable drama!


Focus on Real Life Issues Pick issues and topics that will your readers will understand! These can be things such as drama in romance, school, and home or with peers, parents, siblings, family, and even villains.
Here is a list of just some real- life issues that involve drama:
Breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend
Getting in trouble by your parents because you went behind their back
Fighting with a friend that betrayed you
Fighting a battle against a villain who captured your village
Skipping school and getting detention by one of your teachers
Finding out your best friend has a crush on the person you liked for years


Use Strong Language. Language plays a critical role in how “dramatic” a scene in your story is. The language your characters use determines how serious a situation is and what they think about it. Also, the words you use affect the tone and overall mood of your novel. You can create a sense of urgency, fear, angry, distrust, and other moods by using certain words that have those connotations.
FOR EXAMPLE: Dana loathed Rebecca after learning what happened last night between Emmett and her.
The word, loathed, means to “feel an intense dislike or disgust for”.
Amy understood that her parents would be enraged and resentful if they found out she had been skipping school for a week to visit Jess, an older boy whom she admired.
The word enraged means “to make very angry”, while resentful means “feeling or expressing bitterness or indignation at having been treated unfairly”.


Create Impact Dialogue. Rather than giving too many details away to your reader by writing sentences or paragraphs, show your reader the drama by creating dialogue between characters.
FOR EXAMPLE: “How could you hook up with him?”, Dana said heatedly.
“I don’t know what you are talking about or who him is,” Rebecca indifferently replied.
“Then explain THIS!” screamed Dana as she held out her phone to Rebecca who quickly turned red.

Create Conflict. Not only is conflict going to make your novel more dramatic, but it is also going to evoke different emotions and responses from the reader. Maybe your reader is expecting one outcome, but you write about another. Always remember that when you write about the obvious, there is no conflict because it is predictable. So take risks!
FOR EXAMPLE: Amy skipped school to meet her older boyfriend Jess, and knows her parents are going to angry, upset, torn, and suspicious. Amy does all she can to hide the facts from her parents.
The predictable outcome would be her parents find out, ground her, and tell her to never see Jess again.
However, the risk-taking outcome would be that Amy’s parents are the ones who told Jess to be with Amy to track her behaviors. It was a test to see if Amy was ready for the bigger responsibilities her parents have in store for her.

Read Up. Spend time engaging and reading in drama stories and plays. This will further allow you to see how authors use different techniques and tricks. When reading, ask yourself how the author created drama and where did the drama stem from. Also, think of possible outcomes for the conflict. Was the outcome was as you predicted or totally different then what you expected?

 Written by Nicole Klock

5 Tips To Writing An Adventure Story

Who doesn’t love adventure? The thrill, mystery, and suspense of these sorts of novels are what keep writing fun and interesting! In fact, one of the best parts about adventure stories is that you can be as creative and unique as you want. So start packing your backpack or spaceship, and get ready to go on a quest with the Miss Literati crew. With these five awesome tips you will create the adventure of a lifetime!


Daydream. Yes we are telling you to daydream, but we don’t advise you do this in class! When you have some free time or it just so happens that your mind starts to wander, think about your wildest dreams. Where would you like to go? What do you wish you could do? Don’t be afraid of thinking outrageously or crazy because the more outside the box the idea is, the better! Write down these thoughts and collect them so when it comes time to write you have many topics to write on.

QUICK TIP: Some of your ideas can come from actual dreams you have! Keep a journal and pen at hand for when you wake up in the morning, and write down as much of the dream as you can remember.


Location and Motivation. Now it’s time to pick a setting! Do you want your character to travel around the world? Or is the action taking place in their hometown? Depending on your character, either of these scenarios will work! Also, ask yourself why the character is in that setting and what the conflict is. Is your character trying to save her friend? Is she on a quest to find her lost puppy? Or does she want to find the guy she fell in love with in 6th grade years later?


Hero, Villain, Sidekick. In every great adventure novel, these three types of characters are essential to the story. The hero is the one who ends up going on the adventure to resolve some type of conflict, and can be along their sidekick. This sidekick can end up providing emotional support, advice, and a good laugh to the readers and hero! And finally, the villain tries to make the hero’s life more difficult and halt her from solving the conflict!


Maintain the Action. Always remember that your readers are reading your novel to not only be entertained, but to be engaged in the adventure. They want to fully experience the events and situations the characters are thrown into. To give them the experience they want, don’t give too much explanation at the beginning of the novel that will bore your readers or slow down the pace. Then during the rest of the novel all of the events should lead up to the climax!


