What's your story? (And a free book giveaway!) By Brenda Janowitz

SCOT ON THE ROCKS

THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE FOR ENTERING THE CONTEST!  WE HAD SO MANY GREAT ENTRIES THAT I DECIDED TO PICK TWO WINNERS!  DRUM ROLL PLEASE....  CONGRATS TO LAURA KAY AND DEBBIE H!  EMAIL ME TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE.  AND THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR COMMENTING.


One of the most common things that published authors get asked about is how we come up with ideas for our stories.  The other is how they can get free copies of our books.  Generally, I'm pretty open with the advice about writing, less so with free copies of my books, but today I'm doing a book giveaway!  Yippee!!  Deets are at the bottom of this blog post.

But back to the book ideas.  For me, it always starts with a tiny germ of the truth, and then I let my imagination run wild from there.

When I was invited to my ex-boyfriend’s wedding, my life slowly but surely began to resemble some of my favorite chick lit novels, and I said to myself, ‘I’ve just gotta start writing this stuff down…'

So, I did!  And it became my first novel, SCOT ON THE ROCKS, which is subtitled: How I survived my ex-boyfriend's wedding with my dignity ever-so-slightly intact.

JACK WITH A TWIST

When I finished SCOT ON THE ROCKS, I knew that Brooke’s story had to continue.  Since both she and her love interest Jack are lawyers, I thought it would be so much fun to pit them against each other in the courtroom… all while planning their fairy-tale wedding.  Thus, the idea for JACK WITH A TWIST was born!

But writing a book is more than just coming up with your idea.  You then have to write 300 pages, and for most writers, that's the rub.  I always say that everyone has at least one book in them, but most people will never sit down to actually write a full manuscript.

To get myself started, I took a writing class, which really armed me with the tools that I'd need to write a full length novel.  Lots of people can write, but you need to learn the rules if you want to actually write a book.  Most recently, I discovered Alex Sokoloff's Screenwriting Tricks for Authors, which has become my Bible, along with her blog, The Dark Salon.  I used to think I knew a lot about three act structure and how to structure a novel, but Alex breaks down three act structure even further-- into eight distinct sequences-- and just by reading her story breakdowns, I've learned more about story structure then I did in any of the classes I've ever taken before or any of the books I've read combined.

Are you one of those people who's got a book idea in you but just hasn't sat down to write it yet?  Post your book idea in the comments below and be entered to win a copy of my novel, JACK WITH A TWIST!  I'll select the winner on June 1st, so check back on this blog entry and I'll announce the winner here.  (Don't forget to leave me your email address or some way to contact you in case you are the lucky winner!)


I’m the author of Scot on the Rocks and Jack with a Twist.  My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly.  You can find me at brendajanowitz.com.