Q&A: Get out of Stuckland

Our question comes from Anna, an aspiring writer who wants to know what in the bojangles you're supposed to do when you get stuck. She can't seem to quite finish a novel, and also has a hard time picking between a plethora of ideas.

Anna, I feel your pain. All writers go through this.

First, let me say this - if your biggest problem is having too MANY ideas, then get down on your knees and thank the good Lord above for this problem. By far, the most important aspect of being a writer is storytelling. Coming up with ideas for those stories goes hand in hand with that. You'd be surprised how many people look in the old thinker and find nothing but slimy goo.

But you do need to focus and hunker down - pick one and go with it for awhile. If you just can't decide, then pick one randomly. You can't let that be an excuse to stop writing! You must, must, must be writing, and writing often.

Now, if your problem is thinking of ideas, I don't know how to help you. Honestly, I don't. Ask any children's author - the number one question we get from kids is: "Where do you get your ideas?" I've never been able to answer it, unfortunately. I just don't know! I mean, I guess they come from watching movies, reading books, thinking, daydreaming, etc. But I've got enough ideas in my head to write 100 books, so I'm either psychotic or very imaginative. Probably both.

Maybe it's writer's block that's killing you. That's a toughie. For me, and I promise I'm just being honest here, I don't suffer from this. Ever. I think that's because if I get stuck, I just write a different scene or start writing dreck until the muse flows again. I realize I'm not helping much.

Now for some practical advice. YOU HAVE TO FINISH ONE NOVEL. I mean it, from beginning to end. Repeat: Beginning, Middle, End, and all the little bits in between. I don't care how bad it is, I don't care how boring it is, I don't care if it makes Goosebumps look like Shakespeare (don't take that the wrong way - I love me some Goosebumps). But write and write until you can type "The End" and be done.

I Dashner Dude Guarantee you that once you accomplish this, it will become much easier to finish another one. And then another. I don't really know why, but it's true. It has something to do with confidence and practice and vision and all that. But it's true.

Also, and this is just me, but I WILL NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO EDIT while I write the first draft. Not at all. I go from beginning to end without stopping, without looking back. This has helped me so much. Creativity and storytelling is all that matters that first go around. Fix all the jive later.

Make yourself a goal. I do this every time I write a first draft. For example: I wanted to write the first go at Book 2 of The 13th Reality in 3 months. That equaled about 1,000 words a day. I met my goal and felt pretty gosh darn golly good about myself. Stephen King does 2,000 words a day when he's hot and heavy in writing mode.

Well, I'm not sure I've answered your question very well. But I tried. Any follow-ups are welcome. Also, please let us know in the comments if you have any advice for Anna.

Now, I'm off to San Antonio. Come see me at Barnes and Noble on Friday night!

Also, I have an announcement regarding agents to make very soon. I'm only waiting because I need to talk to a certain person before I go blabbing about it.

Riverwalk, here I come!

Lyrics of the Day:

Born on third, thinks he got a triple.

- Pearl Jam

Know anyone like that?

How ya'll doin'?

Okay, lots to catch up on, so I'll go with another list. We'll just have to see if I make it to 10 or not.

1. Anna, Faithful Commenter, your Q&A is coming soon! I hereby declare to you and the world that this week will not expire before your question is answered, and answered thoroughly. For those of you interested, it will be about the difficulty of finishing a novel, and getting unstuck from Stuckland.

2. THANK YOU SPOKANE AND DEER PARK! I just want all the teachers, students, bookstore folks, and everyone else up there to know I had a wonderful time, and thank you for treating me so well. The signing at Borders matched any I've had so far, and my visits to the schools were so much fun. Tick's parents chose wisely in settling there. I'll be back!

3. I had an epiphany. The house they always show for The Brady Bunch doesn't match the inside - unless they're utilizing some freaky portal to another Reality. I noticed this because a billboard in Spokane had a picture of it, and my kids watch that show all the time (which I just don't get, by the way). Check it out. The upstairs is CLEARLY to the right of the front door when you see the inside. But the house from the outside shows the upstairs to the left. You're welcome for alerting you to this very important matter.

