Author Update: Book Release & Writing

January 21, 2020 at 5:00 am (Editing, Marketing, Writing Mechanics)

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I’m planning my next book, as you can see by the note cards. Okay, I’ve already written over 20,000 words of it, but I’m doing some MORE planning.

Last week was exciting, Earthbound was released on Wednesday and is now available for sale on all ebook platforms. My first novel. J And I learned that it only takes 14 sales to jump you from an author rank of 600,000 to 79,000 on Amazon. (I presume that is because there are so many backlist and older books that do not sell much or at all.) Then the trailer came out for my book on Saturday, which is so much fun! (Thanks to JM Robison, Fantasy Author.) And my author rank stayed closer to 80,000 than 600,000, but peaks and valleys are to be expected over time.

However, it’s past time to get back to that second novel. Over the weekend, I focused on two things – sending review requests to more book bloggers and reading back through what I’ve already written on the next book, Firebound.

During NaNoWriMo last year I made a solid start on Firebound, writing about 20,000 words. As I read back over them to get back into the flow of the story, I was pleased with the scenes I’d already written, and even more pleased with the planning on scenes that I’d forgotten I’d done. I have a pretty solid outline.

As I finished reading what I’d printed, I realized I was missing my first chapter. Where did it go? Had I not saved properly? Or did I write it in a different file during Camp NaNoWriMo in the summer of 2019?

Yep, there it was, another 2,500 words, that begin with the line, “I’ve decided to become a nun.” And she isn’t kidding.

Firebound is set about 6 to 8 months after Earthbound and is from the perspective of Ally’s best friend, Jennifer, who was burned in a car accident. (Caused by a demon, of course.) She has mostly recovered but a lot has changed for her.

I’m using the Scene/Sequel method to plan out the story from one scene to the next. It helps me keep a logical flow to the information as I move through the scenes.

Basically, the point-of-view character has a goal which someone opposes. In order to keep conflict moving the story forward, the character is either denied their goal or they achieve it, but with strings attached. In a sequel, the character reacts emotionally, reviews what happened using log and reason, then anticipates what will happen in the future based on several optional paths forward. Finally, the character makes a choice about what they are going to do, or their next goal, which leads to the next scene.

I’m still marketing on the first novel, but I’m jumping back into writing the second novel. I find my mind turning to it at bedtime and while I’m driving. This is the most fun part, the writing.

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Writing Update: Somebody Knows

September 10, 2019 at 5:00 am (Writing Groups, Writing Inspiration, Writing Mechanics)

I do not know how to fill out form

Thank goodness for writer friends!

I’ve been struggling with this story and one of the elements that really had me confounded was whether the main character was part of the Marines or Navy during World War II.
 
He couldn’t be both, right?
 
For certain aspects of the story, it made far more sense that he was part of the Navy, but for other parts it made more sense that he was a Marine.
 
I put this conundrum before some friends and . . . it turns out he CAN be both, just not at the same time.
 
A friend brought up a story about someone he knew of who had been in the Navy on D-Day then honorably discharged and not much later joined the Marines.
 
Problem solved.
 
It is good to have writer friends with whom you can complain . . . I mean “discuss” the problems you are having with your story.
 
It’s good to have friends to discuss your problems with, period.
 
🙂

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Weekly Writing Update: Nah.

July 10, 2019 at 4:51 pm (Characterization, Marketing, Writing Mechanics)

TimeTouristOutfitters

Summer reading started today at my library and I am wiped out so instead of talking about my own writing this week, I’d like to turn you on to a fantastic deal. Time Tourist Outfitters Ltd. by Christy Jackson Nicholas is on pre-order for just 99 cents. I’ve already read the book and it is a hoot! From the irrascible Wilda and her unique store that outfits people for time travel to her own travels back in time to the court of Mansa Musa and beyond, this is well worth your time. You’re welcome.

(I am working on my next paranormal romance but apparently it’s kind of tricky describing a character who your main character can’t see or hear in the first act. Who knew? I’ve gone back to character sheets to help me move forward.)

