Pinar Tarhan, Author at Addicted to Writing

Writing a Romantic Drama (Novel) That Will Appeal to Both Sexes

Posted on November 28, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Sophie_Kinsella_Undomestic_Goddess — This is one of my favorite books, by one of my fav authors. But I doubt guys would read it. Image via media34.onsugar.com

Can it be done? I have nothing against chicklit. In fact, if it is written well, I am a huge fan. Hell, I am a romantic, and I am a chick- and a fun chicklit provides great escapism and some good laughs. But I highly doubt guys actually read any. Maybe some are dragged into the movie theaters if the book was adapted, but then the overwhelming pop soundtrack probably annoys the hell out of them, and minus the hilarity of the author, the comedy is easily lost on them. Well, I know that pop soundtrack definitely destroys the romance for me.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to be read by women. They will be the majority of my readers, and I am happy about this. I just don’t want the book totally ignored by guys just because the cover and tagline screams for women only.

OK, let’s get back to the novel. I’ve had this great idea for a romantic drama/comedy. Earlier, I had written about my indecision about the medium and why I’d decided to try writing it as a novel instead of a screenplay.

So, I collected some decent resources about how to write an engaging novel (and how to go about selling it.) And of course being the fan of romantic escapism, I dove into the novels of similar genres and started studying them.

Unfortunately, almost all of them had either been written in first person and in present tense or in third person limited from the girl’s point of view. And therein was my problem: I don’t have one protagonist. I have two. I don’t just want to get into the girl’s head- I also want to get into the guy’s.

And I have some pretty decent subplots which are also highly related to the main plot so I want to get into several heads. Don’t I have lots of books that were told in third person, unlimited? Sure, I do. Unfortunately they are all thrillers!

So what does a girl have to do to write a romantic novel that is not sappy? That isn’t all about the girl?

Yes, I want to be able to flesh out all my characters, and convey what they all actually think-as opposed to just the girl’s interpretation of what they think…I don’t want a pink cover. I love the color pink, it just doesn’t reflect the core.

So guess what I want? I want a novel that is as unisex as the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. I loved everything about that story, and as much as it had a bromance of a sort, it was just a sweet, hilarious and universal story. And I know how to write one into a screenplay. I don’t have point of view problems there.

The question is, how to write its novel? Well, I’m writing and rewriting scenes from my first draft, and eventually it will all look right. Of course then the actual nightmare of looking for a publisher will start. But hey, let’s worry about one thing at a time, shall we?

What gets in the way of your storytelling?

The Kovak Box’s Writer Character: Timothy Hutton

Posted on November 24, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

The Writer, His First Novel and The Worst Fan Ever

The Kovak Box starring Timothy Hutton, Lucía Jiménez & David Kelly. Image via movieposterdb.com

David Norton (played by Timothy Hutton) is an accomplished sci-fi writer with many bestselling books under his name. He travels with his girlfriend Jane to a writing conference in Majorca where is the headlining guest. Things are pretty good, so he even takes the chance to ask Jane to marry him. Jane says yes, and the only thing that seems weird is a fan who is obsessed with David’s first book, Gloomy Sunday.

Gloomy Sunday tells the story of people who have been implemented with a trigger in their necks: as soon as they hear the melody of the song Gloomy Sunday, they kill themselves. It triggers have been placed by the government, and it is the perfect elimination method as all deaths appear to be suicides. On the night of the conference, David’s non-depressed girlfriend jumps out of the balcony after she receives a phone call. The same thing happens to a woman named Silvia, who falls out of her balcony as soon as she hears the music of Gloomy Sunday.

Apparently, that obsessed fan is a former scientist named Frank Kovak (David Kelly) who actually did something quite similar back in his day: he experimented implementing triggers in humans. But of course his studies weren’t welcome by everyone, and he was no longer funded. Then David’s Gloomy Sunday came out, and he kept experimenting with humans- making the trigger Gloomy Sunday. Now, he wants David to write the story Frank has helped create- with only one difference. Of course this time, the deaths are genuine, and what the protagonist goes through is pure reality…

While The Kovak Box is an intriguing yet not impressive movie, the story is really interesting. I’ve always been drawn to movies centering around writer characters, hence the total category on this blog dedicated to them.

Obviously, writer and deranged fan has been written before by Stephen King. Misery, anyone? But as opposed to taking an injured writer hostage, the fan in The Kovak Box makes the writer write the story he wants, and his first victim is the writer’s girlfriend

While the director and writers didn’t make the most of the potential, The Kovak Box is still recommended to Timothy Hutton fans and writers. It might while brainstorming fiction ideas. I’d not say no to a remake, with making the story tighter, darker and a bit scarier. What do you think?

Disadvantages of Get Paid to Blog & Get Paid to Review Sites

Posted on November 13, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

get paid blogging — Image via blog.blogsetup.com

When I first heard the concept “paid-to-blog”, I felt like I had hit jackpot. What was there not to love? I loved blogging and writing about a variety of subjects. Hell, even some of the famous probloggers like Yaro Starak or John Chow had initiated some of their incomes through sites like Review Me.