4. THANK YOU OREM! Wow, Authorpalooza III couldn't have gone any better. This was thanks in much part to the presence of Mr. Brandon Mull, but yours truly sold quite a few books as well. I was sandwiched between two Brandons at the table (Sanderson and Mull), which made me realize just what a lucky schmoe I am.

5. If you missed it, you basically are being given another chance. Almost everyone who was at the Orem event will be participating in the Provo Children's Book Festival this Saturday (May 17th) at the Provo City Library. In fact, added bonus: SHANNON HALE will be there! Yeah, that's right.

Yours truly is doing a reading (noon) with Brandon Mull and Brandon Sanderson, a panel (1:00) with those two and Mette Harrison, and a signing (3:00) with the Brandons and several others. It'll be a party. For more info and the complete schedule, CLICK HERE.

6. HELLO SAN ANTONIO! I'll be flying to your city on Wednesday night (my first time) and visiting quite a few of your schools on Thursday and Friday. If you live in the area, please come see me at the Booksigning: Friday the 16th, 6:30 pm, Barnes and Noble (6065 N.W. Loop 410, Ste. #185).

I've been told I must do the "Riverwalk" though I don't know what that means. I also, of course, have to see the Alamo. Just not sure when exactly I'm going to do that! Maybe Thursday evening.

7. Why are people so mean? If someone cuts you off, chances are highly likely that the person in the other car is not the stupidest, most idiotic person who has ever lived, and that you've done the same thing on accident before. Be happy, you'll live longer.

8. I saw IRONMAN a while ago. It's very good. I forgot to stay until the credits were over. I'm very angry with myself. I will go see it again. I wanted more of Ironman destroying things, but it was still very good. It's very sad, but Ironman makes Superman look like a pansy. This paragraph is choppy on purpose.

9. Mother's Day was a great day. I made breakfast, and I'll pass on telling you about The Very Bad Bacon Incident. Several of us menfolk then made dinner for the wives, and I'd just like to say that I never realized a chicken had so many nasty bits. I'm very thankful my wife LOVES to cook. In fact, I gave her and her mom tickets to a cooking class at the Les Madeleines restaurant as their present.

Which begs this question: Since my wife loves to cook, and it's her hobby, why do I cook for her on Mother's Day? It's like having her watch basketball or write a story for me on Father's Day. Feel free to discuss.

10. Do you realize that Indiana Jones will be back on the big screen in TEN DAYS? I haven't felt this giddy and childlike since I was a giddy child. Say the word "giddy" ten times in a row. That's one weird word.

Well, we made it to Ten. As you can tell, I almost lost it there at the end. My apologies to Macotar for continuing to steal his Top Ten thunder.

Lyrics of the Day:

When you're standing at the crossroads

And don't know which path to choose

Let me come along

'cause even if you're wrong

I'll stand by you

- The Pretenders

Tick's Birthplace

I've had quite the treat the last couple of days. After almost two years of having Atticus Higginbottom live inside my head and tell me about his very bizarre life, I was finally able to walk the streets of the town in which he was born and raised: Deer Park, Washington. A big thanks to my Aunt Kendra and Uncle Wesley for taking me out on the town.

Though I didn't replicate the town exactly in my book (it's really an odd melding of eastern Washington and my hometown of Duluth, GA), I was amazed at how much it matched what I pictured in my head. It was especially cool to drive down streets where I could imagine Mothball coming out of the woods, or imagine Tick walking to school; I also loved visiting one of the town cemeteries. My only regret is that I didn't visit Washington before I wrote the first book.

The Spokane area is a beautiful place! Trees, farms, hills and mountains. I visited the Cathedral of St. John's today, too. Holy amazing (pardon the pun). It only intensified my deep desire to visit Europe someday.

I've had fun taking the Change the World Tour to the schools here as well. If you live in the area, please come see me at Border's Bookstore on Friday night at 6:00!

Reminder for those of you in Utah. You gotta come to the Orem Barnes and Noble this Saturday (May 10th) at 2:00 for Authorpalooza III. We'll have 16 nationally published authors there for you to meet and greet, including BRANDON MULL, SARA ZARR, JESSICA DAY GEORGE, BRANDON SANDERSON, RICK WALTON, and more. Oh, and me, too.