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Weekly Writing Status Update: Feeling Flaky

May 14, 2019 at 5:00 am (Writing Mechanics)

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Weekly Writing Update

I submitted the first 500 words of a sci-fi story in response to a call for submissions last week and got a nice surprise two days later. They wrote back and said, “Your writing caught our attention and we would like to read your entire story.” Such a nice way to put it, very affirming. I’d keep my fingers crossed but who knows how long that will take? It’s also a bit difficult to drink coffee, or write, with your fingers crossed.

I’m working on editing my horror story based on the old phone box. Edited on paper, just putting the changes into the document then I’ll find a place to submit it. There seem to be a LOT of markets for horror stories but one that wants the TYPE of story this is, that’s a different matter. It’s a little bit ghost story, a little bit psychological horror. Hrm . . . .

I’m also pondering what form of outline process I want to use for my next novel, FIREBOUND. I had the workbook for “Writing the Breakout Novel” by Donald Maass so I grabbed that and started reading through it but it seems to assume you already have a draft. I want something to work with from the start.

I’ve used scenes and sequels in the past and liked that. I’ve also used the Snowflake for short story and might give that a try to begin then move into scenes and sequels to flesh out. This method also gives you some good tools for marketing, like a synopsis of the story and a log line. Here’s where to find an explanation, if you’re interested. https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/

I do worry about stifling the creativity but I am moving toward more outlining and it does seem to make the writing go a LOT faster. A trade off? Perhaps.

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DONE! For now. (A Novel Submission)

May 7, 2019 at 5:00 am (Editing, Time Management, Writing Mechanics)

Done

Well, I did it. I FINALLY submitted my paranormal romance, Earthbound, to a publisher. My husband poured me a really big glass of wine last night, twice what I would usually pour myself, so I hope I didn’t rush this. 🙂

I wrote the novel, let it sit, and edited it. I rewrote bits and shared some with my writer’s group members. I gave it to three beta readers then applied their suggestions. I gave it to three MORE beta readers and applied THEIR suggestions. Writing is truly a recursive process, you keep going back to a piece over and over, but at some point you have to let it go. So I submitted it last night.

I’ve been working on this novel for several years now. To be honest, I don’t even know when I started. I’ve worked on it, alternating with short stories, poetry and other novels, for quite some time. But this year is about finishing things and putting them out there.

For rejection? Maybe. I hope not. I’m hoping for an acceptance, but if they pass on it, some useful feedback would helpful too. Now, I try to forget about it until I hear back from them.

On to the next thing – plotting the next book, editing my short horror story, and finishing the other science fiction series I started.

To be honest, I’m very excited to move on to the next book, Firebound, about my main character’s best friend, Jennifer, who was burned in a car accident. I saw a youtube video on plotting a novel that I plan to watch – “How to Plot Your Novel FAST” from Ellen Brock. The comments on it are very positive.  

I’m actually feeling very accomplished. I even managed to clean some windows, sort munchkin and my clothes for donations, cook three meals, and do her laundry on Sunday along with submitting the novel. What more do you want from life?

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Earthbound Update

January 29, 2019 at 10:19 am (Writing Mechanics)

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This week will need extra coffee and there MIGHT be wine, at some point.

I THOUGHT I was done editing my paranormal romance, Earthbound, but then I decided to double check some facts and bring in some more details. This led me to the realization that some major plot points in the very beginning need to be changed. My main character may even need to be relocated geographically. Oops. I’ll get there, but it may take another week.

Earthbound: Ally is a veterinarian and a raptor rehabilitator with healing hands. She loves what she does and she’s good at it, but otherwise she keeps to herself high on her Upstate New York hill. Ally has secrets that she hasn’t even shared with her best friend. Then she is called to take on the rehabilitation of a raptor by the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Health Center at Cornell University. There she meets Matthew Blake. He has quite a few secrets of his own, and some of them are about Ally.

 

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How do you put a soundtrack behind written fiction?

March 18, 2015 at 12:56 pm (Writing Mechanics)
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I haven’t written anything here in a while. The good news is that I’ve been writing and submitting fiction as much as my schedule allows, racking up the rejections and all. Anyway, I had a thought the other day that I wanted to share.