Sweet Danger. Keep your hero in some type of dilemma that the reader will believe to be dangerous! This will keep the reader engaged and wonder what your character will do and what the outcome is. However, instead of keeping the danger sweet and predictable, twist your events so the reader will be shocked and amazed! Here is a list of novels that will inspire you to create a little hazard of your own.

Peak by Roland Smith
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Psych Investigators Episodes: Episode 1 by Kevin Weinberg 

New Blog!

   Please check out my new blog, Homeschool Click!!!

Happy Easter! (1 Day Late)

   I know it's a day late, but do you honestly expect me to blog on a holiday? :) didn't think so.

   HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                                --
                                                                                                 Ashley <3

Don't Know What To Write?

   Don't know what you should write? Read! Reading always helps to get inspiration! Whenever I can't figure out what to write, or what one of my characters should say in one scene I read a few scenes from my favorite books.
That usually helps me get in the 'writing mood.'
Also Googling certain things to help me figure out what to say (write) helps too. I had a small case of Writer's Block the other day and this helped a ton!
Check it out,

What Makes a Good Story?

                                                       --
                                                       Ashley

How to Descibe a Character's Looks Well

   We all have trouble describing the characters in our books, right? Well, I had a problem today and Googled, "How to Describe a Book Character" and this came up: How to Describe a Character's Looks Well

   Just thought I'd share it with you :) I know we all have writer's block, and I know we all have trouble describing, or wording things, so I just wanted to help by posting the link to the website I used. It was a lot of help!!!

   Enjoy!!!
                                                   --
                                                    Ashley

Rules for Capitalization in Titles

   This should help you understand when to capitalize words in your book title, chapter title, etc.

www.dailywritingtips.com/rules-for-capitalization-in-titles/

Agent Obvious (app)

   Here is an app I found for literary agents: Agent Obvious

2 Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts & A "Publisher" To Stay Away From

   You always want to do research on publishers and literary agencies before you query them. There are multiple ways you can do that, for one (this is what I do 'cause I go in the bookstore "A LOT") you can look at the books that they've sold, or are representing. If you reccognize one as a best seller than you should go for it! Another way is you can Google them, I'd suggest both if you're just starting out.

   But anyways, here are two publishers that are accepting submissions.

   Entangled Publishing

   Sourcebooks

   Send some submissions!!! Take a chance, you'll never know!

   And now a warning. I recently sent a manuscript submission to Dorrance Publishing without researching them and found out that they're a big, fat phony publisher. They're just out to get your money. So stay AWAY from them!
   See? This is what happens when you don't research a publisher. You can get stuck with someone that's out to get your money and won't do anything to help premote your book, or is just a bad publisher. Watch out for this stuff!!!

   Here's a link for the different types of publishers: Types of Publishing Companies

                                                                                                             --
                                                                                                              Ashley
P.S.
   Comment!!!

Paragraphs

   This should help you with any questions you have about paragraphs: Paragraphs

   Leave a comment if you have anymore questions about paragraphs!!!

                                                                                                              --
                                                                                                               Ashley <3

Chapter Combinations

   You can open any book, fiction or nonfiction, and see that a lot of books have different chapter presentations. I know I've talked about it before, but I'm going to put more pictures, and examples, so it'll be a little different.

   You can have the chapter in all caps

        CHAPTER ONE

   You can add a chapter title

        CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER COMBINATIONS

   You can change the 'word' ONE

              CHAPTER 1

   And you can add chapter titles after that

              CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER COMBINATIONS

   If you have a copy of The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, open up to the first chapter (or any chapter, either way). You will see a picture of a seashell above the chapter.

                                                               FICTION

                                     The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

  
   You can put a picture above the chapter, put the chapter number, and (if you want) you can add a chapter title.

                                                        
                                                    Fang by James Patterson                    

   You can just put the number of the chapter on the right, or left side of the page.

                                         
                                The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

  
 Or you can put it in the middle of the page, like in the picture above.

 

 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

   You can put the number of the chapter inside a design, like in the picture above. You can put it in a shape, or a design.

                                                  Wake by Amanda Hocking

   You can put the number of the chapter (in words, or just the number), a design below it, and then the chapter title.

                                                 Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

    In Nightshade there is a page that has a picture of the moon. With each chapter the moon becomes fuller and fuller. Then once the moon is full, the moon begins to to descend.

   Then, on the next page is the beginning of the chapter.

                             Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

  
   You can have an artist design a picture for every chapter, then place it above the chapter title, or use any of the other chapter designs I've showed you. You can find artist to do this on the Web, or if you know an artist, or know someone who knows an artist you can get them to sketch something different to go with every chapter.