Hmmm. I feel like I'm forgetting something. I promise Q&A soon.

Hope to see some of you in the next couple of days, be it here in Spokane tomorrow or in Orem Saturday.

Lyrics of the Day:

In the darkest depths of Mordor,
I met a girl so fair.
But then the evil Gollum
Crept up and slipped away with her.
- Led Zeppelin

No wonder I love them so much!

Ode to the Atlanta Hawks

They must feel sad, those Atlanta Hawks,

As they take off their shorts and their sweaty socks.

Until this morning you floated in Heaven,

Having pushed the Celts to a hard Game Seven.

But alas, today you ran out of gas,

Forgot how to shoot, to steal, and to pass.

But that's okay, you still shocked the world,

Took their predictions and gave it a twirl.

After Game Two, you looked to be dead,

The Big Three'd smacked you right in the head.

You came back, won Games Three and Four,

Kicked them Clovers right out the door.

Game Five, that was ugly, no doubt about that,

But you won Game Six, looked happy and fat.

Then came today, which I'd soon just forget,

That stupid ball wouldn't go through the net.

But don't get down, don't do it I say!

No one thought you'd be here today.

They all said you'd lose in four games or five,

You didn't, you played, you stayed quite alive.

So be proud, boys, keep those heads up.

Go home and rest and drink and sup.

Cuz next year's a-comin' and it's comin' soon,

You'll still be playing when the clock hits June.

I've been a fan since my very first Day,

So thanks, that's all I wanted to say.

Well, they almost shocked the world. It would've been the biggest upset in NBA history (the Celtics won 29 more games than the Hawks this year). Next year, baby!!!!!!!

And yes, I DID turn in my manuscript to my editor on Friday. Another deadline met on time. Yabba dabba.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Lyrics of the Day:

Another one bites the dust.

- Queen

Top Ten Reasons I Became an Author

First: Those stupid Celtics. Why do they have to make so many shots?! It's ridiculous and unfair. I mean, who could root for a team that looks like THAT? (to your left) I'm not listening to Enya for a full month in protest.

Second: It's been awhile since I've done Q&A. If you have a question you'd like me to answer in the next few weeks, please post it in the comments.

Now, for your pleasure, I'm going to post a Top Ten List I presented at a writer's conference 3 years ago. This was back in the days when I only had my little books with my little publisher, and was struggling big time to make a name of myself. You can feel that angst in this list.

(I'd like to thank David Letterman for making Top Ten lists so popular. And for doing the velcro suit.)

Okay, here ya go. A lot of these will only be appreciated by aspiring writers and brand new authors.

Top Ten Reasons I Became an Author

10. I love receiving letters from people that start out “Dear Author” and have the words “unfortunately” and “regret” in them.

9. So I could experience that special moment when you finally quit thinking that authors are weird and psychotic and begin thinking that NON-authors are weird and psychotic.

8. The humility that comes from having lunch with a world famous author and hearing him give his five pet peeves about writing—and realizing you did every one of them in your book.

7. The heart-swelling pride that comes from seeing your book listed on Ebay with the minimum bid set at fifty cents—and no bids.

6. That good feeling you get when you sit behind a rickety old table in the back of a bookstore, pen in hand, and watch person after person avoid eye contact with you like you’re the freaking Elephant Man.

5. So that after running from the computer in excitement to tell my wife that I finally figured out how to pull off a difficult scene, I can hear her say, “That’s nice, honey—will you change Dallin’s poopy diaper?”

4. The joy of figuring out things like this: For every single book I’ve sold, Harry Potter has sold 15,000. (Ha! No longer true!!!)

3. That tingle you get when a sexy woman with lusty eyes approaches you at a book signing and asks, “Where is your bathroom?”

2. The thrill of looking on Amazon to see that your book has climbed from 145,678th to 123,743rd on their bestseller list.

And the Number One reason I became an author:

Two words: The chicks.

Hardy har har. Give me some questions and I'll do some Q&A in May. Hey, that rhymes!

Lyrics of the Day:

I get up, and nothing gets me down.

You got it tough. I've seen the toughest around.

