Jade Varden Official Blog

It's one of the easiest pieces of advice in the world to tell an author to read great books. Want to learn how to be a better writer? Read great books! Read authors in your genre, read the bestsellers, read, read, read. I'm not going to tell you to do that. I want you to do something else. I want you to seek out bad writing. You need it. You just might not know it. Bad Writing is Good Have you ever come across a really old piece of your own writing? Exactly how long did you stare at it in bug-eyed horror before you quickly thrust it away from yourself and make an attempt to disassociate?  Mozart was a musical prodigy; he composed "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" at age 5. Bobby Fischer was a chess prodigy; he competed in the Game of the Century at age 13. As far as I've ever known, there are no writing prodigies. Nobody sits down at age 11 and writes an epic novel that becomes an instant hit -- not even the likes of Mark Twain. Many authors, even the...

If you've self-published on Amazon, you know you have the option for checking a little box that allows you to add DRM protection to your books. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, and many authors read Amazon's brief description and decide to check the box. After all, it protects your rights as the author. What you may not realize is that it also makes things difficult for your readers. As a self-published author, that might be something you just can't afford.  Why Use DRM?  Digital Rights Management is included in most movies and music you download online -- at least, the stuff you download legally (like through iTunes and such). It's a sort of encryption that's embedded into the file, and it makes it exceedingly difficult for you to copy these digital files -- like in case you want to give them to your friends or re-sell them. And DRM is commonly used in ebooks as well, to prevent ebook piracy. There's no question that ebook piracy happens...bu...

I've been thinking a lot about 2012, and wondering what the new year will hold. I was a little surprised when I thought about everything that happened in 2012. A Look Back On this day one year ago, I was anxious, unhealthy, and didn't really want to leave my apartment. One year ago, I didn't have much reason to. But things are different now, because I made some things happen over the past 12 months:  I published four books in 2012. True, they are not long books, but the page counts are respectable. Accomplishing this was a big deal for me because I had to overcome my writer's block to do it. I spent two years being literally unable to write any fiction whatsoever, and in 2012 I decided it wasn't going to beat me. It didn't. I finished the Deck of Lies series , and now I've started something new. In 2013, I hope to publish FIVE books! I lost 50 pounds. It's true. In February, I noticed that I could no longer wear any of my cl...

Much of the eastern world is still shrouded by a curtain of mystery. It's a world steeped in traditions and culture that only one born to it can hope to understand. It's a world that an American named Arthur Golden revealed in his 1997 book Memoirs of a Geisha . Hidden inside this tale of tradition and uncontrollable circumstance, there's a really beautiful love story. The Book The reader meets young Chiyo Saramoto at the beginning of the book. She lives in a poor family, in a poor fishing village near the Sea of Japan. Along with her older sister Satsu, she's sold to an okiya in the large city of Kyoto. The okiya she's sold to is located in Gion, the best-known geisha district in the city. Chiyo is taken into the okiya; Satsu is not. She is taken away to parts unknown instead, and Chiyo is left alone at age 9. There is a girl her age, nicknamed Pumpkin, already living there. In the okiya, Chiyo is surrounded by Granny, an old woman who complains ab...

"Everything gets more complicated in this book...but I LOVED IT!" "It was like a story book version of Desperate Housewives or a very tense soap drama filled with dirty family secrets." Death (Deck of Lies #3) has been reviewed at BookAThon Freak . It's pretty spoiler-free, so feel free to read the whole review and see if you agree with the reviewer!

I'm convinced that irregular verbs exist only to annoy writers. They always show up at the most inopportune times, right when you're in the zone and your fingers are flying. One moment, your creativity is pouring out of you. The next, you're staring at the word burned and wondering if it ought to be burnt instead. Verbs, Adjectives, Words That Don't Make Sense The verb to burn is irregular. It has two past tenses: burned, and burnt. When something is burned , it's been scorched by heat and/or flame. Your skin may get burned by the sun or even hot water.  Burned is easy to use, because it's an example of classic past tense. Just add ed to burn , and you're ready to go. You could always add a t instead. Then, the word becomes burnt . When something is burnt , it's been scorched by heat and/or flame. Your skin may get burnt by the sun or even hot water. No need to check that twice. Burned and burnt mean exactly the same thing, and...

Listen, I can get as flowery as the next guy. I'll wax poetic about the sky if you want me to, and I'll bet I could come up with some adjectives you've never even imagined before. But really, what's the point? The most beloved books aren't necessarily the most thrilling, the most frightening or the funniest stories ever written...but they are easy to read. Want to be a writer? You need to understand the merits of simple English.  Verbosity He strolled forward with the night wind on his shoulder, propelled by a steady tread that squeaked just so with each new stride. The dead foliage on the trees made crackling sounds, shivering with the frigid mistral that came sweeping down the mountain. The refuse storage loomed in front of him like a spectre, a hungry maw waiting to swallow his offering whole. Do you know what I was describing with the above? I'm talking about a guy taking out the trash on a chilly fall evening. If you didn't get that right a...

Writers pour their very souls onto the page. They sweat, they bleed, they cry, they laugh right out loud...they scare their family members, frankly. When you put all of that into your work, it's hard to take that work and destroy it. But sometimes, that's just what you've got to do. Starting fresh is scary, but sometimes that's the only option. Starting Fresh It's a New Year, and everyone's thinking about fresh starts. You know who doesn't like starting over from scratch? Writers. Nothing is more horrifying than a blank page. It sits there, and it stares at you...and it knows exactly where you are weakest.  Erasing text is even more horrifying. Many writers will attempt to endlessly edit their past book projects, no matter how error-stuffed or poorly-written. A good idea is a good idea, and bad writing can always be fixed...right?  No. Sometimes, starting fresh is your only option -- and incidentally, today is the perfect day to make that le...