George Lucas once said something to the effect that a soundtrack is a large portion of a movie. Now, I remember him saying this, I think it was during an Academy Award ceremony back in about 1993 but that’s over 20 years ago. I tried looking it up and the quotes I come up with say 50% so let’s go with that.

I started thinking, how do we create a sound track with a piece of writing? I don’t mean literally. I suppose I could mention pieces of music, put quotes from lyrics at the beginning of every chapter, etc., but I don’t think that’s the answer.

I find that I enjoy fiction written by people who are either poets or also write poetry a great deal, it’s somehow richer. So, my suggestion is that we create soundtracks for our fiction by our word choice, by the rhythm and flow we create in the sentences we write. Then there’s all the wonderful tools of the poet – alliteration, metaphor, simile, hyperbole and anything else you care to include.

I’ve been thinking of creating a short story that simulates the improvisation of jazz. Soon, maybe in April during Camp NaNoWriMo. There are a couple projects to finish up first.

Just a thought.

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Writing dialogue without quotation marks?

January 17, 2014 at 5:05 pm (Writing Mechanics)
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I just finished the novel Benediction by Kent Haruf. This was only the second book that I’ve read from the modern era that did not use quotes to set off dialogue. It wasn’t totally foreign to me but, to be honest, I wasn’t aware that there were a number of authors doing this.

The only other book that I’ve read, written in modern times, that used this quoteless dialogue was Aimee Bender’s The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, which I loved. It was a work of speculative fiction so I assumed that her lack of quotes to delineate dialogue was part of her intention to create a certain atmosphere. I accepted it and really enjoyed the story. I thought the lack of quotes gave it a very internal feeling.

I thought the lack of quotation marks in Benediction was difficult to follow at first but I was soon okay with it.  Again, I thought it gave the novel an internal feeling or perhaps even a timeless feel.  It was as if I were looking at events that happened through frosted glass.

I wondered why someone would choose not to use quote marks to delineate dialogue. I did a quick search online that led me to an article from Lionel Shriver on the Wall Street Journal site where I learned that a number of modern authors, including James Frey, Kent Heruf and Cormac McCarthy, are popularizing the trend.

Shriver contends that “By putting the onus on the reader to determine which lines are spoken and which not, the quoteless fad feeds the widespread conviction that popular fiction is fun while literature is arduous.”

Here’s one of my prime problems with it. I have no problem reading dialect and dialogue without quotation marks. I’m a very fast reader and can adapt. However, I know people who simply cannot read dialect, such as Mark Twain. Their brains simply don’t translate the written word into sound in their head. I believe that writing is about communicating. Anything that gets between the reader and the story inhibits that communication. Now, I know that not every book is for every reader but, as writers, shouldn’t we be trying to communicate in the most clear manner possible?

I also came upon a an interview Cormac McCarthy had done with Oprah some years ago in which he says that the intent is to make the reading easier, not harder. “If you write properly you shouldn’t have to punctuate.”

He does concede that “You really have to be aware that there are no quotation marks to guide people and write in such a way that it is not confusing who is speaking.”

I think that is a rather large challenge and whether writers who write without quotation marks live up to it is another matter altogether.

I took this issue to my writer’s group last night. One of my group contended that a good story will not be brought down by poor grammar or punctuation. Another member said she wouldn’t be able to get past the first few pages. Yet another threw something on the floor in disgust and said that it was sheer laziness on the author’s part.

I think I will personally continue to use quotation marks in my writing, but I won’t reject a book just because the author does not use them.

What do you think? Were you aware of modern authors writing books without quotation marks to set the dialogue apart? Do you enjoy it? Do you do it yourself? I’d love to hear some more perspectives.

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Organizing a NaNoWriMo Novel The Jim Butcher Way

October 4, 2013 at 11:58 am (Writing Mechanics)
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Okay, first of all, do you know who Jim Butcher is? He writes this fantastic series of urban fantasy books based around a wizard named Harry Blackstone Dresden in modern day Chicago. If it sounds interesting, there’s already something like 12 books in the series. Check him out at your local library or on Amazon. Here’s Jim Butcher’s Amazon page.  

