Tuesday, September 6, 2011

"Evil"

   I have a creative consultant and she is well named.  We call her Evil.  This picture below describes her perfectly.  She is the light that helps me.  (CHEEEESY!  And yet, true)  I asked her too write a little something about what its like being A creative consultant we call Evil.  This is what she had to say.  


ME and Evil


   So I am the one referred to as "Evil".  I am the sounding board; the creative consultant. The beta reader. I am afforded the privilege of reading all of the delicious details first.  I get to hear how things may turn out and I get to enjoy the ride that goes along with reading a book that is in the process of being written.
   This author is fantastic. In person she is fun and sun shiny. Yes, that is a legitimate adjective- at least in my world. As a writer, she takes all of that personality and mixes it with creativity to produce stories worth reading. I enjoy reading, and frankly there are a lot of books out there that are just NOT worth while. Unsatisfying endings, overuse of favored words, and wording that doesn't even begin to make sense ("not unkindly" anyone?) Hers do not fall into this category by any means. She has the talent of adding just the right amount of sarcasm and dry humor to a tough situation to make it relatable. Her characters maintain their own voice and become real to the reader.
   As creative consultant, I am privy to the fact that there have been many times she has suffered what every writer surely dreads; writers block. She has conveyed her thoughts of abandoning plots altogether. For me this would be unthinkable because once involved with the characters of a book I must know how things turn out. I like to take credit as being one of the ones that encourages her to keep writing.  It's probably just all the begging I do for the lives and sake of the characters to come to a conclusion. I emphasize to her how I must know what happens to these people she has created that have taken on their own real lives.
Or maybe it's the nagging I do.
"How's David?"
"How's Edmund?"
"Did you send me a chapter?"
"Isaiah is so freaking awesome. What's happening to him right now?"
   Either way, she writes on and I count that a victory. My prize is having the privilege of reading what happens before everyone else. Muwahaha! Yes, that's my evil laugh. In the words of Keith Urban "Who wouldn't wanna be me?" I'm sure other quotes could go here, but the song has been absolutely stuck in my head for a couple days and it fits, so I'll just go with that.
   It can be agonizing waiting on chapters. I wait patiently. Okay... impatiently. When the chapter finally arrives in my inbox, I blaze through it as the world around me fades into a background blur. Sometimes my laptop feels like it might catch fire because I read through the chapter so fast. I soak up the details and my mind follows where she leads.  A lot of times I have already heard what could happen and what will happen. Then I get the chapter and it exceeds my expectations. Sometimes she changes it up completely and throws twists and turns that would make the most avid roller coaster rider a bit loopy. Numerous times I've been caught in a " Wow! I did not see that coming!" moment. Then I reread it so I can give her my well thought out opinion. If it's two in the morning my ramblings may not be that well thought out, but she never complains!
   I have recently been informed that you can get paid to do this job. Who knew? Apparently not me!
   I guess I should go ahead and clarify that I have not been paid to write this post. I just think her stories are that good! She's a fresh take on the typical literary releases that you see strewn about in book stores. When her books are finally released I highly recommend reading them. For now, I am one of the few chosen ones who gets that privilege. Muwahaha!

Go here. http://cfoc-ifindyourlackoffaithdisturbing.blogspot.com// Check her out. 

If you don't have someone like this who helps you and puts a fire under your butt then you need to get one.  I don't know what I would do without her!

3 comments:

Lydia Kang said...

A creative consultant is the best! You are lucky to have her, er, "Evil" I mean.

I have a few CC's. They're awesome.

Elana Johnson said...

So true! It's nice to have people in your corner, asking you what you're working on. Accountability!

www.jolenestockman.com said...

I love this! Everyone should have an Evil :) I've awarded you the Liebster on my blog (hopefully soon we'll both be ineligible for it!) Congrats again on your book cover - so exciting!