Don't Tell...

If you're a writer, you've probably heard it near a million times. The most common writing advice you'll ever receive: "Show, Don't Tell." There's a reason this is the advice you will most hear: It's True! Showing and not telling is what separates the great writers, from the okay writers.

Readers want to feel what the character is experiencing. This means that the character needs to come to life... the best way to do this? You guessed it! "Show, don't tell." If you tell something, it gets boring. But if you show something... show how the character is feeling through their actions, through their words, through situations, and interactions with other characters. If your characters come to life, your readers will find themselves attached, and then they will laugh when your character laughs, cry when your character cries, smiles when your character smiles, and get frustrated when your character is frustrated.

Good writing, is making a connection between your reader and your character. Another good way to do this, is to give your character little characteristics that your reader can relate to. The best way to do this: body language. The way your character "shrugs his shoulders," or "stuffs his hands in his pockets," or "shifts between his feet" all in awkward situations can really make the reader relate. You want the reader to think "Oh, I've been there before." So, try and put your character in many realistic situations and feel many common things. Everybody feels awkward at times, everybody feels confident at times, everybody feels out of place at times, or insecure, or like they don't exactly fit in.

If you can get your reader and character to connect, you have put your foot in the writing door. You have taken the first step in becoming a well known writer... you have started along a very promising path. The way you do this: Show, Don't Tell.

This can be very hard to do... especially because when we talk to another person about an event, we just tell them, we don't go into what his face looked like, or how he reacted to certain words, or what exactly we were thinking at time. Mostly it goes like this "Well I was like, 'blah blah blah.' and then he was like 'uh!' and then I totally just walked. I'm so done with this!" This is not good writing... so you really have to separate yourself from real-life communications and think "How can I make the reader feel like they are here, watching, experiencing this situation." Describe the little things, and add the tiny characteristics that bring characters to life.

Most importantly, keep writing; practice makes perfect and you become a better writer with every word.

As always, thanks for reading,
Kya Aliana

For more information on me, my writing, and to read free short stories, please visit my official website: KyaAliana.Weebly.Com

Women Writers Using Male Pen Names

In the literary world, there are many women authors who don't use their full name. Instead, they use names that give the illusion they are a man.
J.K. Rowling (Joanne Rowling) is one of the most popular examples.
Nora Roberts was already a best selling author when she decided to write mystery novels under "J.D. Robb"
M.W. Benson (Mildred Wirt Benson) wrote many of The Nancy Drew books.

These are just a few of the more modern ones... there are several more in the present and in the past.

I'm here asking, why is this? Why do women feel they need to write under a male name? Or is it in fact more the publishers? Or is it the simple fact that boys even in today's society won't buy a book written by a woman?

If it is indeed the publishers, then they must think it will sell better. Which means, they think that people are more likely to read books written by men. I'm not entirely sure where they got this thinking... After all, this isn't the 1800s anymore.

It seems as though, using the Harry Potter Series as an example, that many realized while reading this that women can write just as exciting and riveting stories as men. So, it doesn't seem to me that an ordinary person would pick up a book, read the back cover and say "Wow, this looks awesome... but it's written by a girl. Oh, well, I can't read this now." It just doesn't seem like a logical conclusion.

If it's not either of those, then that leaves us with the women themselves. In this case, why would a women feel she must go under a man's name? Is it the fact that she feels she won't be respected as an author in the same way? Is it the fact that she's worried about sales? Does she think that because she's a girl, people will automatically categorize her books as girly? Do we have a societal women's self esteem issue? Not only this, but in our society, are we still so male-dominated that men are afraid of equality in the workplace and publishinghouse? Even if many males are okay with it, how many aren't? How many are subconsciously afraid of it? And therefore, how many women feel subconsciously oppressed?

There is no answer, as many of these women probably have different answers, and nobody knows what the most common one is. It's been proven that men and women can write all different genres and it's not limited to one gender or another.

My books, Sly Darkness and Impending Doom, have been called many things, but none of them are "girly" or "lovey-dovey" or "ridiculously nonsensical." I believe my books are enjoyed by both genders who love books that are called "Suspenseful" "Riveting" "Crazy" "Cleverly Surprising" "Creepy" and "Mind-Blowing"

I chose not to write under a male pen name, because I really didn't see the use of it or what it would do for me. I am me. I am Kya Aliana. People will either buy my books, or they won't. People will either like my books, or they won't. It's a preference, and that's okay with me. But I am proud of what I write, and I am proud to link it with my name, and I will stand tall and hopefully one day, my dream of being a famous, well-known-for-her-great-books author will come true.

As always, thanks for reading,
Kya Aliana

For more information on me, my books, and to read free short stories, please visit my official website: KyaAliana.Weebly.Com

Avoiding Cliches

Nearly every writer, professor, teacher, and book on writing says “Avoid cliches.” It’s almost as popular as “Write What You Know.”… but we’ll get to that cliche in a later post.

I, as a writer who likes to work with suspense, twists and turns, and sudden plot changes, don’t see why one should avoid cliches. After all, they’re cliche for a reason.

Last night, I was thinking… who was the first person to come up with a cliche, and then how did that cliche become a cliche? All I can think of, was the person who came up with a cliche was such a good writer that he/she described it perfectly. Then the person who read it thought “Wow, I can completely relate to that. I must remember it and use in it my work.” And so on and so on.

