The Masquerade Crew

Q is for Quack #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-19T03:26:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Donan Berg

Walter Hunt’s repeating rifle replaced the single-shot musket. While it became a model for the Winchester lever-action rifle said to have won the American West, word repetition has never single-handedly enhanced fiction writing and can figuratively “kill” sales, if one visualizes a hand tossing aside a boring book unread. Stand on a United States urban street corner today and you may hear: “Stop quacking about it!” The root-word “Quack” is slang meaning: “to talk rubbish” or “drive a point home unnecessarily.”

Word repetition in writing is not automatically rubbish but, more times than not, is a problem to be avoided. To expand a metaphor, let’s examine six repetition no-nos as if lethal bullets fired from Annie Oakley’s revolver.

1. Literally repeating a word, or phrase, by placing them in close proximity is a no-no easily discovered and corrected.

2. Repeating an effect is just as problematic. Example:

Sally’s dumb, thought John.

Frank whispered into John’s ear, “Sally’s here. She failed the math quiz.”

“Isn’t she a dumbo?” replied John.

“Totally dumb, dumber than a door nail,” said Frank, poking a finger to the side of his head.

Maybe you actually heard this dialogue. Still, aren’t you insulting the reader’s intelligence? Does Sally become increasingly dumber with each mention? And, even if the word dumb is not used, i.e., Sally failed a test, isn’t that of the same effect?

3. Repetition of products by Brand Name or identifying a character by specific celebrity reference drives a point home unnecessarily and in the process you cheapen your prose. Does repetition of wearing a Rolex, driving a Bugatti, or carrying a Gucci bag heighten reader identification? Saying your character looks like (fill in Hollywood Red Carpet star) solve your character identification problem or cause your reader to abandon your character and drift off into George Clooney, James Bond, or Cher fantasies.

4. Watch character interior monologue. Needless repetition seems to spring forth eternally from the desire to make sure the reader gets it. Example:

Sally thought she just had to have that Gucci, even if it cost a zillion dollars. She’d never deprived herself. It wasn’t wasteful to desire expensive things. It was good for the economy, wasn’t it? She had a trust fund, Uncle John gave her expensive birthday trips, like Paris, London, and nobody said she had to save. She was never in trouble for spending.

Would you summarize the above to say Sally was a spender or spoiled rotten? No matter what the conclusion, couldn’t you slice the number of words without altering or hiding the resultant meaning?

5. What about using the same pronoun in close proximity when the meaning changes? Example:

When one tires of visiting beaches and native villages, you can renew your strength in one of Honolulu’s lovely parks.

Don’t gamble that the reader won’t become confused. If the reader trips often enough, the book’s closed.

6. Bigger repetition problems lurk when two characters play the same role. While a hero’s sidekick is always there to help, does the plot need the entire neighborhood or every classmate from the last reunion? The reader may have trouble with the nose count. Make life simple. Distill the characters employed to the bare minimum.

Is repetition always bad? No. Consider this example:

John stood at the altar.

Sally, hands bouncing the bouquet, listened as the preacher said: “Do you, Sally, take John to be your lawful wedded husband?”

“I do. I do. I do.”

Would you add a tag line that said: She gushed excitedly? Or eliminate the repetition? Or both?

Remember, a person can be fatally wounded by one shot from a musket without the necessity of the lever-action Winchester pumping five slugs into the chest. As the author you pick both the actual word and the number of times used. Make the reader enjoy reading them, not trip over unnecessary repetition. Don’t quack.

A little about Donan Berg

Author Donan Berg, a native of Ireland currently residing in the American Heartland, is the author of three Skeleton Series Mysteries (A Body To Bones, The Bones Dance Foxtrot, and Baby Bones) plus a fourth murder/mystery, Abbey Burning Love. He pens articles about writing and what he calls “whimsy” at www.abodytobones.blogspot.com. Author Berg can also be contacted through the website, http://www.abodytobones.com. A collection of short stories, Bubbling Conflict and Other Stories, is available from DOTDON Books, http://www.dotdonbooks.com.

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P is for Plot #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-18T06:48:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Heaven O'Shey

In the literary world, the plot is the sequence of events of the story. When mapping out your story, you should have an idea of the direction in which you want to take the reader. Your story should entice the reader to keep reading and having a well-thought out plot will accomplish this goal.

The plot should be credible and imaginative, yet not so far fetched that the reader cannot grasp what your story is conveying. Put yourself in the readers minds when outlining your work. Is this story believable? Does it keep you on the edge of your seat? Does it encourage you to keep reading?

Another point about plots, is that it is a good idea to avoid having too many subplots in your book. You do not want to confuse the reader by leading them in a different direction on every page. Too many plots will discourage the reader from finishing the book. One or two subplots are enough to keep the reader intrigued enough to want to see where the story is leading.

In conclusion the plot should have a climactic ending, which leaves the reader saying “Wow, that was a good book!”

A little about Heaven O'Shey

A new author of romantic suspense, paranormal, and poet. Her poetry has received good reviews. The characters she writes about tell her their stories in her dreams. Sounds crazy, she knows, but true.

Guess you can say, she started writing when her children were little and they were tired of their bedtime books. So she made up new ones using them and their favorite cartoon characters.

Follow Her

The World of Heaven O'Shey—Learn all about Love's Bayou.
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O is for Outline #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-17T04:51:00.000-05:00

How an Annoying Task Can Save Your Butt Many Times Over

A guest post by Glen Robinson

I once told a writing student that: “Writing is easy. You just have to know where to start, where to stop, and what to put in between.” In essence, what I was talking about was the outline.

Now I can already hear many of you groaning, thinking back to your junior high days when you had to learn to diagram a sentence as well as learn to outline in preparation for writing essays. Those outlines were pretty highly structured, with Capital A, followed by #1, followed by lower case a, etc. under each section and subsection. The outline I am going to talk to you about is a little more free flowing, but the purpose is basically the same.

There’s two main reasons to have an outline, nay three: (1) outlines serve as a framework–a skeleton–for your written piece, and give it predictable structure; (2) outlines make it easier to write by telling you what goes where; and (3) outlines make writing faster.

I realize that there are authors who say they start each book by sitting in front of a blank screen and just typing. From experience, I would say that the danger would be that the story would go in directions where it couldn’t be handled, and there would be lots of blind alleys writing that way. Inevitably, working without an outline calls for much more time in the rewrite phase, and since I hate rewriting, I will do what I can to shorten that time in purgatory.

My first novel was written in this fashion. It was an old-fashioned space opera that was pretty contrived and got my characters constantly into trouble that they couldn’t get out of. It also took two years to write, and I was constantly out of ideas how to get the story back on track. Looking back, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble by sitting down and charting out in advance where I wanted the story to go.

Here’s how my novels take form today. I usually have a brainstorm while I am traveling or mowing the lawn or washing the dishes or some other mundane task. It’s usually just a sentence or a paragraph, such as “A battle between vampires and Amish.”

The first chance I get, I write it down, then give myself permission to forget it. If the story idea comes up again and again, I mull it over in my mind and eventually try to flesh out my original idea a bit more, say several paragraphs.

When the story develops into maybe two pages of notes, it’s time to start charting it out by chapters. I determine how many pages the publisher is going to want–or how many pages the story can really carry–and I break it up into chapters with about 12-15 pages per chapter.

At the writer’s workshop I attended in Park City, Utah two years ago, they told us that chapters can be any length, from a few sentences to hundreds of pages. But usually the time to change chapters is when you make a major scene change, or start telling the story from the perspective of another character. I understand and appreciate that, and very likely I will break up my chapters using this method in future books. But my intention in appointing 12-15 pages to a chapter is to help with the outline. Then, within each chapter, I plot out 3-4 scenes.

My writing is done in scenes. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The disadvantages are that it sometimes makes transitions between scenes a little difficult, and there’s more focus on moving the plot along than getting us more familiar with the characters. When you are writing a character-driven story, that can be awkward.

The advantage is that you can visualize a scene better than you can a chapter. Plus, if you think of writing a book as a series of scenes of 4-6 pages each, writing the massive thing is a more doable project. It’s the same way you eat an elephant: one bite at a time.

So when I start outlining, I need to have a pretty sharp view of how I want to write the opening chapters. That vision becomes more cloudy and scarce as the chapters get further and further away. That’s OK. As I write, I come back to the outline and update future chapters. Most of the time, the characters and the story itself tell me where it is going. I never lose track of where I want to end up at the very end. But how I get there changes as the story writes itself.

Julianna Baggott, my teacher at Park City, talked about taking big pads of paper–I would recommend rolls of butcher paper–and outlining through a series of big circles. She’s write things about the major characters here and there, and then draw bridges between the circles as she sees how everything connects. This is a technique that was also recommended when I was preparing for my doctoral dissertation. It’s great for brainstorming ideas, especially when you have lots of disconnected ideas and you want to see how you can plug them into the story.

But once you have a pretty good handle on how to get that first chapter written, you should be up and running.

A little about Glen Robinson

He is a professor of communication with 10 published books in multiple genres. He is presently delving into the exciting and frightening world of independent publishing under the pen name of Jackson Paul. I have just self published two books with four more on the way in coming months. My most recent are an apocalyptic novel entitled The Kiss of Night and a steampunk adventure entitled Tom Horn vs. The Warlords of Krupp.