                                                Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

    This is a plan, easy chapter design from the book, Twilight. It basically just has the number nine, a period, and the name of the chapter.

                                                                    9. Theory

                                         Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

   See the design down the right side of the page? I thought it was pretty cool :) but this isn't my fav, chapter design. I'm saving the best for last! What I also liked about this chapter design was that the number of the chapter is up in the top right hand corner, and then right below it is the chapter title.

                                               The Hollow by Jessica Verday

   I LOVE this book, and this chapter design! The book is great! To check it out you can click on the link I put under the book cover, you can do that with any of the books I placed on this page.


                                                            NON-FICTION

                                    Getting Your Book Published for DUMMIES

   This book is easy to understand for first time authors. I recommend reading it! The chapter placing for this book is perfectly designed too!

            How to Publish, Promote, & Sell Your Own Book: The insider's guide to everything you need to know about self-publishing from pasteup to publicity by Robert Lawrence Holt

   This book I recommend too! It is great for someone who wants to self-publish their book!

                                                                            END

   You can design the chapters anyway you want. It can be in different fonts, you can put designs on the page in the beginning of the chapters, you can get an artist to sketch a picture for you (like in Harry Potter). You can do whatever you want!

                                                                                                --
                                                                                                 Ashley

(Get Great Ideas!!!) Book Trailers

   Here are some book trailers that you can watch to get some ideas for your book :)

   if i stay -- by -- Gayle Forman

   The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer -- by -- Michelle Hodkin

   Bloodrose (book 3 in the Nightshade trilogy) -- by -- Andrea Cremer

   The Summer I Turned Pretty -- by -- Jenny Han

   The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks -- by -- Rebecca Skloot

   Here's a more simple book trailer,

   Ascend -- by -- Amanda Hocking

                                                                                                            Good luck!!!
                                                                                                                               --
                                                                                                                                Ashley

Believable Plot Twist

   When writing a novel, you want the reader to be blown away and surprised by your plot twist. But there are things you should avoid and be careful about.
   Predictable stories are boring, but unbelievable stories are just plan bad. You want your reader to enjoy your story, not get bored half way through, or think it's terrible. A reader's opinion can either help sell your book, or it can be your downfall.
 
   If you're writing a YA (young adult) novel you should know that we're very picky and opinionated when it comes to what we read. If we don't like a book we don't recommend it to our friends. If we do like it, or love it, we'll recommend it to our best friends, friends, and acquaintances.

   If you're writing a children's book...eh. Kids don't really talk about books. They're too busy playing outside and stuff to think about the book they're reading. Though that doesn't apply to all children. It depends on what age group you're writing for.

   Adults talk about books. They recommend book to their friends too, but teenagers are going to be your biggest sellers.

   Anyway, we were talking about believable twists.

   The trick is to drop subtle hints throughout your writing that will add up at the perfect moment. Remember the staircase of chapters? This is exactly like that. It is like that. You slowly give small hints.
 If you get any ideas about how to go about your plot, write it down! Make a note! That way you'll remember to add it to your book. (You should keep all notes for your book in one place so you'll have easy access to them when you need them, in a desk drawer, a small box, on a bulletin board, etc).
   You can also make small notes, little details that you can sneak into your plot. (Have more than one twist, you don't want to only have one big plot twist for your book). You don't want to be too blatant about it, otherwise your readers will be able to guess what will happen, or worse, how your book will end (and that's the worst thing that can happen). Though if you don't sneak in any details, if you don't the plot twist will come out of nowhere and not make much sense.

   The twist doesn't have to happen to the main character, it can happen to the main character's best friend, family member, teacher, anyone that the main character knows. Just make sure you always surprise your reader, like I've said before, when your novel is completed, have a family member (or friend) read your book. If they think you should change something, be open, and reread what you've written and wonder how you can change whatever you think should be changed.

   The worst thing you can do is write an unbelievable plot twist.

   Predictable stories = boring

   Unbelievable stories = bad

   So you should seriously plan out the twists, and how the plot should end.

     Thanks for reading!!! Please comment!
                                                                                                                           --
                                                                                                                            Ashley <3

About The Author (Author Biography)

   Pick up a random book from your bookshelf. Now flip to the very back pages, where they keep the pages that contain the Acknowledgements and the Author Bio. 'About The Author' is what we will be focusing on today.
   There are a few ways you can go about this. This is just to help you get ideas to figure out how to display yourself.

   You can get someone else to write your author bio page for you, if you aren't sure about what to say. Or you can get multiple people to write the page, and then pick out the best things to say, before writing a few of the best ones down. Then you'll have yourself the 'About The Author' page for your book.