Cliches are cliches for a reason – because they’re true. Because people can relate to them. Because they’re easily explaining something that is otherwise hard to explain.
Using cliches in your writing is, at least in my humble opinion, just fine. The trick is to bend the cliche, going just outside and adding a certain twist that readers don’t see coming… why do they not see it coming? Because it is a cliche…

Cliches allow readers to easily relate to what you’re writing about… it’s also already a cliche, so it gives a comforting, familiar feeling. So, when you then bend the cliche it shocks the reader even more so than if you had avoided the cliche all together. It’s actually quite a brilliant concept, because readers don’t want to read a book with a bunch of cliches – but they do want to read a good, not confusing book, that they can easily relate to.

It’s often times hard to cater to certain reader’s tastes because everybody likes something a little different (hence why we have so many different books, stories, genres, etc.) but everybody loves a bent cliche of one sort or another.

So, perhaps in the spirit of contradictions… “Avoiding the cliche” is a cliche that we should avoid.

Thanks for your interest,
Kya
For more information on me, my writing, and to read free short stories, please visit my official website: KyaAliana.Weebly.Com

Interview

Hi World!
I'm happy to announce that one of my very favorite authors, Kelsey Day Marlett, contacted me and wanted an interview with me. So, I happily obliged and felt very honored.

She's now posted the interview on her website! You can read it HERE

Check out her book - it's super amazing!

Thanks for your interest,
Kya Aliana

For more information on me, my writing, and to read free short stories, please visit my official website: KyaAliana.Weebly.Com

Hi Everyone,
I'm really happy to be posting about this... it just makes me so happy that this even exists. What I am posting in this blog, is a fan-made trailer for my latest novel, Sly Darkness!

I'm just so happy that there are people out there who enjoyed my book so much, that they spent the time to make a - magnificent - trailer for my book! I think this is insanely well made, as well as intriguing!

So here's the trailer and I really hope you enjoy it!

Sly Darkness is available in paperback form on Amazon.com, and in e-book format on Kindle.

Thanks for your interest!

-- Kya Aliana

For more information on me, my writing, and to read free short stories, please visit my official website: KyaAliana.Weebly.Com

Adrenaline: Part 7 - read free online now!

I happy to announce that Adrenaline: Part Seven is now available to read on my official website under the "Free Stories" tab - click here

In the exciting seventh installment of Adrenaline - we go back to the beginning. It's the present day and Mel is meeting Bentley in the graveyard. What crazy turn of events will aspire when Elijah follows her in secret? How will this change Mel's fate... and quite possibly the entire path of the story?

The ending will leave you craving more!

Be daring... delve deeply into my ongoing online story Adrenaline as I prepare to wrap it up!

Thanks for your interest,
Kya Aliana

For more about me, my writing, and to read this exciting online story for free, please visit my official website: KyaAliana.Weebly.Com

On Banning Books

Let's get right to the point, shall we?
Do I think some books should be banned? No.
Do I think some books contain mature content that some children shouldn't read at certain ages? Yes.
Does this include my books? Very much so.

In just the past few years, so many books have come out targeted for young audiences that contain rather intense content. I in no way think these books should be banned or kept from libraries, schools, or the children who want to read them.

In my opinion, if a book contains something you personally don't like, then don't read it. But what exactly is the point of persecuting that and trying to make it unavailable for other people who might enjoy such things.

If any of you have read my books, surely you recognize they are for a mature audience. If it were a movie, it would probably be rated at least PG-13. That is to say, I feel my books are suitable for a teenage audience. But, it all depends on the type of books they like to read.

I'm in full support of parents reading the book before or with their child. And this doesn't just go for my books, I feel a lot of books are questionable for the age group they are being targeted toward as many family's are different in what they expose their children to.

There are many controversial books out these days: The Hunger Games, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Twilight, of course, The Harry Potter Series, and the most recent, I believe to be 50 Shades of Grey.

But, it's important to remember that there have always been controversial books out there. Take Forever by Judy Blume for instance. Forever deals with teenagers and sex. It's a lot more graphic than a lot of the books that people are having issues with today, and Forever came out in the '70s!

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is one of my favorite books ever, and it's been challenged a lot in the past. Thankfully, now it's finally on a lot of school-reading lists. There is so much good in this book - so much to be learned. But that didn't stop it from being challenged and banned in some places before.

We must remember that we have the freedom of speech, and the freedom of press. We, as authors, are allowed to write whatever we want to... whether it's fiction or non-fiction, fantasy, horror, suspense, mysteries, books on horses, anything! And, we deserve the right not to be censored or banned. While we have the freedom of press, other people have the freedom of choice. If they don't want to read about what we write, or they don't agree with it, then they don't have to read it. It's as simple as that.

While books like these should not be banned, I feel - regarding parents - it is important to know what your child is reading. While it's not unusual for a parent to say no to their child asking to watch an inappropriate movie, I feel it should be just as appropriate to say no to a certain book, as long as the parent knows what they're saying no to.

But, as far as adults and reading... free people read freely. So be free, read what you want, and enjoy the fact that you don't have to read whatever subject you don't want to read. Enjoy what's out there and appeals to you, and be happy that somebody didn't ban it so you could read it. Because, if you look hard enough, one can find a reason to ban every book that has ever been written.

For some shocking information on which books have been banned/challenged - just Google it! You'll find titles that will blow your mind!

Thank you for your interest!

Kya Aliana

For more information on me, my writing, and to read free short stories, please visit my official website: KyaAliana.Weebly.Com