– Not all of them accept free blog platforms like Blogger (Google’s Blogspot).

– The well-paying and most-sought after ones might be hard to get accepted into (in terms of traffic/etc).

– Not all of them are OK with URL extensions such as blogs. For instance, this blog’s URL is writing.pinartarhan.com, and it is OK. However my entertainment blog, http://pinartarhan.com/blog/, wasn’t accepted to some sites because of the “blog” extension at the end. Smorty was one.

– Most of the review jobs offer low pay, such as $1-5 for 100-200 words.

– Most of the advertisers require that it is a positive review- which wouldn’t have been entirely unacceptable if they hadn’t also required you to not mention it is a paid review. Why would you put your credibility on the line for anyone?

– Most of the advertisers/websites offered to you are irrelevant to your blog’s topic.

– Some of them only accept sites that get over a certain amount of traffic and/or have a certain PR (Google Page Rank). Even if the site doesn’t require that, a lot advertisers listed require a certain PR, even though they pay ridiculously low amounts.

– Some of the sites are country-specific, so you can’t write for them if you are out of their preferred/obligatory tax/geographical zone.

Aren’t there advantages? Sure there are:

– Almost all these sites come with their own affiliate programs, so you can recommend using them. Why do you think there are so many articles written about them? I suspect many bloggers using these sites make more money through being an affiliate rather than actual blog posts they wrote for the sites.

– Many pay via PayPal.

– It’s relatively easy to write 100 words and place a couple of links.

– If you are using one of the top sites, and your site is a strong one, you can get paid a decent amount/review.

– You can use your experience and recommendations when you are applying for website/blogging jobs.

What are some of these sites?

Reviewme

Smorty (However Smorty also enables you to publish banner ads.)

Payperpost.

Sponsored Reviews

Blogvertise.com

Where do I stand?

For me, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages, so I don’t get excited about these sites anymore. Sure, if a great site with lots of pros comes out, I might give it a try. But for now, I am staying away. What’s your take on these sites?

Please note that I used the site links to the review sites. They’re not affiliate links.

Why Finding the Perfect Freelance Writing Gig is like Finding The One

Posted on November 7, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

I Love My Job — Image via hamiltonwriting.com

I’m not the first writer to compare freelance writing to dating, and I probably won’t be the last. Because when we dream, we don’t like limiting ourselves and it is OK.

In an ideal world, there is this one perfect person for everybody, a soul mate. In my case, it is this perfect guy who will make me happy.

And in an ideal world, there is a perfect writing gig – a writing gig that satisfies you both emotionally and financially. Let’s see why the search for something perfect and search for someone perfect are alike, and the possibilities don’t seem very encouraging.

Here’s what my perfect guy would be like (not in the order of importance)
– Fun-loving, easy-going, exciting AND reliable.
– Able to get along with my friends, and his friends like me too
– Loyal
– Able to communicate easily
– Not possessive at all (non-intrusive, not someone who calls 10 times a day)
– Believes in me.
– Is infatuated with me no matter how long we have been together
– And doesn’t go through a major personality change as years go by.
– Able to support himself financially
– We have things in common
– There is space, and mutual trust.
– We have mutual friends, and we have separate friends groups. (I have a life outside of him)

Am I asking for too much? Am I asking for the impossible? Maybe. But hey, we are talking about ideal and perfect, so this is not the blog post to compromise, or settle.

As for the perfect writing gig: (not in the order of importance)
– Pays well, pay on time and pays via Paypal (reliable)
– It is on a topic that I genuinely love (exciting)
– It is ongoing. (Loyalty)
– The editor is fine with my style, work and personality. (easy- going)
– I feel the same way about the editor ((mutual feelings)
– I am not required to dedicate my life to this job alone. Hey, there is more than one topic I love writing about! I also don’t want to write about the same thing every day. And I definitely don’t want to be required to write about the same subject several times a day. I want a job outside work. (space)
– It doesn’t require me to research for hours all the time. As much as I love learning about stuff that intrigue me, I have my limits. (space, fun)
– The job isn’t dependent on my location or religion. I am very serious about the “free” in freelance. (I have a life outside this gig)
– It can be done from anywhere, and I am not required to go to an office. Skype conference calls are OK. Being dependent on a physical location…not so much. (non-intrusive)
– Refers me to other editors and publications as well. (believes in me)
– Lets me know in advance if things are about to go wrong, expectations or conditions change. (trust, communication).
*
Did I leave anything out? Oh well, from what I can see, both challenges seem equally daunting and difficult. And hilariously similar…

And I haven’t found either. But it doesn’t mean I will stop looking, even if we don’t live in an ideal world. Because I don’t like to settle.
I know that we all occasionally take jobs we are not 100% happy with, or date people we don’t see a future with. And it is OK. We need the fun, experience and the mistakes. But we can’t dedicate our lives to jobs or people that are not right for us, that take more than they give.
Where are you on finding the perfect gig? Or the perfect partner?
And which do you think is a more difficult process?