Seeing Creative

Contest Monday

2010-03-08T12:34:00.004-07:00

Hmmm. Maybe I should move my photography tip day to Tuesdays, and designate Mondays to announcing all the contests my super cool blogger friends are having. What do you think?

Check out Elana Johnson’s blog for a chance to win some great YA novels. Trust me, they’re great. I’ve read (own) about half of them already. And the best part is they’re autographed by the author. What could be better than that?

Okay, maybe there is something slightly better than that. How about a chance to have Suzie Townsend (an agent from FinePrintLit) crit the first 50 pages of your manuscript. For more info and the list of other prizes, check out Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins' blog, Shooting Stars.

You can stop drooling on your keyboard. Seriously, you’re gonna want to quit drooling, at last long enough to enter both great contests.

Striving To Be Better

2010-03-04T06:00:00.001-07:00

As writers, we do everything we can to hone our craft. Our libraries are filled with books on writing. We tear our novels apart during the editing process, and submit our words (and egos) to be torn apart by our writer friends. We enter contests. We post our pages on forums such as Verlakay and Absolute Write. Everything to give us that edge, to get better.

But sometimes that’s not enough.

I recently landed a request from an agent for my novel. I was excited, of course. But I was also realistic. Fortunately I queried an agent who *gasp* doesn’t reply with a form rejection. Instead, she gave me feedback no one else had. In the past, I'd go back and fix those errors then query the next group of agents. My writing has grown a lot since my last book (according to those who’ve read both) because of this.

But this time that approach wasn’t enough.

This time I decided to take a writer’s workshop. That’s the only way my writing can really improve.

So I did the research and found two Writer’s Digest workshops I wanted to take. I couldn’t make up my mind, so I registered for them both. The one on writing a YA novel has nothing to do with my problem, but heck, it looked really cool. Plus the instructor is Gloria Kempton, who has written numerous articles and books on writing, and landed six figure deal for a YA series. Nice, huh? Fortunately I already had the textbook, Writing & Selling the YA Novel by K.L. Going.

The YA course started last week, and I’ve been working hard on the assignments. The other one will start in three weeks. I’ll get tons of feedback on my novel from published authors and from my class mates. Plus I can ask about the issue the agent pointed out.

And speaking of the agent. We somehow ended up having a conversation after I thanked her for her feedback. I mentioned I was going to take a workshop through Writer’s Digest and asked her if I could requery her afterwards (once I fix the problem). Normally I wouldn’t do that, but she’d been so supportive and encouraging about my novel. She was the one who told me not to give up it and to work on honing my craft some more. She was the one who inspired me to do whatever was necessary to become a better writer.

Her answer was yes!

So my question for you is: What steps have you taken to become a better writer? Remember, everything we do counts.

Update: I got back the comments on my first assignment which was based on a scene from my novel. I kicked some heavy duty butt on it. Yay!

Contests! Contests! Contests!

2010-03-02T21:06:00.006-07:00

I have two great contests you definitely don’t want to miss:

You can win the book Paranolmacy by Kiersten White, due out in September, and a fifty page critique by Wernoika Janczuk. Wenoika is an intern at a major literary agency. What more could you ask for?

And

Check out Steena Holmes’ blog at Chocolate Reality for more info on her contest. Just make sure you polish your opening paragraph first.

My regular Wednesday writing post will be delayed 'till Thursday. See you then.

Tip # 64: Breathtaking Waterfalls

2010-03-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I talked about making the most of the water in a scene when taking a picture. This week I want to discuss how to take cool shots like this one.

It’s simple, but you’ll need a tripod or something solid, like a rock, to keep your camera steady and at the correct height. Then adjust the camera to a slow shutter speed like I described in this post. If you use a fast shutter speed, you’ll freeze the movement of the water, but you won’t get the smooth effect shown here. Experiment with different speeds, but generally the slower the better. You'll also want to check out this post first.

If you’re lucky *waves at Nisa* and live near the ocean, try using both a fast and slow shutter speed during a storming day, and see the amazing pictures you’ll get when the wave surges. You’ll have to get close to capture the effect. Just try not to drown when the wave hits.

Which Comes First? The Character or The Plot

2010-02-24T06:00:00.001-07:00

Some writers live to outline. They shudder at the thought of writing without the scaffolding. That would be, gasp, deadly.

Other writers love to live dangerously and write by the seat of their pants.