And I know, baby, just how you feel.

You've got to roll with the punches to get to what's real.

Might as well jump.

- Van Halen

Catching Up - Ten Things

Whoa, sorry I've been so quiet lately. It's been almost a week since I last posted. Unforgivable! Shameful! Disgusting! Okay, enough of that. Let me get you caught up. I've been very busy.

1. I have a deadline. Those are really good things to have if you're a writer, and I have to turn in Book 2 of The 13th Reality (The Hunt for Dark Infinity) to my wonderful and awesome editor, Lisa Mangum, this Friday, May 2nd. So I've been working on rewrites like crazy, and still have a lot to do. But I like how it's all coming together.

2. I have to shout out to Draper Elementary. I was fortunate to be a part of their Literacy Day last week, and it was fantastic. Anne Bowen was also there, and the event couldn't have gone any better. The principal, the teachers, the students - they were all incredible. The classes had done all these cool things like creating their own riddles and potential creatures from the other realities.

It was AWESOME! Draper Dragons - you guys rock! A special thanks to Debbie Snow and Tamra Baker.

3. I went to the Fablehaven 3 launch party last Friday night. Holy cow. If you missed it, you MISSED it. I've never seen anything like that. Over 2,000 people showed up, and the whole thing felt like one big rock concert. I just about lost the old eardrums when Brandon Mull walked out and the place went ballistic. Brandon, you are officially a rock star. Congrats.

4. The Hawks beat the Celtics both times at home, tying the series 2-2. It's been a LONG time since I've had fun watching my Hawks, so I'm loving every minute of it.

5. Congrats again to the winners of the 13th Reality give-away. The books and t-shirt are in the mail!

6. I'm so lucky to be an author, and to live in Utah, where for some odd reason tons of authors live. In the last few days, I've hung out with Shannon Hale, Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, Sara Zarr, Jessica Day George, Anne Bowen, Emily Wing Smith, yada yada yada. And none of it was really planned, either. You should come live here.

7. I will be in Spokane, Washington next week!!!! If you live close, come see me at the booksigning. Friday night, May 9th, Borders, 6:00, 9980 N Newport Hwy. I'll be in San Antonio the week after that. Details in another post soon.

8. If you ARE lucky enough to live in Utah, please put these two events on your calendar:

May 10, Orem Barnes and Noble

2:00

Authorpalooza III

Me, Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, Jessica Day George, Sara Zarr, Anne Bowen, and many, many others. It's gonna be nuts - come and join the party.

May 17, Provo Book Festival

For details, CLICK HERE

I'm doing a reading at noon and I'm on a panel at 1:00 with Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, and Mette Ivie Harrison.

9. I'm finally reading The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Being a big fan of his, I'm not sure why I've waited so long. So far, so very good. And here's an important note for aspiring writers: notice I'm reading even though I have a huge deadline this Friday. All authors must be reading, a lot, all the time. I learned this from SK himself, actually.

10. A lot of people ask me this, so here's the answer: still no word on The Maze Runner. A publisher has it, the editor loves it, just been waiting to hear back for a very long time. I think I may actually send it out to some other publishers if I don't hear back soon, and try to take advantage of the buzz over The 13th Reality. But I promise, somehow someway, that book WILL BE PUBLISHED!!!!!

Wow, long post. Hope all is well in the world with you guys.

Lyrics of the Day:

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

- Green Day

Ever feel like that? Hang in there, you are loved.

James

Fablehaven 3 by Brandon Mull

As promised, I wanted to blog a little about the new book, Fablehaven 3: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull. It was just released this week, and I'm sure many of you have heard of this series and read the first 2 books. If not, check them out! I promise you and your kids (if you have some) will love it.

Mostly I wanted to make sure you knew about the huge launch party this Friday, April 25th. It will be held at Cottonwood High School in Utah (5715 S 1300 E in Salt Lake), and it's gonna be incredible. I'll be there, so if any Dashner Dude readers come to the party, seek me out and say howdy. I'll be the slightly goofy lookin' dude salivating over Brandon's success.

