Lola Offline
Hello,
and welcome to my stop on the 'Lola Offline' blog tour!
'Delilah
Hoover has gone dark. She's quit social media, moved to Paris and
changed her name to Lola Maxwell. Because she has made a mistake –
one she can't take back. It was all over Twitter, and it's still the
first thing that comes up when you Google her...'
This
hot new YA tells the story of a teen girl who went viral – and not
in a good way. Delilah – oops, I mean Lola – starts her
new life in Paris and it's all going smoothly, with the usual amount
of awkward moments, alcohol mishaps and crushes a teen experiences.
She even gets a perfect kiss...But how long can she keep it up? What
if her viral past catches up with her?
Nicola Doherty has been praised already for her writing, and the authentic
teenage voice she portrays. And readers, we are lucky to have some
writing tips from her right here, right now! Read on...
Top
tips to help you write your novel
1.
Lower your standards. Like, lower them right down. This is honestly
the most important piece of advice I can give. The main reason most
people get discouraged with their writing is because their standards
are unrealistic; they’re comparing their first attempts to the
finished drafts of established authors. Here’s the secret: your
first draft meant to be bad. The first draft of my first book was a
hot mess. It was full of plot holes, unconvincing characters and
clichés. The main thing is to finish it. That’s a big achievement
in itself – and then you can raise your standards for the rewrite!
2.
Write like you’re anonymous. If you are constantly worrying about
being exposed by your work, it will really cramp your style. So don’t
hold back – be real, but think up a clever pseudonym just in case.
3.
On the other hand: pay attention to likeability. Think about your MC
(main character) in particular and how they treat other people.
Readers notice this and it’s one of their top reasons for disliking
books. That’s not to say that you have to write completely ‘good’
main characters but it’s a lot harder to write a sympathetic
anti-hero.
4.
Write a blurb for your story – like the ones you find on the back
of books. This will help you identify the stakes. What do your
characters have to lose? What do they hope to gain? If you had to
describe the story in one line, what would that be? In other words:
what is the point of your story? Doing this really helps you focus on
what you need to show rather than going off on tangents.
5.
Remember it’s often more effective to show characters concealing
emotion than displaying it. This gives us, as the reader, the inside
track, and we love that.
*
'Lola Offline' hits the shelves in shops on August10th.
Get
yourself some Lola online at:
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