Check out his website HERE.

Follow him on Twitter: @glenchen

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N is for Novel #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-16T07:03:00.000-05:00

Reflections on Novels and Novelty

A guest post by Bill Throwsnaill

When I started working on my first novel (Hemlock and the Wizard Tower), I had just stopped reading a particularly disappointing fantasy novel. A sudden and unexpected sense of pride built in my chest, and I proclaimed to myself that I could do better. Another inner voice responded. "Prove it!" And so my adventures as an indie novelist began.

As I worked on that first novel, much of what kept me going was the challenge of actually completing it. I had a word count in mind (125,000), but I realized that the story arc was reaching an early conclusion.

I had previously read an article by Stephen Bochco about screenplay writing, and it sprang to mind as I considered what to do. That article introduced me to the concept of the three act play. I soon realized that although my story seemed to be reaching a point of resolution, this point in the story actually fit quite well as the end of the first act in the three act structure. The end of the first act is the point where the initial objective is reached, but things turn out to be more complicated than first imagined. So what I thought was a problem turned out to be ideal for the plot structure I decided to use. There were a number of "happy accidents" like this during the process of writing that first book.

One notable thing about that first Hemlock book is that it was almost totally written by the seat of the pants. "Pantsing" is the colloquial term for this type of writing. Although I conceived certain aspects of the tale beforehand (like the relatively quick start), significant parts of the plot were generated "organically" and simply flowed from what had come before them without any sort of outline. And this is one of the things about that novel that I am most proud of. I've read many books where it seems like the plot has been completely pre-ordained, and the scenes end up with a heavily scripted feeling. I prefer books where the characters seem to be reacting in "real-time" to information. In stories like this the reader is often able to experience genuine surprise in response to plot developments.

When I got around to writing the sequel to Hemlock and the Wizard Tower, I had a crisis of confidence regarding whether pantsing was going to work. So much plot and environment was inherited from the first novel--moreso because the new novel is a direct continuation of the prior book--that I had trouble writing spontaneously. And I was very concerned about maintaining continuity between the two books.

I did initially make a few sad attempts at pantsing on the second novel. It's fun to go back and read them now because they are terrible. In the face of this unsuccessful start, I decided to relax and get into a purely creative "zone". So all I did for about three months was think about the plot, wait for ideas, and take notes. I did write scene fragments during this time, but did not outline or write any full scenes. I wanted this to be an unstructured period of the project.

Eventually I reached a point where I thought I had enough for a short novel. But the downside of this period of creative relaxation I had taken became evident. I was already a year out from the relase of the first book. Other indie novelists that had released books around the time Hemlock and the Wizard Tower had been released already had their second books out. I began to feel like I was lagging behind. I toyed with some alternatives to producing a full novel. I thought about moving to an episodic format and publishing novellas, but I soon discarded that. I think a significant part of fantasy writing is the immersion that a reasonable length affords. Going short didn't feel right, even though I was very anxious to get a new release completed.

So I started writing with a renewed goal of producing a full novel, but one that would be somewhat shorter than the first one. I had enough fragments written that I knew where scenes were heading, but I was never sure exactly how I would get "there". This is how I tried to maintain a level of pantsing within the overall framework I'd envisioned for the novel. As I wrote, several things ended up different than I had intended. An entire "act" ended up being cut from the latter part of the story, and some scenes that I thought would be peripheral ended up becoming a full-blown second story arc (that travels on an intersecting course with the main one).

I'm very proud of the new novel now that it's done, but I do have to say something about the process I used for it. It stressed the hell out of me. I might need to consider more structure for the third book because my brain felt like it was overloaded with all of the details I had to manage in my head. But I immediately second guess any changes to my process because I never want to lose the novelty of pantsing. It's really the primary reason that I write. It's beautiful, chaotic...and stressful. And I never want to suffocate it with outlines. But if my experience on Hemlock Book Three is anything like it was on Book Two, I may be writing more stand-alone books in the future. Or maybe I'll have to compensate with an increased focus on meditation and other relaxation techniques.

So that's my story about writing my novels and my affinity for novelty. I hope you enjoyed it. If you'd like to read more of my meandering musings or are interested in my books, please visit my blog at http://www.wiztower.com.

A little about Bill

Bill Throwsnaill cut his teeth on the classic works of fantasy and science fiction by authors such as Tolkien, Moorcock, Herbert and Gibson.

Writing a novel length work had been a lifelong ambition, and has now been realized with the release of Hemlock and the Wizard Tower .

The author's goal is to write fun and creative fiction that is grounded in personal experience and observations about the real world and its history.

Check out his website HERE.

Follow him on Twitter: @BThrowsnaill

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M is for Metaphor #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-14T03:13:00.000-05:00

A guest post by LJ Cohen

If there's one phrase that every writer has heard ad nauseum, it's "show, don't tell." When I first came across that advice, I understood it in a very narrow context: that I had to describe every aspect of scene, character, and plot, avoiding the use of any sort of exposition.

Eventually, I realized that doing so would result in a very tedious, overwritten story. A more nuanced view of "show, don't tell," is in making sure that the story's language conveys emotion and action without the writer telegraphing it or summarizing it for the reader.

The Department of Redundancy Department

One of my earliest writing 'tics' was in telling the reader something about the emotional state of my character and then showing the self-same thing in description. For example (and completely off the cuff). She was angry. Her lips pressed together tightly and she frowned as she thought about how Ralph had lied to her.

This is weak writing. It is writing that doesn't convey much, nor is it writing that trusts the reader, or calls on the reader to create meaning from shared experiences.

What's a Meta for?

Poetic tools such as metaphor, and it's companion, simile, can enhance the emotional impact and vividness of writing. The simile is a comparison that uses like or as. One that practically every child grows up learning is from the lyrics to Mary Had a Little Lamb: "It's fleece was white as snow." A metaphor is a type of comparison that doesn't use like or as. It is a more direct juxtaposition of two concepts or elements. Another simple example, "apple cheeked" is a way of conveying someone's cheeks are round and red. It connotes healthy and approachable. Metaphors are, at least in part, shared cultural touchstones and can carry different meanings depending on society and beliefs.

So, if you're not a poet, why should you use these kind of comparisons? One reason is that metaphorical images can carry characterization and description along with them and eliminate the need to tell your reader the context.

Returning to our unnamed character and her lover, Ralph, in the previous example, we could simply omit the first telling sentence and let the second one stand on its own. Her lips pressed together tightly and she frowned as she thought about how Ralph had lied to her. It's better in that it doesn't need the preamble to introduce what our protagonist is feeling, but it's still fairly flat on the page. We could inject more poetic language to try and heighten the readers' connection with the story. Perhaps something like: Ralph had lied to her. She pressed her lips together and swallowed the poisonous words she wanted to spit out instead.

If, in the story's context, we find out that the character is a chef or an apothecary, then the metaphor is even more apt, in that it echoes the character's world and the way she might view it.

You say toMAYto and I say toMAHto

The more closely you chose metaphorical language that hews to the character's lived experiences, the more that metaphor will carry context, character, setting, and theme. Even the casual sayings your characters use can employ the tools of metaphor to deepen the writing. In one of my manuscripts, I have two protagonists, one from a desert culture, the other from a sailing one. Zev uses the expression "So who tracked sand in your tent?" to convey annoyance.

Lilliane uses sailing language to describe a yurt-like structure she comes across in her travels with Zev: Wooden ribs arched up to form the roof. . . .It was like being inside an inverted boat’s hull. And in her reaction to the death of her attackers: Her fury should have ebbed with the deaths of these two men, but it persisted, like flood waters that continued to rise long after the rain ended. In the context of each POV, Zev would never use water images to carry his emotions and Lilliane would not use desert imagery for hers. It is one way of distinguishing between their two worlds and voices.

These examples combine metaphor and simile to create a fuller and richer world than if I had used more generic imagery, less connected to each character's lived experience.

Pass the Salt

Regardless of what genre you write, the tools of poetic comparisons can enhance your work. However, be aware of overwrought comparisons. Metaphorical language is the seasoning in your word stew. (See what I did there?) And as with all seasonings, a little can go along way.

A little about LJ Cohen

LJ Cohen is a blogger, poet, and novelist in the Boston, MA area. She took a leap of faith from a 25 year career as a physical therapist to focus on writing. With nearly seven completed manuscripts to her name, LJ is no stranger to perseverance in the face of rejection. She has found the perfect combination of chocolate, red wine, and allowing herself to wallow in self-pity for exactly one day before throwing herself back into the magic of word-craft. Despite near misses from editors on two separate manuscripts, LJ's agent has not given up on her and continues to submit her work. LJ refuses to give up on herself, either, and independently published one of those stories to extremely positive reviews. That book, The Between, a YA fantasy, is available in all the usual places.

Check out her website HERE.

Follow her on Twitter: @lisajanicecohen

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L is for Language #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-13T02:50:00.001-05:00

Creating a Believable Sense of Place

A guest post by Luke Wortley

I once attended a lecture on a graduate school visit that centered on place as a veritable character. This got me thinking…how in the world does “place” become a character? My B.A. is in Spanish and so I got to thinking that it could have something to do with language. After all, characters become people by speaking to each other, right? Why could language not transcend the conventional barriers of being able to “speak”?