There's gonna be a comedy group, characters from the books (including Muriel the witch), books for sale, giveaways, all kinds of fun stuff. And, of course, Brandon will be there. The comedy show starts at 6:00, the main show at 6:30.

To find out more, visit Brandon's website: CLICK HERE.

To buy the new book, CLICK HERE.

To buy The 13th Reality, CLICK HERE. (oops, how did that sneak in there?)

Lyrics of the Day:

And oh, my dreams,

It's never quite as it seems,

'Cause you're a dream to me,

Dream to me.

- The Cranberries

Winners!!!

Okay, based on a totally random drawing (I promise!), here are the winners of the first ever 13th Reality Giveaway on the Dashner Dude:

Winners of signed copies of The 13th Reality, Book 1:
Anna
A paperback writer
Mandi

Winner of a 13th Reality T-shirt:
Aaron Brower (yay!)


The 4 of you need to email me your address so I can ship your prize to you. Also, let me know to whom you want me to personalize the book. My email info is listed on the side of this blog. Or you can post it in the comments here if that's easier.

By the way, Fablehaven 3 came out today! I'm proud to say I'm now buds with the author, Brandon Mull. If you haven't discovered Fablehaven yet, get right on it. Check it out: CLICK HERE. I'll blog more about it this week.

Lyrics of the day:

Little secrets
Tremors turn to quake
The smallest oceans still get
Big, big waves

- Pearl Jam

Book Expo America

I wanted to make sure I announced that I will be at BEA this year in L.A. My signing is on Friday (May 30), but I will be at the convention the entire weekend. Dean Koontz will be there!!! I can't wait to meet him.

Anyway, if any fellow authors, publishers, bookstore folks, etc. who read this blog are going to be there, send me an email. I'd love to hang and eat food.

Don't forget the 13th Reality giveaway: you have until the end of tomorrow. CLICK HERE.

Also, a good friend and frequent visitor at the Dashner Dude (Luisa Perkins) is blogging about grammar nazi stuff on Fridays. Check it out: CLICK HERE.

Lyrics of the day:

Crazy, but that's how it goes,
Millions of people living as foes.
Maybe, yeah, yeah, it's not too late,
To learn how to love and forget how to hate.

- Ozzy

Chicago Sun-Times Review!

We're very excited about getting reviewed by one of the largest papers in the country. Better yet, it's a very glowing review, making my day, my week, and my month. Maybe one day I'll get used to stuff like this, but I highly doubt it.

Here are my favorite excerpts:

"Something lovely has happened to youth fiction. James Dashner has written the first of a series of books about a 13-year-old lad named Atticus Higginbottom in The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters."

"Dashner also has a sweet sense of humor that imbues the book with a lightness to its suspense that complements his storytelling. Needs must address the seven-volume gorilla in the room, and mention that in a post-Harry Potter world, weak attempts to capture the Rowling Zeitgeist abound. Few copycats offer anything but their pale imitations. The 13th Reality is not of this company."

"The 13th Reality successfully delivers time well spent. The first volume of this series has been finely executed, and his invented realities have an entertaining moral construction for which the reader can easily assent. It is left to the next installment to divine if Atticus and friends have a shot at true literary height. No pressure."

For the full review, CLICK HERE.

Also, and I don't mean to belittle these guys at all as an afterthought, because they are one of the most visited fantasy websites in the country, I got a review from Fantasybookspot.com. I really love how this review is written and how much they "got" what I was trying to do. Check it out: CLICK HERE.

Sorry to pat myself on the back so much. It's just thrilling to get positive reviews from major reviewers, ya know? Authors are sad, pathetic people, and they need validation every once in awhile. This should last me through the end of the week. Or at least today.

DON'T FORGET THE 13TH REALITY GIVE AWAY!!!!! You have until April 19th, and all you have to do is leave a comment to qualify. CLICK HERE.

Lyrics of the day:

Okay, hopefully you got my joke last time. I'm sure Miley Cyrus has some great lyrics, but those cracked me up, listed exactly that way on the Internet. Back to stuff I've actually heard on my own:

You see everything, you see every part

You see all my light and you love my dark

You dig everything of which I'm ashamed

There's not anything to which you can't relate

And you're still here

- Alanis Morissette