Wondering about these three disparate pictures?
I’ve just completed my second Book in a Week with April Kihlstrom. Now I don’t know April personally, but I do know that receiving tuition from April is the next best thing to getting your book published. That goes for whether you are already published or not. At the end of my first BIAW with April, the book I thought I was writing got shelved, and I began an offshoot of it, a far deeper book than my original idea. It was published by Robert Hale Ltd, UK.
This time I was floundering to find a logical, twisty solution to a work in progress, a suspense novel with the working title of Innocent Hostage. Three days after plunging into my second BIAW with April, I set IH aside and began another suspense, a very different sort of book. At the same time I knew I had a Regency novella to complete, part of a three book series already contracted. So I wrote both at the same time.
I feel compelled to tout this lady far and wide. Nearly all of April’s books are Regencies (although, even as we speak, she is branching out into very different realms). And yes, I, too, write Regencies, but because of the way April’s BIAW is constructed, it doesn’t matter at all what genre you write in. Also, note, her emphasis is not strictly on fiction but she also coaches non-fiction writers.
I’ve often wondered how April is able to hit the nail on the head when it comes to constructing books so I did some checking. This lady has had books published steadily since 1982! Experience. A willingness to share knowledge and reference bases. Enthusiasm.
So a male fantasy writer reading this might think, “Huh. No use to me.” Buster, you’d be so wrong. When you’ve answered questions like:
What frightens your protagonists most of all?
Where will you be dropping forewarnings of the plot?
Is your work ethic appropriate for your lifestyle?
Have you ever assessed your writing methods? How?
Try index cards for a basic outline even if you are pantster.
For each book, a file or group of index cards helps keep it all together for press releases.
The above are only one-hundredth of the questions and suggestions that April will make during BIAW. You might have seen many of them before. But I guarantee you haven’t seen all of them. And those two or three that make you really think, those are the kernels that April will draw out of you. Also, as with any BIAW, reporting back and forth to other candidates keeps you going, keeps you honest.
Best of all, unlike other BIAW, April is with you every step of the way. She answers all queries. Next time you see where April is running a BIAW, get to it. For an extremely low fee, she will bring out the best writer you can be. I believe her next BIAW will be during the second half of September. (It’s never really a week – more like 12 days). You can sign up here closer to the date
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aprilkihlstromwritingclasses2/join
Enjoy! (Because you will. The bounce will come back to your writing).