For instance, in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad), the town of Macondo actually takes on a personality of its own. When unraveling the individual threads of Marquez’s narrative string, it becomes quite clear that the place of Macondo is actually created by the people that inhabit it. Each individual character has a distinct method of speaking and the narrative style comes alive because of this.

I’m saying that language can be used to actually enhance a believable sense of place for a reader, rather than confuse them. Foreign language, when used in context, is a very effective tool in setting the scene and creating authenticity. Narrative style in English, of course, has a distinctly different style than Gaelic, Spanish, French, etc. However, dropping certain elements of a foreign language into an English narrative or dialogue make for not only an interesting read, but a more credible one. Let me be clear, I’m not suggesting that one simply try the “carpet bomb” method where random words are typed into a translation machine and then inserted at random intervals on a page – similar to when a sixth grader drops a load of impertinent quotes in their first research paper. It definitely takes a certain touch, but when done effectively, can literally transport a reader to a new place that would otherwise be considered foreign.

One of the best-known examples (and very well-executed) of this is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. While the text is mostly English, the Ibo culture is described incredibly vivid by integrating the native tongue into the story. The very names of the characters are authentic (Okonkwo, etc.) and already create a more believable sense of place. Intermittent additions of the Ibo language when talking about the yam harvest also bring the story’s already exquisite detail to the fore, stimulating all the senses of the reader at once.

While language is incredibly important for developing voice and character, its role in creating a believable sense of place can be incredibly important. Keep in mind that foreign language is not necessarily the only avenue for incorporating language into creating place. Even variants in the English dialect can have a tremendous impact on the credibility of a story (Ebonics, Southern, etc.). Try experimenting with language in both narration and dialogue. The interplay between these two elements forms the basis of the “language” that is constantly spoken between characters and their environment.

Luke is also participating in the A to Z Challenge. Check out his posts HERE. You can also Follow Him On Twitter.

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K is for Kids #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-12T01:10:00.000-05:00

Involving Kids in Book Writing & Promotion

A guest post by Henry Herz

Nimpentoad is the fantasy story of a courageous and resourceful little Nibling who leads his tribe through the perilous Grunwald forest, overcoming obstacles and encountering strange creatures along the way. This post is about the creative journey of Nimpentoad by a father and his two young sons.

When my sons were five and seven years old, I wanted to share my love of fantasy with them. They were too young for watching most of the fantasy and sci-fi movie classics, and there are only so many good fantasy books available for that age range. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for them!

What I did not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story. They devised some of the character (“Nimpentoad”) and creature (“Neebel”) names, and made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to kids than other kids? So, my goal of interesting my sons in fantasy transformed into also encouraging them to write. Very cool.

I decided that we would self-publish Nimpentoad, so the next step was to find an artist who had the skill and style suitable for our book. This turned out to be the most time-consuming part of our journey. Nimpentoad's artwork is (I think you’ll agree) eye-catching, with incredible detail. The kind of detail that makes the reader want to climb into the picture and go exploring.

Once again, my sons were involved, this time helping with art direction. We would describe what each illustration should contain. Collaborating remotely via email and DropBox, our artist would give us a rough sketch, and we would provide feedback on details and color palette. Nimpentoad came to life, while my boys added another dimension to their experience.

Eventually, we had a good book, but we lacked readers. So, we then embarked upon the most arduous part of our journey – promoting Nimpentoad. Luckily, my boys (dare I say it) are charismatic and precocious, and are comfortable conducting public readings and doing book signings.

At the risk of infringing on child labor laws, I booked my sons as much as their school schedules would allow. We’ve done readings and signings at San Diego libraries, elementary schools, La Jolla YMCA, the New Children’s Museum, Mysterious Galaxy Books, Readers Books, Warwick’s Books, and Barnes & Noble.

At the San Diego Public Library 46th Annual Local Author’s Exhibit, my sons asked for autographs from Chris Ryall (of IDW Publishing) and famed graphic novelist Eric Shanower. Both of these gentlemen then graciously asked for my boys’ autographs. First class!

At the La Mesa Centennial Readers & Writers Festival, we shared a booth with Ron Noble, animator of Rugrats, Rocket Power, and Wild Thornberry's. He was very kind, and my boys left that day with personalized Wild Thornberry sketches. First class!

All these experiences have further enriched the journey for my sons. They understand some of the aspects of running a business and publishing. They are now comfortable meeting new people, doing public speaking, and rubbing elbows with famous authors. It has been a great ride.

About Henry Herz and his Kids

Henry Herz’s love of the fantasy genre began in elementary school with “Where the Wild Things Are” and “The Lord of the Rings,” and continued by playing Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer. Struck by inspiration one day, Henry began a fun project with his two bright young sons, who share his joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. Together, they wrote this tale. By day, Henry is a management consultant who also teaches after school enrichment for elementary school children.

Josh and Harrison Herz are elementary school students who enjoy fantasy stories. Josh’s hobbies include parkour, building with LEGOs, and painting Warhammer miniatures. Harrison plays basketball, and collects Yu-gi-oh cards & KidRobot vinyl figures. Both are big fans of The Lord of the Rings, the annual Comic-Con convention, and have an entrepreneurial bent. With design help from their dad, they started three web-based businesses selling LEGO party favors, custom cast bases for Warhammer, and painted concrete yard sculptures.

We are (distant) relatives of Madeleine L'Engle, whose book "A Wrinkle in Time" was just ranked #3 on the top 100 children's books of all time by Scholastic's Parent & Child Magazine. Writing must be in the DNA!

Check out Nimpentoad's Website and Nimpentoad on Amazon.

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J is for Jargon #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-11T07:36:00.000-05:00

How much is too much?

A guest post by Vijaya Schartz

Jargon is a fact of life. We use it without noticing because it’s convenient. then after much abuse it gradually becomes part of the everyday vocabulary and finally enters the most prestigious editions of the OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY and the AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY, to name only two on my shelf.

Technical jargon is a must for a technical piece, since the readers of such a piece understand and expect it. We all know that rocket scientists do no speak our language. Similarly, a medical paper without medical jargon would not sound very professional.

But when it comes to fiction, what is a writer to do? What would ER be without the pseudo-medical jargon? What would CSI be without the cop speak? Police officers use a certain phraseology. Even though these are not real words, every fan of cop stories is familiar with ten-four. Code-blue has become such a cliché of medical jargon that most hospitals in the US now use a different code to avoid scaring the visitors in the waiting room.

The curious fact is that most of the jargon popularized by books and TV shows is not even accurate. Like the light sabers of Starwars, they are a convention, and we abide by it because once a created universe becomes popular, you cannot retract it. A writer who writes the real thing might not be taken seriously. The readers and viewers judge according to what they know, what is familiar.

For writers, jargon of any kind is a double edge weapon. While none at all may stiffen the prose, and especially the dialogue, introducing jargon can sometimes cheapen the piece. And too much of it can even make the entire work too difficult to understand for the average reader. Alienating a reader is the last thing we want to do.

Among the most common jargons fiction writers encounter is one close to my heart, that of Science Fiction. I’m guilty of using it in my books. My log line says: Blasters, Guns, Swords, Romance with a Kick. Every science fiction fan knows what a blaster is, even though it doesn’t exist in the real world... yet.

But there are more subtle jargons. When writing historical novels, how much is too much brogue? How many old words can you use without losing the reader? Historical names of pieces of clothing can add flavor to the story, but if the meaning can’t be guessed from the context, you’ve lost the reader. The same goes for foreign words. How much French can you slip into that Paris escapade? It’s often tempting to use too much jargon.

My philosophy on the topic is: LESS IS MORE. Use only a little jargon to give flavor to the piece. I know it’s sometimes painful to throw away all those juicy words you found in your research, but believe me, just a few flavorful words will do more for your story, and the reader will be grateful. After all, the first quality of popular fiction as I learned years ago is clarity. You can’t engage a reader who gets lost in the jargon jungle.

About Vijaya Schartz

Born in France, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz never conformed to anything and could never refuse a challenge. She likes action and exotic settings, in life and on the page. She traveled the world and claims she comes from the future.

She will have twenty titles available before the end of this year. Her books collected many five star reviews and literary awards. She makes you believe you actually lived these extraordinary adventures among her characters. Her stories have been compared to Indiana Jones with sizzling romance. So, go ahead, dare to experience the magic, and she will keep you entranced, turning the pages until the last line.

Find more at http://www.vijayaschartz.com

Find Vijaya's books on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/author/vijayaschartz

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I is for Irony #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-10T09:03:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Leigh M. Lane

While irony has a place in many genres, it is a fundamental element in satire. When properly used, it can enrich and add necessary depth to a work, offering commentary in ways that few other literary elements can present. Irony expounds a premise through that which is not said, but rather implied by exclusion, creating a deconstructionist venue that might show more than simple description might tell. With that in mind, I offer the reader an exposition of irony through a close reading of a couple of choice excerpts from my dramatic satire and dystopia, World-Mart.

