Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Guest Blog by Kat Lieu + giveaway

Kat Lieu is a best-selling young adult novelist on Amazon.com. She is also a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Certified Lymphedema Therapist. She runs a tween/teen empire, Nummyz Productions, bossing around her sister, the amazing Graphics Designer Eve Lieu, their Programmer Kyo, and Kat's web designer/fiancé Jake. Nummyz Productions creates original Flash games for girls and provides them with a safe community, love advice, free stories, and support. Nummyz Productions publishes books and ebooks. Kat's company has also created websites for celebrities of The Young and the Restless (Kate Linder) and Flash games for multi-million dollar company LittleMissMatched.



I have never been able to plan out a story on pen and paper. In the past when I had tried to brainstorm ideas or plot out an entire novel, I never succeeded in finishing my intended story. Authors often say it's easier to plan out a novel first and use methods such as the Snowflake or Kiser Methods. I tend to write better when I don't plot and plan. I allow the words to flow out of my brain to my typing fingers. This doesn't work the same way when I try to write a manuscript with pen or paper. There's is something hypnotic about typing that just works for me. A computer keyboard is like a piano for me. Instead of producing beautiful music, a keyboard helps me string lovely words together.

And call me crazy but my characters control their thoughts, dialogue, and action. When I'm writing, it's like I have a mild case of multiple personality disorder. If my character is excited, I find myself jumping out of my seat. When my characters are happy, I'm all smiles. And when they're sad, I'm sad. Two years ago when I was writing an emotional breakup scene, I was depressed for a week. When I am filled with a million emotions, even the negative ones, words flow out of me fluidly and quickly.

Where does my inspiration come from? Everywhere. Almost all stories are structured like a hill. Action rises, there's a plateau period, then a climax point, and a resolution that resembles a climb downhill. Prose, characterization, and feelings the authors evoke make their stories unique. Creative and funny dialogue makes characters unforgettable. I have an especially strong bond with one of my characters, Mina Lin from my novel Maid for Me. Even when Mina faces a million obstacles and hardships in life, she fights for a better day. Mina, like many of my other characters, inspires me to write. You will see her again in my upcoming publication, Maid for Me, Too, the sequel to Maid for Me.

Thank you, Laura, for hosting my guest blog post. Happy reading and writing everyone, and good luck!



Very cool! Thanks for stopping by today, Kat!  I am lucky enough to kick-off an ebook giveaway of 5, yes 5, ebooks from Kat! Make sure to leave a comment below with your email address. This giveaway will close on April 17, midnight EST. Good-luck everyone!

You can learn more about Kat:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/nummyz
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Nummyz



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