   Another way you can write this page is, you can pick up a book, flip to the back page that reads 'About The Author' and read through it.

   I know for some people it's hard to talk about themselves, or to write about themselves, so those are just some ideas you can do to get some ideas. You can say where you live, where you graduated, say what kind of pets you have, that you like to read a lot, stuff like that.
   Just think about what you want to say. What you want to tell about yourself. If you feel any doubt about how, and what, you wrote, you can get a few family members, or a friend, to read over it for you. That way you can get an opinion before you add it to your book.

   Here is something else that could help you, 6 Secrets to Writing A Killer Author Bio

                                                                                                                 --
                                                                                                                  Ashley

P.S.
Thanks for reading!!! Please comment!!! <3

Learning More About Self-Publishing

   When I first began this blog I said that I didn't know much about self-publishing, but now I'm starting to learn a lot more since I plan to self-publish an eBook sometime in the next two months. So that is why there is a lot more self-publishing information on this blog.

   Thank you for reading this and my other posts!
                                                                                           --
                                                                                            Ashley

Creating An Author Website

   No author has to have an author website, but it's recommended for publicity. Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads is also recommended. Social media is a good way to promote your book. You can use Google+ too, any social website is good. The publicity will be good for your book, as long as you mention that you've written a book (and put the title of it) in the BIO section of the website. You could even add a picture of the book cover to catch eyes.

   Anyway, back to the author website topic. Having an author website for yourself is good for publicity, but also good for your readers. The people who have read your book, and liked it a lot, will want to know when your next novel will be released. Readers are usually very loyal. If you wrote a book that they liked they will check in on your website to see when your next book will be released and what it is about.
    Take Sarah Dessen as an example:

                                                     (Sarah Dessen's books)


   Sarah Dessen is the author of multiple teenage girl novels. Every time a new book comes out, her readers are waiting.
   Self-published authors usually use blogs for their 'author website.' You can get ideas for your author website from other self-published authors such as:

Amanda Hocking -- author of the Trylle Trilogy: Amanda Hocking's Blog

Michelle Hodkin -- author of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer: The Michelle Show

Tammara Webber -- author of Easy: A Room of My Own

   Here are some blog websites that you could consider using for your author website:

Weebly

Blogger

Blog.com

Thoughts

WordPress

Lifeyo

LifeJournal

Tumblr

Blogsome

Open Diary

Blogetery

Blogster

Here is a comparison chart of some of the blogs. Pick the best one for you!




   And here are some other links (yes, more links) that will help you get your 'author website' up and running!

13 Steps to Creating an Author Website Readers Will Love

Build a More Effective Author Website

10 Ways to Build Traffic to Your Author Website
                                          
   Good luck building your website!!!
                                                                   --
                                                                    Ashley

Goodreads

   Link to my Goodreads account: My Goodreads profile

YOUR Story

   The book you are writing should be about something that you want to write about, not something your friends or family tell you, you should write. You should only write about what you want.
   Your book (or novel) should also be something you really want to write. So when you wake up in the morning you're excited about writing. And you have that craving to write.
   The first book I wanted to write was going to be a vampire novel (and yes I know it's past tense). I wrote about 40 pages, took me months, but I started to feel really bored with it. I've had problems writing and finishing books before. I'll get 60 pages into a book, and get bored with it and end up not continuing it.
   Anyway, so I got bored writing the vampire book. But then I got another book idea. I finished this book in 7 months. The next one I finished in about 4. And then the final book in the trilogy took 2 months.
   I really enjoyed writing that trilogy. It was a blast coming up with more and more ideas to throw in.
   When you begin to write a book it's okay not to finish it. You can wait a while, get another book idea, and start writing that idea down on paper. Your book can be about anything! You just have to use your imagination.
   If you have an imaginary world you slip off to when your bored, you could write about that. Or you could base your book about a dream you had.
   Like Stephenie Meyer:

   The author of the New York Time's bestselling series, the Twilight Saga.

   She got the idea for Twilight (the first book in the saga) from a dream she had. She had a dream about a boy and a girl lying in a meadow and when she woke up, she wondered what kind of relationship these two people had. What their story was. And dam! The book Twilight was created!
   A dream! This woman had a dream and wrote a book, and then ended up writing 3 more books after Twilight! She became a New York Time's Bestseller!
   This is possible. Your book could become a NYT bestseller! All you have to do is write the book, copyright it, and either self-publish it, or publish it the classic way!
   Get started! Hope your New Year is awesome!!!! And filled with writing and success!
                                                                                                                     --
                                                                                                                      Ashley