World-Mart takes a critical look at corporate America, speculating the direction our country is heading in its promotion of big business and slow but steady quashing of the small but personal “mom and pop” enterprise. In this first excerpt, one of the main characters, Shelley, experiences her first lone shopping venture at the Food-Mart. Over the loud speaker, she observes, “‘Attention Food-Mart customers,’ the voice announced. ‘For today only, the canned meat product booth is having a buy three, get one free sale (limit two free items). And remember, a hard worker is a happy worker. Thank you for shopping at Food-Mart.’ (59). The main irony here is that Food-Mart is the only place where citizens can legally purchase groceries. By calling customers specifically “Food-Mart customers,” the establishment creates a false sense of value in their patronage, while actually mocking their value as consumers. The limit of “two free items” further exemplifies the actual devaluing of the customer.

Consider what follows: “And remember, a hard worker is a happy worker.” By inserting this message, Corporate again imports a false sense of value in the mundane everyman. While their actual role is minimal and disposable, the message to these people is in reality aimed at keeping the little man as complacent, yet efficient, as possible. The final sentence in this passage, “Thank you for shopping at Food-Mart,” is just as condescending. Given that there is no other place to shop, the token of appreciation is actually nothing more than a slap in the consumer’s face, lip service that says just as much about Corporate as it does those it would control.

Later in the story, main character George crosses a Corporate landfill, which includes an airplane graveyard:

George took one last look at the dead mechanical structures at his side, and then continued down the trail. It was strange how familiar, yet so equally foreign, the vehicles were. He never had the opportunity to fly before all of the commercial airlines shut down, but he remembered watching planes cross the sky when he was very young. Sometimes he would wonder if those memories were no more than petty childhood imaginings: spectral flying machines that disappeared from the skies once Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny fell into their rightful ranks of childhood fantasy. With everything he just saw, however, he knew that they all had to be real . . . every single one of them.

Once upon a time.

George wondered if he looked hard enough through the endless piles of trash, perhaps he’d find that God was buried somewhere out there as well. (232)

Here, a juxtaposition of the real and the fantastic offers a glimpse of all that might be lost through current abuses of energy, waste, and power. George remembers airplanes, but only as a child. When he is faced with the airplane graveyard, he must reassess his memories, the phasing out of large, fuel-consuming vehicles that occurred during the time of his realization that fantasies such as Santa Claus do not exist in reality. By comparing both to God, there is the implication that the heart and soul of American economy have died with the death of free market and commerce, that corporate takeover have killed the average American’s dream of better things to come—that the average American’s free choice to believe in something greater than the reality standing before him, both limited and grim.

In the classic “show and tell” of literature, irony shows in ways few others might. It allows the reader to look at a given issue from a creative and open point of view, creating an opening for personal take and interpretation with its implied direction. Irony can be direct or implicit, best analyzed through the deconstructionist point of view, offering greater power to the reader in personal interpretation and analysis. Properly used, irony enables the reader to apply a given reading to his or her personal experience, enriching through implication rather than direct prose, allowing the reader to own the text and interpret it as he or she will.

About the author: Leigh M. Lane lives in the beautiful mountains of Montana. She writes dark speculative fiction that often contains strong social and political commentary. For more about her and her work, check out her website or her Amazon author page.

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H is for Hook, Line and Sinker! #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-09T08:41:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Stacey James

Obviously this is not a blog about fishing. But you are, in essence, “fishing” for readers. That is, you will want to use the correct kind of “bait” to “lure” your readers into reading the rest of your “tale”.

Okay, sorry, that may be a little too much pun. But the first line of your novel (or other fictional work) should grab your reader’s attention and keep it for the duration of your novel. Your first line should leave your readers asking a question. This will want to make them read more to find out the answer. Below are some examples of good first line:

I didn’t mean to kill my husband.
I almost married Ebenezer Pocket.
Clarissa hadn’t slept in five days.

Here are some examples of not so good first lines:

It was a warm sunny day.
The snowstorm made them cancel school.
Once upon a time.

Do you see, or feel the difference? The first set of examples force you to ask a question in your head. How did she kill her husband? Why didn’t she marry Ebenezer Pocket? Why hadn’t Clarissa slept in five days?

First lines tend to be short and snappy. The first line sets the tone for your entire novel. And first lines can be prime real estate for introducing your main characters. But hooking readers takes a little more than just a good first line. The second line can be just as important. There you may start painting some scenery if you wish.

I almost married Ebenezer Pocket. In fact, I was within view of the quaint church on Dragonfly Lane one Saturday last December when the limo slid off the snow covered road and into a ravine where we waited for three days to be rescued.

Your entire first chapter is vital into hooking your reader, so do be cautious about adding too much back information. You should keep any action moving along. Paint a vivid picture. Remember, if your reader becomes bored they will likely stop reading. If that should happen it doesn’t really matter how your book ends, does it? So use these tips to keep your reader “hooked” from the very beginning.

About Stacey James

Stacey James lives in Maine with her children, Emily and Jack, along with their spirited cat, Ebenezer. After nearly twenty years in the telecommunications business, Stacey snagged an early retirement in order to write full time. Everyday heroes inspire her writing and she especially enjoys creating stories where there is a "rags to riches" or an "underdog" theme. She particularly enjoys genre mixing; both reading and writing. Currently she is working on a YA novel called "The Watchers", expected late 2012.

Blurb About Recent Novella Release Molly’s Soap Parlor

Steam and soap powder rule in 1895 Whiskey Falls! Twenty one year old tinkerer Molly Watkins can clean more than just sap and coal stains out of day-old overalls; she can clean house with anything or anyone that sets an unwelcomed foot on her new establishment- Molly’s Soap Parlor. That would include scoundrels, thugs, and pirates out to steal her granny's famous soap powder recipe. She's got no time for twittering, even if it involves a handsome wilderness scout named Arrow.

Gadgets and a modified Henry rifle are a feisty laundress' best friend in Whiskey Falls in the winter of 1895. Having narrowly escaped the foothills of North Dakota without her dog sled team, Molly made her way east to Whiskey Falls in order to enter her new contraption, a cycle fly rod, in an annual ice fishing derby. The rod is only one of Molly's latest inventions. But there’s more than soap brewing in Molly’s peculiar steam-powered laundry contraption.

Link to Molly’s Soap Parlor on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007J6SMT4

Link to Stacey James blog: http://booksbystaceyjames.wordpress.com/

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G is for Genre #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-07T04:31:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Rob Blackwell

Aside from a book’s title and cover, its genre is the most important factor in how it is marketed to and discovered by readers.

Of course I never considered this when I wrote my novel. When I started A Soul to Steal, I thought I was writing a horror novel. That’s about as much thought as I put into it. I never considered that horror meant different things to different people. I was quite comfortable being in the same category as Stephen King, my literary hero, and that’s all there was to it.

This was a mistake, one I didn’t realize until I had actually published the book.

Looking back, I had unnecessarily pigeon-holed my book, sticking it in a category that it belonged in, but also limiting its reach and marketability at the same time. Here’s why:

1) My novel is a mix of genres

Like I said, I didn’t think very much about what genre I was writing. But given my own eclectic tastes, the novel is all over the board. Yes, it is horror. It has the Headless Horseman, a serial killer and some rather unpleasant deaths. On that basis alone, it belongs in that category. But—and it’s an important qualifier—the novel also has strong elements of other genres.

First, there’s the mystery of who the serial killer is, a plot thread that has proven to be far more popular among readers than I expected. Secondly, the novel has more in common with suspense and thriller novels than many horror books, which, generally speaking, tend toward gore and shock value (this is a broad generalization and it’s not always true). Lastly, I assumed—because Amazon categorizes it this way—that anything with a paranormal element made it horror. But among book bloggers and readers, there is a big distinction, with some saying they will happily read paranormal books but not horror ones.

As a result, slotting my book in Horror from Day One turned out to be an error. Some readers looking for a more hard-core experience might have been turned off, and others who normally may love the novel never gave it a look because they don’t consider themselves horror fans.

2) Amazon discriminates against horror books

Maybe discriminates is a tad harsh, but looking at the Kindle bookstore, it’s not hard to draw that conclusion. When most readers go to the Kindle store, they are either looking for a specific book they’ve heard about, or—more likely—just shopping around. If you are looking for Mystery and Thriller, as soon as you land in the store, there’s a category for you. Fantasy and Science Fiction? Same. Romance? You bet. Even Art and Photography has its own designated section at the front of the store.

Horror, by contrast, doesn’t. To get there, you have to click on Fiction first before being offered a host of sub-categories. This might seem like a small thing, but to the casual reader browsing for books, this could make all the difference in the world. What it means is that unless someone goes to the store with the specific purpose of buying a horror book, they aren’t likely to stumble on it, at least not immediately. They are far more likely, however, to find a mystery or thriller book.

What did I do about it? Because A Soul to Steal is a genre-bending novel, I at least had an easy solution. Amazon let’s you choose two categories. Instead of Horror/Ghost and Horror/Occult, where I first placed the novel, I decided that I needed to broaden the book’s potential audience. I dropped Occult as a category and instead labeled it a Thriller. The result? It’s a lot easier to find the novel and my sales rose significantly.