Okay, he also writes another series called Codex Alera and I’m sure the writing is just as fine but I haven’t read it so I can’t say I love it, like I can the Harry Dresden series. They are fun, fast-paced action but also really good writing and he always hits me with something deep somewhere along the way. Love it!

Anyway, he also wrote a a LiveJournal where he shared information on writing. I’ve been looking at distilling it down to steps I can use to plan my novel for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.)

Here’s what I came up with. If it looks interesting, check out Butcher’s LiveJournal for more in-depth and better explanation. Be warned, it goes backward. You have to scroll to the bottom to the see the first entry then work up. 

Some of these were good reminders for me but some were new ideas that make good sense, like the Stimulus-Response Transactions.

  •  Conflict should exist in one form or another in every single scene. 
  • All of your characters need to have a goal
  • Use “Stimulus-Response Transactions.” Something happens to your character and he/she reacts. If you reverse that, it can confuse the reader so don’t do it unless you are very confident.
  • Write in either first or third person, especially if you’re just starting out. It keeps things much simpler.
  • Choose your point of view character based on who has the most to lose.

Write a Story Skeleton description of the main plot of your book in two sentences.

“*WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS*, *YOUR PROTAGONIST* *PURSUES A GOAL*. But will he succeed when *ANTAGONIST PROVIDES OPPOSITION*?”

Characters

What is (or what makes) an interesting character?

  • Exaggerate a feature – physical, mental or emotional.
  • Give them an interesting position, whether it is a social, geographic, intellectual or moral.
  • Introduce your character with a solid Characteristic Entry Action that is typical of who and what he is.
  • Make sure they act believably.
  • Make your character a whole, full person by showing his or her emotions, reactions and decisions.

I love the idea of Tags and Traits. It can help make your character unique if you pick the right combination and it helps solidify the character in the reader’s mind.

  • Tags are a few specific words you use to describe your character, and as much as possible, only your character.
  • Traits are unique items like a prop.

The Big Middle seems to be Butcher’s way of thinking of the climax. If it’s different, I’m not sure how. Maybe it just arrives earlier. (If somebody has a different understanding of this, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.) Basically, Butcher recommends creating a great big dramatic event for the end of the middle of the book which will lead directly to the homestretch.

The organization of scenes the way he explained it makes a lot of sense to me and really helps in plotting and organizing a story. They have to include –

Scenes

  • Point of View Character
  • Goal
  • Conflict (scene question)
  • Setback (scene answer)
  • Possible scene answers include
  • Yes! (but that gets you no where so) –
  • Yes, but..
  • No, and furthermore!

Sequels

Sequels are what happens after a scene. A character reacts emotionally, then thinks about it logically, considers possible outcomes to actions he could take and makes a decision. It’s simple and this is how people react to events so it keeps the reader moving forward quickly.

A Story Climax is the answer to the story question. It should include –

  • Isolation – friends can’t help him now.
  • Confrontation – obviously, with the antagonist.
  • Dark Moment – Confrontation did not go well.
  • Choice – between something good and something really bad.
  • Dramatic Reversal – poetic justice.
  • Resolution – keep it short.

Organization – The Basics

  • Write down your protagonist, his tags and traits, and how you intend to introduce him.
  • Ditto, but for the main opposition.
  • Create a story arc on paper or somewhere and fill in the opening scene, the big middle at the top and the climax on the right.
  • Fill in any scenes that you have in mind.
  • Add in phrases describing scenes that lead your character from one to the next.
  • Do Story Arches for all of your subplots.
  • Profile every significant character on his own sheet,
  • Outline scenes and sequels.
  • Repeat until climax.

As I said, this is the basics, Butcher’s (very entertaining) LiveJournal is something like 47 pages long and remember, this is one way to do it. Maybe it looks good to you, or maybe parts of it do. Take what works and leave the rest.

Happy Novel Planning!

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