You may have read an earlier post where I talked about how to promote books on Squidoo. I’ve become fairly addicted to Squidoo over the past few weeks, and whilst I am yet to actually note any sales as a direct result of my marketing there, I am having fun. In addition, creating a lens about how to write a great vampire novel seemingly triggered a creative thought process in my brain, and now I started a new book!
With it being NaNoWriMo this month, and the fact that I haven’t really got off the starting block with the third Inside Evil
The inspiration occurred to me yesterday, and I decided to write some notes and shelve the idea for a while. After all, I’m in the middle of writing TWO book series. Plus, I’ve NEVER wanted to write about zombies. However, as I was working at a gardening client’s today, the novel just wouldn’t leave me alone. Ideas were coming thick and fast, and I’ve just ended up writing a 3,000 word first chapter for the book! I don’t have time to write a full length novel, not when I’ve got other series in motion, but a short 20k/30k novella might be OK. So, it’s decided, this NaNoWriMo I AM going to participate. I’m going to write my first ever short story. I’m going to take a leaf out of Hugh Howey’s book, and throw a short out there and see if it gains traction. If it does, I’ll write more. If it doesn’t, I’ll be happy that I completed NaNoWriMo for the first time and crafted my writing skills a little more.
I’m excited! I’m off to write!
Geoff Wakeling 
And I’ve never wanted to write a vampire novel, but a few ideas are ticking away in the back of my mind. I did quite a lot of research on vamps for my non-vampire first novel, and it seems I should be able to do something with it. Some day. After I get two more novels ready for publication. After a few Squidoo lenses (working on one very slowly during NaNo). After . . .
Oh, we all have so many ‘afters’! I really don’t know anything about zombies, and have never read any novels on the subject so I’m stabbing around in the dark here. But, you never know, maybe I’ll come up trumps.
Maybe not having read any zombie books is an advantage. Though having read a fair number of vampire books in the past (wore that genre out long ago) might be okay too. Examples of how *not* to do it if you’re trying for something original.
I think you’re right. Now please don’t berate me for this because I hate her writing and I’ve never read more than a paragraph of Twilight in my life, but many say that it’s Stephanie Meyers lack of vampire knowledge that enabled her to create something original (sparkling vamps, etc). I know some people HATE this, but many who were new to the genre loved it, and it stood her in good stead to place a new slant on an well written topic.
Why would I hate you? I’ve never read a word of the Twilight books and have no interest in them, but if Meyers was able to come up with an original idea (even if a stupid one), more power to her. For all the complaints about the sparkly vampires, there were apparently a lot more that loved them. It takes all kinds, I guess.