The lesson for others is simple: for authors, where you slot your novel is just as important as cover art in helping ensure readers get an actual chance to see it. While you don’t want to overreach—placing your book in a category it doesn’t really belong—you should be careful not to overly limit its chances either.

Rob Blackwell is a journalist who currently serves as Washington bureau chief for American Banker newspaper. A native of Great Falls, Va., he has worked as a reporter for the Loudoun Times-Mirror, Eastern Loudoun Times and a columnist for the South County Chronicle. He has appeared on NPR, BBC, CNBC, and C-Span.

He recently published his first novel, "A Soul to Steal," set in Loudoun County, Va. He has won several Virginia Press Association awards and was co-winner of the Jesse H. Neal Award for Business Journalism.

"A Soul to Steal" has been an Amazon bestseller in the Ghost, Horror, Suspense and Thriller lists.

Rob lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.

Buy "A Soul to Steal"

Find him on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/asoultosteal

Find his blog at: http://blackwellauthor.blogspot.com

Follow him on Twitter: @hobbinb .

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F is for Figurative Language #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-06T03:20:00.000-05:00

F is for Figurative: Show, Don’t Tell

A guest post by Susie Kline

As writers, we are told over and over again that we need to show, not tell our story. That can get confusing! Sometimes, a green tree is just a green tree, right?

Wrong! Fiction writing is our time to tell a tale. We want to engage and entertain our readers. We want them to remember our story, long after the words have been read. We need that green tree to be oh so much more!

For example:

Ranging from shades of almost black to bright lime, the leaves of the forest cradle the branches and trunks amongst them. Stepping on their fallen brethren fills the air with a freshness that could only come from Mother Nature.

That sounds a lot better than:

Green leaves on the trees. If you stepped on them it smelled fresh.

Yes, it’s wordier, but it sets the mood. That’s what figurative language allows you to do in a magical way. Saying something is red is easy. Using that redness to convey emotion takes effort. A tomato red face during an argument conveys anger. A peaches and cream complexion conveys prettiness, maybe even innocence. A blood red sunset instantly transports you to a warm summer evening.

According to the Wikipedia article on figurative speech, the ways you can use figurative language are numerous. They include: simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification, oxymoron, paradox, hyperbole, extended metaphor, and allusion. These terms from junior high might be filling you with dread, but they are the magic ingredients of the stories we tell.

When we use these devices to tell our story, we trust that our readers are clever. Referencing Einstein is meaningless if the reader has no idea who Albert Einstein was. We can give hints: His IQ was so high, he made Einstein look like he needed to be in a remedial science class. The reader can infer that Einstein must be smart, but our character is smarter.

Without figurative language, our stories would be bland and very short. The woman knit while rocking. There was a revolution. The men changed places. The husband was saved. What a sad way Charles Dickens could have told his A Tale of Two Cities. Can you imagine a world without the phrase: It was the best of times. It was the worst of times…

But we don’t need to be a classical author like Dickens to drive home our tales. We have stories that need to be shared and we have the gift of words to give our readers. Sure, a tree can be green, but it can also house fairies. Shouldn’t your writing hold the secret of the fairies?

Susie is the owner/editor of Motherhoot (www.motherhoot.com), a slice of life blog that is author/artist friendly. She is a write at home mom, still working on that first novel. The first draft is done and the editing is underway...

Follow her on Twitter: @SusieKline.

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E is for Editing #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-05T04:14:00.000-05:00

E is for Editing: 5 Tips for Self-Editing

A guest post by Natalie Wright

Whether we submit our manuscripts to agents and editors, or take them directly to readers by self-publishing, writers need to be ruthless self-editors. Editing is just as much a part of writing as that initial burst of creative energy. Before you query that manuscript or hit the upload button to self-publish, try out these five editing tips to improve your manuscript:

1. Let it Rest. After you have typed the last period on the last page, save it, back it up and then leave it. For how long? At least a week and up to a month. While your literary baby is gestating, your subconscious mind is still hard at work. Steven King calls it the “boys in the basement.” Let the boys (or girls) do their work. Allow your story to percolate before you open up that file again or pick up a pen to edit. Don’t skip this step in your rush to send your manuscript out into the world.

Actionable Tip: Let it rest.

2. Show Don’t Tell. I know, you’ve heard it before. But this is the alpha and omega tip for modern writing. If every writer knows this admonition, why is it that there’s so darn much tell in beginning writer’s manuscripts?

Telling a story is not the same thing as writing fiction.

If you follow only one editing tip, make it this one. Showing rather than telling will do more to elevate your writing than anything else you do.

How do I know if I’m telling rather than showing?

One of the best explanations of Show vs. Tell I’ve found is from James Scott Bell in his book Plot & Structure. Here’s Bell’s definition:

“Showing is like watching a scene in a movie. All you have is what is on the screen before you. What the characters do or say reveals who they are and what they’re feeling.

Telling, on the other hand, merely explains what is gong on in the scene, or inside the characters. It’s like you are recounting the movie to a friend.” P. 207, Plot & Structure, 2004 Writer’s Digest Books.

Do I have to “show” everything?

No, you shouldn’t. If you “show” everything then there is no ebb and flow to your work. Like a piece of music, you need to vary the intensity of your story in order to keep the reader with you, building to the climax. But keep your “tell” to a minimum and make sure that the most intense and important moments are shown rather than told.

Actionable Tip: Read through your manuscript and imagine the scenes as if they were on a movie screen. Are you merely recounting to the reader what is happening? Or are your “actors” revealing emotion, thought and action through what they do and say? In your rewrite, keep your tell to a minimum and maximize the high points of your story by showing them rather than telling them.

3. Create Your Log Line. Even if you use the “snowflake” or some similar method and create a log line before you ever start, after you have read through your draft, create it again – from scratch.

What is a log line?

Create one sentence of no more than 25 words that tells what your story is about. Include the protagonist, antagonist and the conflict. What needs to happen/what does the protagonist need to do before the story can end? Make every word count. (This is your “pitch” by the way too.)

Now time to be ruthless with your manuscript. Read it through again and analyze every scene to determine if it needs to be there. Does it advance the plot? Does it relate to your log line?

There may be set backs and reversals of fortune for your protagonist. That’s how characters learn and grow (and that’s about character arc and that’s a whole other post). But if a scene is not integral to your log line, cut it.

Actionable Tip: Create a log line and live by it.

4. Find & Replace is Your Friend. Seriously. Once you have torn the story apart and put it back together, a simple editing step that can kick your writing up a notch is to use the “Find and Replace” feature in your word processor. Search for your favorite “darling” words and cut them or find new ones to insert instead. One of my favorite superfluous words is “just.” Just is just such a useless word. Search for the “ly” and “ing” and “was.” All shout “passive voice,” (another no-no in modern fiction). On your read-through, make note of words that are repeated a lot and then do a Find and Replace. This simple editing step will give your manuscript polish.

Actionable Tip: Make the “Find and Replace” feature your friend.

5. Read Out Loud. In one sitting, if at all possible. There is no better way to catch problems with dialogue. Even after several read-throughs, you’ll be amazed at what you catch when you read it out loud. This step takes time but it is well worth it. Find a day when you can be alone with your coffee, colored pen and printed pages and have read aloud with just yourself. Speaking your words will bring them to life and your edits in this stage will energize your work.

Actionable Tip: Read out loud.

These steps take time – yes. But the effort will make your brilliant story ideas shine.

Natalie is the author of the novel Emily's House, a young adult fantasy/science fiction novel that has received high praise from reviewers and readers of all ages. Natalie's new series, the H.A.L.F. trilogy, will begin in 2012 with the first installment, The Deep Beneath.

Natalie began writing fiction again in 2007 after a creative hiatus spanning over fifteen years. In those years Natalie practiced divorce law and wrote professional articles.

Natalie believes that with thoughtful self-editing and the assistance of beta readers and skilled editors, writers can self-publish quality books that delight readers."

Catch her blog HERE.
Follow her on Twitter: @NatalieWright_.

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D is for Dialogue #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-04T05:50:00.000-05:00

Chat Me Up: Using Dialogue to Move the Story Forward

A guest post by Chris Redding

Dialogue in a story performs several functions in a story including showing us character. Your dialogue needs to seem natural and it needs to move the story forward. Your dialogue needs to have the elements of the story including conflict. Dialogue passages are not random. They serve a purpose. They have a beginning, middle and end.

For a playwright, dialogue is of the utmost importance because it is within that dialogue that the story is told. For a filmmaker, it is less important because that is a visual medium. For a novelist, it’s somewhere in between. The words the characters speak are one piece of the puzzle, but the dialogue still needs to make sense.

Dialogue is how we hear the feelings, mind, and nature of the character.

Dialogue advances the story. It reveals the characters. To advance the story, the dialogue reflects the current circumstances and needs, reveals future considerations and retells of past events. What the character says can reinforce or contradict what is going on around them in the narrative of the book.

We talk because we want something. Your characters needs to want something otherwise they have no reason to talk. And when we learn that sometimes we don’t get what we want, we figure out more complex speech to obtain what we want. For instance, if asking for a cookie right before dinner does not get us a cookie, we figure out how to say it so we do get the cookie. This is not straightforward speech. We are hiding our agendas in what we say. To successfully write dialogue for a character, you need to know what that character wants. The character going about getting what he/she wants is what advances the story.

