Hi Mayden Readers! Just a quick note to say I have not forgotten you, but I’m not quite ready to start writing again, so I’m taking a few more weeks of vacation. That is the joy of being a novelist, at least in my life–you can enjoy time to perk on what you want to write! Not to worry… Mayden will be back… soon! All Blessings, Robin

Okay, fans and friends… don’t laugh too much. I decided to spice up our talk today with a little Irish lilt. Well, it was worth a try! Here you will learn Tips 2 and 3 from How To Write A BlockBuster novel, as seen in the Mayden Chronicles.

There is one question I get fairly often: Do you have to do a lot of research to write a book?  The question itself reveals the problem.  Because the answer is… HAVE to? That’s the FUN part! It’s not all book work, either.

Yesterday, for example, I went to the Asbury Community (a retirement village that is an upscale version of Mayden’s Heritage Village) to find out if I’m on target for my set and setting. I also went to meet with ten of the most indepenent and active residents to ask 1) if I was on target in my descriptions and 2) if they were even remotely interested in this “teen” story.  They were kind enough to read at least the first four chapters online (or printed out) and let me know what they thought.  Since they were all 60+, and some of them were in their 80’s, I was a little nervous. 

Turns out, I didn’t need to be.  They love Mayden! We talked for an hour, and there was a lot to learn about the “health care” section, which is equivalent to the level of care Anna has.  In fact, they said Mayden made them wonder how many of the residents in Anna’s condition were really lucid underneath.  I was able to explain blogging as a format and where I’m going with the story.  They gave me suggestions about where I needed more detail and we discussed Anna’s “backstory”–where she was thirty years before the story started (I had to confess, I didn’t know yet). In short, we all got each other thinking. That’s the heart of research and Mayden will surely be a better story for it. 

I thank Suzanne Edwards, Bobbie Patterson, Mary Ellen Muldoon, Sandra Wilkens, Betty Peterkin, Jerre Musser, and Nancy Mellem! Also and especially, my hosts and wonderful parents-in-law (the ones who made it all happen), Janie and Ellis Knox.  You all were so very helpful!

Okay, readers, I got a big creative brainstorm going this week!  After meeting all the cast in chapters 1-7, we get to some super magic with the newest member, Michael, in Chapter 8.  I knew he was coming, but I wasn’t sure what he would be about.  Then, I saw Gerard Senehi.  Okay, so if you are into reading ahead of the class, go to his website at www.experimentalist.com and watch him perform, and you’ll get the inspiration behind the gifts Michael is going to display. It is important to note that this guy is not going to BE Michael.  Our character Michael is fictional, and so not based on Gerard’s or anyone else’s actual life or personality–it’s JUST the gifts that are going to be similar. Watch for bending spoons, twisting forks, moving objects with his mind…  Such “magical” gifts (magic being what we don’t understand–yet) are rare, but not as rare as you might think! Most important to the writing process, you can get your ideas from anywhere.  Just don’t steal whole personalities, or you could get yourself into a world of trouble. In fact, I asked Gerard’s publicist about this post, and he/she said AOK! :-)  Read on!

How to Write Books With Passion, Magic and…Stereotypes? Part Four Of “So You Want To Write A Book” is all about what it means to have a chapter feel ROUGH to the writer….

(This is an updated Video) Based on the works of Al Zuckerman in “Writing The Blockbuster Novel,” we look at how Mayden has high stakes for all the main characters.

This is a MUST watch (but beware, 20 minutes), for anyone wanting to understand how the MUSE works with writers. It is brilliant, and just how it works for me. Enjoy!

This is part one in our “So You Want To Write A Book” series… follow along and learn to write your own book. Don’t forget to let me know what YOU want to write, or are writing!

This video talks–or rather stories–about writing for the MC. Is it so different than writing a novel? Good ideas here!