Steampunk Blog Tour with Jon S. Lewis + Giveaway

I am honored to host The Brimstone Key's blog tour today and doubly honored to share Jon S. Lewis with all of you! So cool!!

Not too long ago, Shannon Whitney Messenger celebrated an entire week of Grey Griffins and reviewed The Brimstone Key. I was lucky enough to win an ARC of it that week AND some autographed posters drawn by Jon Lewis (now framed and hanging proudly on my son's wall!). Today, I get to host a giveaway too! But first... read this awesome guest post!!

THE STEAMPUNK BLOG TOUR

10 Things You Need To Know Before You Write With Someone Else

Author: Jon S. Lewis (the cutie on the right)

Writing with someone else isn’t for the faint of heart. Like any other relationship, it’s exciting in the beginning, but what happens when you have that first fight? Will the story come to a screeching halt? Will you friendship last?

Derek and I have been best friends for as long as we can remember. He bought me my first Star Wars action figure when we were six. And even after all that, there are still tough times when it comes to writing the Grey Griffins series together. Don’t get me wrong, it can be blast but it takes work.

Here are ten things you need to know before you write with someone else . . .

1) Work with someone who is strong where you are weak. Do you stink at dialogue? Find someone who writes dialogue effortlessly. Do you love to use adjectives and adverbs? Find someone who deletes 99% of them in the editing process. Do you struggle with action sequences but love tender moments? Work with someone who can choreograph a fight scene.

2) What you see is what you get. If you’re about to write a story with someone who likes to wax poetic, but you value minimalism you have two options: (1) Learn how to wax poetic; or (2) run away before it’s too late. Change doesn’t come easy, so don’t expect a writing partner to change his/her writing style just because you prefer something written a different way.

3) Put everything in writing. Whether you sell your manuscript to a publisher, self-publish the book, or sell the option for the movie rights, you need to have a partnership agreement. What percentage of the story does each of you own? What happens if one of you gets sick? Or run over by a bus? Or you don’t want to write any more. Who pays for the website? Are you going to form a business? The more you have in writing, the better.

4) Set the ground rules. Figure out your process before you start writing. Is one person in charge of the outline and the edits, and the other in charge of the first draft? Will one of you write the first half of the book and the other write the second half? Are there style rules? Will all speech modifiers be limited to the word “said?” How many modifiers will you allow per noun or verb. It may seem like ridiculous minutia now, but the more you cover, the less of a heartache you’ll get later on.

5) Don’t take things personally. This won’t come as a surprise, but none of us can write the perfect sentence every time. If your writing partner gives you some constructive criticism, don’t take it personally. If anything, learn to appreciate criticism. It could help you become a better writer.

6) Make detailed outlines. If you write with a partner, I highly recommend a detailed outline – particularly if you’re both going to be working on different parts of the manuscript at the same time. It’s important that you don’t contradict what the other person is writing.

7) Communicate. There is nothing wrong with changing an outline, but if you do, you should inform your writing partner because your edit may affect what he/she is doing as well.

8) Pick your battles. You aren’t going to get your way every time, so try not to elevate situations that aren’t critical. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t care about the story – passion is an important key to good storytelling. But this isn’t just your story – you brought in a writing partner and that means you only own half of it. Save your strongest arguments for elements of the story that can’t be compromised.

9) Take advantage of the situation. If you have a writing partner, writer’s block should be a thing of the past. The moment you get stuck, pick up a phone and call, text or even email your writing partner to help you dig yourself out of the hole. You don’t have to go it alone.

10) Have fun. You are writing a book. The very nature of the “job” is that it’s fun, so don’t forget to enjoy your time writing – as well as the time you get to spend with your writing partner. Being an author can be a lonely experience, so take advantage of the times when you get to be around other people!

For more from Jon, visit his awesome website !!
It's a wonderful resource for aspiring authors.

And now...the giveaway!
*sound of trumpets*

One lucky winner will receive:

a signed copy of The Brimstone Key

AND

some of Jon's awesome POSTERS!

To see how cool they are, go here.

To be entered to win:

• Be a follower of this blog
• Leave a comment (with email address) on this post by Sunday, Oct. 31st
  

For extra entries:

• Spread the word!
• 2 extra entries for each additional blurb (FB, Twitter, Goodreads, sidebar...you know the drill)

Good luck to everyone!