I’ve touched on how to use dialogue in a story, but how do you write dialogue? Listen. I’m going to send you on a field trip. Go to a coffee house or Starbucks, whatever. Get your favorite hot beverage and sit. Now just listen. You don’t have to eavesdrop though you may get come story ideas that way.

What you are listening for is the rhythm of the conversations. An argument will have a different rhythm than two people on a first date. Then write some dialogue. Write a fight. That would be the most fun. Then read it out loud. If you can get someone to read it with you. You will know from hearing it whether it is natural. Remember, people don’t always speak in full sentences.

Understand, that dialogue is not real speech, but it must sound natural. It is speech edited to sound like real speech. It has bits and pieces strung together from different things the two people have in common. Dialogue in a book can have none of those unless the purpose of the conversation is to illustrate what the two people share.

In writing dialogue, realize it isn’t real speech, but must be natural, that is must reveal character and that it must advance the story.

Chris Redding lives in New Jersey with her husband, two kids, one dog and three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. When she isn't writing, she works part time for her local hospital.

Catch her blog HERE.
Follow her on Twitter: @chrisredding.

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C is for Characterization #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-03T01:24:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Meagan Adele Lopez

Whether you’re studying classic acting techniques by Meisner, Stanislovsky, Adler or Commedia Dell’Arte, you will be observing human interaction, movement and habits. You don’t need to know the specifics of each of these teachings to understand that in order to realistically and believably act as another person, you must first have a basic understanding of how humans engage. Human engagement can be anything:

the way a person holds his/her coffee cup
a body posture shift that happens when he/she is getting hit on
tension that arises when there is danger around
the way two people shake hands

The list of human engagement examples never stops. You can learn more from a few key movements in seconds than you could from listening to someone explain their feelings for two hours.

Every writer should take an acting class. To me, how you can develop another character from the inside out if you have never tried to be another character? Of course, I’m a bit biased as I’ve studied acting for 20 years. For me, the two are one and the same. I wouldn’t be able to write without knowing how to act, and vice versa.

As I write, I consistently reach back into those annals of acting classes to develop richer, more complex characters. My acting teacher told me that it takes twenty years to become a true actor. I never understood what he meant until I realized that it takes twenty years to realize that people aren’t just a mixture of ticks, tocks and habits. Every movement, every quirk, every action has a reasoning behind it. The same goes when describing and drawing out your characters on the page.

Have you ever paused to wonder why you can’t eat bread with the crust? Have you ever noticed how your best friend can’t fully say her “R”s? Have you seen a movie, and wondered why the actor chose to twirl her hair at that exact moment? Acting teaches you all this and more.

This isn’t an advertisement for acting at all. However, there are valuable lessons to be learned from what it takes to create a character as an actor, or to perform improv. It’s a writer’s job to bring characters to life on the page, and it’s an actor’s job to bring them to life on the stage or film. A writer only gets to express this character on a flat piece of paper, but gaining insight into what it feels like to actually be that character will open the writer up to become more vulnerable and to be able to feel if the character is actually acting as he would.

The more you act, the more you can instinctually understand if a character would or would not say or do a certain thing. For writers, one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is keeping a character consistent and believable. If a writer has insight into their characters’ minds, they are one step closer to keeping their audience engaged with not only a credible, relatable and interesting storyline, but with characters that are the same way.

Finally, for a writer, presenting the piece or conducting a reading is a huge part of having a successful launch of your book. After all, you want to connect with your audience in a captivating way.

In other words, take an acting class. It can only improve your character development and your technique as to how to do so.

Meagan Adele Lopez is a writer, social media maven and National Hispanic Scholar who is passionate about finding a way to communicate with other humans – purely and simply. For four years, Meagan pursued casting where she worked for such films as Juno, The Day the Earth Stood Still, X-Files II, Jennifer’s Body and Repo Men, and television shows such as Medium and Numb3rs.

While living in England with her British beau, Meagan wrote her debut novel, Three Questions: Because a quarter life crisis needs answers.

You can follow her popular blog, The Lady Who Lunches, at www.ladywholunches.net/blog, and find her on Twitter as @meaganadele. When Meagan is not writing, she spends her time perfecting the art of marketing and social media as co-founder and Vice President of Accounts of social media agency, SocialKaty.

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B is for Brainstorming #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-02T00:57:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Derek Thompson

Over the years I've heard many writers talk about the difficulty in coming up with ideas. I even attended a writing workshop once, where, during the introductions, someone declared, "Someday I really want to write a book - I just don't have any ideas for it yet." And then I really wanted to murder a wannabe writer - only I had plenty of ideas of how to go about it. But enough about me...

Every waking minute of every day, we are bombarded by stimuli - much of it, but not exclusively, external. TV, radio, magazines, advertising, overheard conversations, things we see, things we think we see - all these and more are constantly feeding the brain with information and interpretation. In parallel, our internal thought processes relate to the external stimuli based on what we have experienced before and our internal values or biases. Unless you're meditating, it doesn't stop. For a second. The only activity that keeps the noise down is focus.

Now, you could cut up some magazines and go arrange some pretty pictures. That's a start; it's true. But why not take the information you've collected and do something else creative with it? Pretend you're a comedy writer.

At first glance, comedy writing and other forms of creative writing are very different. Every genre has its rules and expectations, while comedy seems to be about one rule - being funny - right? Well, wrong actually. Comedy writing, in my experience, often relies on set formulae and techniques, and most of these can be applied to brainstorming.

These include:

Exaggeration - Making someone meaner, stronger more dishonest or needier. Or upping the stakes, so that the everyday consequences are magnified x10?
Misdirection - Sending the reader in one direction and then pulling out the rug from under them.
Similarity between things / People that are different - the cop and the bad girl have the same attitude to the law and normal social conventions.
Difference between things that are similar - Two sisters grow up together (perhaps even twins), but their lives take very different paths.

Intermission - a few jokes to be going on with...

One of the first Disney artists has died in California. Doctors say the colour just drained out of him.
Originally, brides were married in blue. It was a sign of both purity and substandard washing powder.
Scientists have confirmed that pig organs are completely safe for human beings. If only as a breakfast after the transplant operation.
A survey has shown that men pay more attention when they have a woman in the car...telling them how to drive.

OK, where were we?

Brainstorming. So, it isn't just a slew of ideas that gets the brain changing up a gear, there also needs to be a context or a dynamic tension. What is it about two ideas / characters / subplots / ideologies that ignites our interest? I think it's the dynamic between them. Juxtapose two people with conflicting ideas, or strangers locked in a room, and you have the beginnings of something interesting.

Still stuck for ideas? Get out your dictionary (remember those?) and use the power of random. For example, the finger of fate has selected professor, puppet and sleep:

A professor who performs sleep deprivation experiments on his students.
A professor obsessed with an antique puppet that he has to possess.
A professor being manipulated by someone else in the faculty.
Teachng people good sleep habits.
A puppet that comes alive in people's dreams.
A puppeteer who calls herself The Professor, but who is she really?
The tale of a disassociated child, whose parents dress him up as a puppet.

Enjoy your brainstorming - observe, play, and juxtapose, and see where it takes you!

Derek Thompson is a freelance writer and humorist.
Web: www.professional-writer.co.uk
Blog: www.alongthewritelines.blogspot.com
Twitter: @DerekWriteLines

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A is for Adverbs and Adjectives #AtoZChallenge

2012-04-01T00:52:00.000-05:00

The Reviled Adverb & Less-Maligned Adjective

A Little Guidance on Description

A guest post by Wodke Hawkinson

Stephen King's aversion to adverbs is well-known. You can find this quote attributed to Mr. King all over the internet: "The road to Hell is paved with adverbs." But what is an adverb? Technically, it's a modifier. It's a word that describes a verb, a phrase, an adjective, or even another adverb. It's often created by adding -ly or -ally to a regular innocent word, a word that without the -ly would hardly offend anyone. Even Mr. King.

An adverb may tell how something is accomplished. For instance, saying that John walked doesn't tell us much. On the other hand, saying that John walked quickly is more descriptive. Seems harmless enough, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's not. Put too many of these rascals into your manuscript and you run the risk of producing an amateurish piece of writing. Why is this so? Because you can usually find a better way to say it. Many writers would refuse to say that John walked quickly. They might say that John hurried. Or that he scrambled. Or that he stomped, marched, tore, flew, zipped, hustled, strode, swaggered, or hastened. Anything to avoid the dreaded "-ly".

Are all adverbs bad? I don't think so. As a reader, I want to know how something is done. If John speaks, I want to know if he speaks softly or if he yells. So, once in a while, an adverb is acceptable. Use them sparingly. As a person who actually adores adverbs, I don't enjoy having to criticize them. However, even I have to accede that adverbs are like spices. Using too many can spoil the recipe.

"I hate you," John said softly.

This tells your reader how John speaks and it does so in a concise manner. However, there are alternatives that might have more impact. Try these on for size:

"I hate you," John murmured.

"I hate you," John whispered.

"I hate you," John muttered.

Or you can dispense with the "said" verb altogether:

"I hate you." John's voice was barely audible.

"I hate you." John spoke quietly but with great conviction.

"I hate you." John's soft tone carried an undercurrent of malice.

Anyway, you get the idea.

Now, adjectives are much friendlier and more accepted, although there are writers out there who avoid them as well. An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. In my opinion, adjectives are important. For instance, our character, John, drives a car. We want to know more about that car. Is it big? Is it new? What color is it? So we will put our trusty adjectives to work in order to help our readers picture John in his car. Here are a few possibilities for John's vehicle:

John drove a modified hearse, bought from a former undertaker.

John owned an old beat-up car.

John raced around town in a flashy red car.

Can you take adjectives too far? Yes. Here is an example:

John inhaled the fresh invigorating sweet clean morning breeze and stared at the robust yellow happy bright tulips that bordered his vibrant green healthy thick lawn.

In a sentence like that, some adjectives must be sacrificed. As a writer, you must choose the best ones and discard the rest. If you put too many adjectives in your prose, you will weigh it down. It wearies the reader after a while, slogging through all that verbiage in search of the point you are trying to make.

Whew! That last example was wordy! I think I actually liked it better when John was merely driving his car and hating someone.

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Calling all Writers: Guest Post for us during the #AtoZChallenge

2012-03-01T03:15:00.000-06:00

We signed up to participate in the A to Z Challenge in April. One of the major goals of the challenge is to help promote other blogs (as well as yourself). In doing so, participants get to mingle with other bloggers, which sounds like a great way to network. Expanding our personal reach online is a great start, but being able to help writers do the same is even a better goal.

The challenge calls for 26 blog posts in 26 days, each day starting with a different letter of the alphabet. This is a major undertaking for anyone, but for writers who maintain blogs, this could be a monumental task. So for that reason, we’re extending an invitation to our writer fans to write guest posts for us.

The general theme we’re looking for is Writing Tips, but we’re flexible on this. If you have an idea for a particular letter, we’d be happy to entertain it. For some I thought of more than one great idea. You could go with either one or something else.

Bold—No one has requested.

Italics—Requested, pending.

Stroked Out—We have a post for this letter.

~~A is for Adverbs & Adjectives~~

~~B is for Brainstorming~~

C is for Characterization

~~D is for Description/Dialogue~~

~~E is for Editing~~

F is for Figurative Language

~~G is for Genre~~

H is for Hook

~~I is for Irony/Imagery~~

J is for Jargon

~~K is for Kicker (a quick turn of events)~~

~~L is for Language~~

M is for Metaphor

N is for Novel

~~O is for Outline~~

P is for Plot

~~Q is for Questions~~

R is for Revising

~~S is for Self-Publishing~~

T is for Typos

U is for Understatement

V is for Voice

W is for Word Count/Writer's Block

~~X is for X-Factor (what makes a piece great)~~

~~Y is for Yikes! (common errors writers make)~~

~~Z is for Zombies~~

If you would like to sign up, please do so below. Until we have your post (and approve it), we’ll keep that letter active. Once we have a definite post for a letter, we’ll strike it out in the above list. After I receive a synopsis that I approve of, I'll change the line of that letter to Italics and take the Bold off. That letter will still be available until I strike it out.

If you want a letter that is already taken (or in the process of approval), we may ask you to write for another letter. If you would still like to write for a particular letter, we may run your post or the other post for that letter before the challenge begins in order to advertise the challenge. We'll do our best not to turn anyone away. We'll find room for your post somewhere.

Just so that we aren't frantically putting everything together at the last minute, we'd like the posts in as quickly as possible. Though there isn't going to be a word count requirement, we would appreciate several hundred words, 500 or so being ideal. The optional writer bio can be included in this number.

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30+ great ways to promote your self-published eBook

2012-03-01T03:13:00.000-06:00

A repost of THIS ARTICLE (via Cendrine Marrouat)

Before the release of your eBook The day of the release and afterwards One of the most common questions authors ask me is this: “How can I promote my upcoming self-published eBook efficiently and without breaking open my piggy bank?” In this article, I have highlighted more than 30 tips that will…

Writing Tips—How to Develop Characters (Tips from the Crew Part Two)

2011-11-14T08:41:00.000-06:00

In the first part of this series, we presented five tips to help you develop characters. The following are the remaining five general tips from the crew.

6) Trust Your Instincts

Your character should be your best friend, someone who you know more about than anyone else and love them no matter what flaws they have. So if you are getting annoyed with your character the chances are your reader is too. It's never too late to save a boring character, it might not always be as bad as you think.

7) Stay Away From Stereotypes

Even though it might seem like the easy option to use a stereotype for your character but it won't make them stand out and become appealing to your reader. Using a stereotype as a basis for your character can work but it is also a little risky as you can find that it is hard to make your character into an individual with their own traits and personality.

8) First Person Narrative

Even if you don't plan on using first person narrative in your story, it helps in getting to know your character if you write something - long or short or whatever - from the direct viewpoint of the character. I always let the character speak to me through this; he/she will tell me if something is bothering them, how he/she reacts in certain situations, etc. I'm often pleasantly surprised in what I learn through this.

9) Interview Your Character

Starting with a list of standard questions, interview your character. Many of these details may never see the light of day in the actual story, but the information will be there when you need it. Early on you can decide about eye color, likes and dislikes, their background and so much more.

As your story develops, you could interview your character again to expand your understanding of how your character would likely react in certain situations. Think of this second interview as between you and the character in relation to the story itself. Ask him/her about events in the story. Get in their head, in other words.

10) Inspiration From Different Objects

This can be the cure for writers block as well as the perfect kind of muse to create your character. Say if you were to have an object that you see everyday, has a great variety of colour or maybe depth to it; it helps if you personify the object. A marble has a great amount of 'depth' to it. The colours change in the right light, the texture is smooth, and it's small yet gracefull.

Or maybe you can go for a walk and study the scenery. Trees, plants and flowers are an awesome muse because they're already full with life, so there's not much left to add from it.

Writing Tips—How to Develop Characters (Tips from the Crew Part One)

2011-11-11T01:13:00.000-06:00

The perfect character should not be very perfect at all, because when we get down to it, no one wants to read a story filled with Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus. So how do we do it? How do we create the (near) perfect character?

The following are the first five general tips offered by the crew. Another set of tips to follow soon.

1) Have a Rough Outline of Your Character

Before writing, it is always good to create a small biography of your character. Include the most important facts, such as their appearance, personality and general history. This would then later help you out immensely as you progress with your story, because it will help keep the small details of the portrayal of your character accurate. However, don't spend too long writing the biography, just jot down the most basic details and let the rest come to you as you write.

2) Have a Balance

I personally don't believe in having a total villain or a total hero. The perfect character should be created with a balance of good and bad characteristics, a mix of real life personalities that makes them three dimensional, believable and relatable to the readers. For this, I find it helpful to base the personality of the character on people I know. For example, I would ask myself: What do I find admirable in my best friend? What irritates me? The answers to these questions will enable me to create a list of personality traits that are real, as well as to build up a flawed yet near perfect character.

3) Example Character 'Bases'

Start out with yourself, as the Protagonit(s), one aspect amplified slightly (like shyness). It's what most of us do for role plays, but you can get good book characters that way, who will then take on lives of their own.

For an Antagonist you can use someone who looks at the world differently from the Protagonist, like a parent. Now, if you are going more towards having a villan, then you'll want to give the Antagonist a personality trait that's mean/evil or simply annoying. Then...

4) Let them develop in your head

The more you write scenes with your characters in it, the more you discover who they are. Your story and the world they belong to is going to shape the characters that belong to it. You still want that sinppit of a bio (like farm girl from the midwest USA), but as you write, that bio will become more in depth, and you'll learn who they had a crush on in 5th grade and how that affects their reactions to that person five years later. And don't worry if that scene doesn't end up in your story. It wasn't a waste of time. In fact consider it quality time with your characters. They like getting quality time.

5) Use The People around You

A great way of creating what a character looks like is to study the people around you. You can take his curly hair and her blue eyes. But you can use the people around you to make your charcter sound: His deep baritone or her soft murmur. Many things can be inspired from this—behaviour, scents, sounds, etc ....

Writing Tips—How To Make A Story Interesting

2011-09-28T07:31:00.000-05:00

Bored readers don't buy books. If a reader buys your book and gets bored, they won't buy your next book. What is a writer to do? How can one spice up a story so that readers don't start yawning and fall asleep? We present six tips to get you started.

1) Don't Be Repetitive

If you find yourself saying the same (your characters doing similar little actions: 'I stared at x'... 'later x stared at y'), think of a different way to say the action, in the same way that you'd choose different verbs of speaking to emphasise the dialogue or the action going on around it. Rephrase the sentence to make it original, to make it something that you wouldn't have thought of at first.

You'll also find that working to change the sentence can influence the way a story is going, which can inspire a new direction.

For example, I found myself recently writing 'they spoke in Russian' ... 'x said in Russian' ... 'z muttered to x in Russian', so I changed one of the phrases to 'X muttered in his native tongue.' Small changes like this can make a big difference.

The next tip is very similar to the first.

2) Vary Your Sentence Structure

Don't start every sentence, or even every paragraph with the same sentence structure. Change it up a bit; use a verb one time and a subject the next.

Though probably not the best, the following example will give you an idea of what I mean. This is a two paragraph excerpt of my current work in process.

Sarah nodded and headed down with the young girl. Thankfully, the girl had brought down a torch and lit a couple others that lined the wall, or Sarah wouldn't have been able to see a thing. Unlike at Griffon's and Bear's the light did not pour in from the kitchen and illuminate what was there. It wasn't hard to tell that the fall harvest was in full swing.

Deciding upon carrots, potatoes and peas Sarah brought an armful up to her station. Hickory she noted was standing by the door and Margaret quickly joined Sarah.

3) Use Interesting Synonyms ... But Make Sure You Get Them Right

Interesting synonyms can add a bit of spark to a dull sentence, making it bright again. However this is an area where you need to be careful. Not all the synonyms of a word will fit in the context of your sentence, and the last thing you want when trying to impress your readership with your impressive wordmanship is to have them scratch their head, wondering just why that sentence doesn't make sense.

4) Try Something New

You might have reached a stalemate in your story, where everything is kind of heading down a predictable track. Don't be afraid to have your characters suddenly have a new crisis to deal with, like an ambush, or a new character to liven up a group of characters which are now too comfortable with each other. A little bickering with a new character, or a new love triangle, can always add a little spice.

5) Foreshadow

When used well foreshadowing can be your greatest friend. There's nothing like amazing your readers later down the story by how early you hinted at an important plot point. Some authors do this well over several books, foreshadowing in the first book points from the last of a series. It is foreshadowing that will have your readers eager to reread your books, trying to find out what other hints they may have also missed earlier in the story. And it's not a hard thing to include. Sometimes all it requires are a few carefully placed words, a subtly mentioned item, a place mentioned in passing. Even one word can sometimes be enough.

6) Metaphores and Similes

The best works of fictions all used metaphores to create a picture and a mood. I find that the usage of a metaphor strengthens the image created, whether of a person, a scene or an action. For example, instead of saying, "He waited for the perfect moment" you could say, "He was a panther on padded feet, his bright eyes waiting for the perfect moment to pounce." Similes could be used in a similar way, although I feel metaphores do provide much more strength to a description.

Writer's Block—Dream Your Way Out Of It

2011-09-16T03:31:00.000-05:00

By Sharon Flood

We all do it, but we don't always use it to our advantage. I daydream to keep the creative juices flowing when I'm staring at a blank page and don't know how to fill it. Here's a few examples on how to use daydreaming constructively.

You're riding on a bus staring out the window at a boring cityscape. What do you do? You observe and daydream. You pass a crumbling old building, and you pull out your notebook and describe it. It may be useful in a story somewhere.

You're at a family gathering, and you're stuck with a notorious gossip. She's your sister, so you're stuck. What do you do? You look at her as though she's spouting gems of wisdom, and you daydream about a gossiping character, or details about how to get away with killing a gossiping character.

You're at work doing mindless repetitive activity with your hands, when your brain goes on disconnect. Get your job done without going into a coma, by keeping your mind active - daydream. If you're working on a specific story, daydream about what is happening in it. If a character is walking through a museum, daydream about various museums you've been through, and what you're likely to see in a museum hall.

You're a passenger in a van full of people all yammering at once. It's summer, it's hot and sweaty, and you'd rather be anywhere else. So you daydream about skiing on a nice gentle mountain slope with no one around but fresh crisp mountain air, and the scent of pine. Jot it down, and use it somewhere.

I find that if I can't write about something specific because I feel pressured, I daydream about something else to unclog my brain.

Writer's Block—Tips From the Crew (Part 2)

2011-09-09T08:25:00.000-05:00

After the first installment of our Writer's Block series was written and ready to go, more tips started coming in. It soon became obvious we had enough for another post. We start this one with a tip so common that I am surprised we didn't include it before.

1) Carry a Pen & Paper At All Times

You never know when something you see is going to spark an idea, whether its for a character, a setting or a whole story. The last thing you want to be doing in this situation is rummaging in your bags and pockets for any scrap of paper to jot the idea down on, before it vanishes or fades from memory. Being stuck on a train or writing on receipts is not an ideal situation. Be prepared with a pen and a small notebook, and you'll never have an idea escape you again.

2) No matter how silly an idea is, write it down

When suffering from writer's block, any idea is a good idea. Anything that finally sparks the imagination should be used, no matter how silly it is. See where this idea goes. Who knows—it may turn into a fantastic story in a genre you never considered writing before. At the very least, it may break down the block and allow you to resume writing the story causing you trouble.

3) Step Out of your Comfort Zone

Always write in a specific genre or style? Give something else a try, something you may never have tried before. It's very easy to get comfortable writing in the same genre. The very act of switching genres may be just what you need to get the creative juices flowing again. Always write fantasy? Try crime or horror. Romance more your style? Why not dip your feet into the science fiction world? You'd be amazed where this change of creative scene could take you.

4) Listen to Music

Music is a great source of inspiration. Put your iPod on shuffle and with the next song, listen intently to either the lyrics or the music. Perhaps you could take a line or two from the lyrics as your next prompt, or try and put words to the emotions portrayed by the music. Before you know it, your next masterpiece could be on its way!

5) Don't Stop Writing

Some writers never had writer's block because they've never stopped writing. Sure, there are times when it's harder than usual, but if you don't stop writing, you'll get through a tough spot. Once you've driven through the harder parts to write, it's a lot easier to complete the piece. It doesn't matter if you don't like it later—you can edit it! If you write something, you have something to edit. If you write nothing ... well ... what can you do with nothing?

6) Keep an Idea Box

Whenever a random idea for a story pops in my mind, I write it down on a piece of paper and drop it in this small box in which I gather all these ideas for stories. Usually these ideas are never attended to and are ignored. But they're useful when I feel writer's block ready to greet me. I pick out a random piece of paper from the box and start writing a new story based on the idea. I don't focus on making it perfect, and I don't worry about mistakes either. I just write it all out. Magically, it wards off writer's block for me.

7) Imagine a Tree's Roots

Don't stress! Relax and get a cup of tea (or whatever your favorite beverage is) and imagine a tree, which is your writing. If the tree is not growing, go to the root of the problem. Search for existing descriptions (your own or from someone else) and see if that will help you think of a new description to get you out of writer's block.

Writer's Block—Tips From The Crew (Part 1)

2011-09-02T08:27:00.000-05:00

Writer's block can be devastating to a writer. It can halt you in your tracks, and you end up sitting there feeling helpless. Here's some good news, though. Every writer goes through it, and many of them have figured out ways to combat the evil demon. Your job as a struggling writer is to try various things until you find something that works for you, which sums up the first of six tips presented below.

1) Experiment

Trying out different styles and mixing genres together will not only give you a weapon against writer's block, but it can also help make your writing unique. It is also fun and gives you the chance to include unusual ideas formed from "thinking outside the box." There are no guarantees that it will work the first time or that everyone will like it, but there are also no reasons why you shouldn't give it a go.

2) Start with the Easiest

I personally find dialog to be fairly easy to write most of the time, so oftentimes I will start writing a scene with just a few bits of dialog in mind. The description necessary to complete a scene is easier for me with a conversation already in place. Others might find dialog more difficult, so they might start with description instead.

3) Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself

Often writer's block comes about because the author thinks that they are not writing eloquently enough. The idea for the story is there, but somehow the wording looks wrong. And so they sit there, staring at a blank screen and waiting for the right words to come. The way to beat this is not to worry about the wording at all. Take it easy and just write whatever comes to mind, even if you'd laugh later at the horrible phrasing of the story. Just write without a care in the world. Write as fast as you can. At least now you've beaten the block and have the rough storyline. Worry about the word choices later. That's what editing's for, right?

4) Imagine Everything is a Story

If you're struggling to describe something, then relax, take a deep breath and look around you. Think of how you would describe your surroundings. Then think about your actions and how you would describe them. For example, instead of saying, "I put the pen down on the table," think of all the different ways you can say it. "I placed the pen carefully on the table" or "I threw the pen on the table in a careless manner." I find that the smallest, most insignificant things in a room—or the tiniest action—are often the most fun to try. Even if you don't have a block, it's a great warm up to get you in the mood for description.

5) Don't Overdevelop Characters

This tip is more about preventing writer's block rather than treating it.

Writers are often told to get to know their characters very well before writing. But, this can be overdone. People are multifaceted, and so your characters should be, too. How your character acts should conform with the situation. Prepackaging characters can present a problem if what you wrote about them before doesn't match up to what you write later. That could give you a block.

6) Collaborations Galore!

The Masquerade Crew is very big into writing stories together; therefore, a tip on collaborating with fellow writers is in order.

It often helps to be involved in a lot of works in order to prevent writer's block from striking you. If you're able to switch from one story to another, it helps to rid the boredom that usually takes over when the plague hits or to avoid the sudden lack of creativity. If you're kept busy, writing in different stories that might have completely different plots/storylines, the ideas will flow to you naturally and help keep writer's block away.