Each method works. And each comes with pros and cons. I’m curious though. How many writers come up with a detailed plot first, and how many focus on characterization before anything else?

For me, I’ll have an idea for a book and jot down notes. Maybe even the logline. I’ll then work on the characterization for the main characters (the protagonist and the key secondary characters). I have an extensive questionnaire, but I also work through a personalizing exercise described in Getting into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors by Brandilyn Collins. (Check out this post for more info)

It’s during this process that I come up with more ideas for my story. Then I organize my outline based on these. The end product might be different from what I’d first envisioned, but that’s okay. It still works with my logline and the story is way better than what I’d originally planned.

So for me, I definitely have to outline. But characterization comes mostly before plot. Of course, I still need to have some idea of the plot before I start; otherwise, the characters would be all over the place.

What about you? Do you outline? Do you figure out your characters first before the plot? Or do you just jump in and worry about your characters and plot as you write?

ps. This cool picture was created on Photoshop Elements. Now you know what I do when I'm procrastinating.

Spreading the Love

2010-02-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

Check out the blog Shooting Stars. My friend Suzette Saxton and her sister, Bethany Wiggins, are hosting a contest. It’s a chance to get your first two pages critted by this wonderful (agented) duo.

Good luck to all who enter!

Tip # 63: Mirror Mirror On The Wall

2010-02-22T06:00:00.009-07:00

If there’s water in the scene, see if there’s a way to make the most of it in your photo. Just watch out for the glare of the sun reflecting from it. Sometimes the effect is cool, sometimes not. Depends on the look you’re after.

Assignment: Locate a body of water (pond, lake) near where you live, and experiment by taking photos at different times of the day and under different conditions. A blue sky will give you different results compared to a cloudy or windy day. And the time of day will affect how much glare you’ll have to deal with. Remember to take notes of the conditions to keep with your pictures for further study.

And The Awards Go To . . .

2010-02-18T20:26:00.067-07:00

Wow, I feel like I’m at the Academy Awards. And the blogging awards go to . . .

The Sugar Doll Award

First, I’d like to thank A.L. Sonnichsen for this beautiful award. To claim it, I have to tell you ten unusual and/or unexpected things about myself. So here goes:

My middle name is Louisa, after Louisa May Alcott. Even before I was born I was destined to be a YA writer. *grins*

I lived in Jyväskylä (central Finland) for a semester in grad school. The university there has one of the top sport research centres in the world.

I have a physical education degree but I’m a klutz when it comes to sports.

I’ve studied French, Spanish, and Finnish and suck at all of them. But hey, at least I tried.

I used to live not far from Jane Austen. Well, where she lived when she was alive.

Me and high heels are not a good mix.

I’m a chocoholic and proud of it.

I used to test the fitness level of elite athletes. And boy was it fun yelling at (motivating) them to keep going. Just give me pom-poms and I’m all set. (No pyramids, though).

I once wanted to be a historic romance writer, but then discovered YA novels. There was no turning back after that.

If there was a time in history I would love to visit, it would be the early to mid 1800’s. Especially if Mr. Darcy really did look like Colin Firth.

I also have to pass this award on to five other bloggers I’d love to know more about. So I’m passing this great honor on to the following (and believe me it was hard to choose since I want to know about so many of you):

Roni Griffin atFiction Groupie
Melissa at I Swim for Oceans
Keri Payton at Cinnamon Quill
Karen Denise at I’m Always Write
Kat O’Keeffe at Words, etc

The Sunshine Award

Steena Holmes from Chocolate Reality awarded me The Sunshine Award. In this case I was supposed to pass it onto twelve bloggers, but I ran out of steam after doing the previous one and the one from last week. So here are my nine choices.

Wendy Sparrow at Where Ladybugs Roar

C. Lee McKenzie at Write Game

Angela Ackerman at The Bookshelf Muse. You really have to check this one out. She’s like a living thesaurus, only better.

Nisa at Word Play Sword Play

Lisa And Laura Write . This dynamic duo makes me wish I had a sister instead of a brother.

Katie Salidas at My Immortal Stories

The girls at YA Highway

Susan R Mills at A Walk in My Shoes

Gretchen at Seanchai

Abby Annis

Rules to Accept the Awards:
Put the logo on your blog in your post.
Pass the award onto x bloggers.
Link the nominees within your post.
Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blogs.
Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hail to the Query Ninja

2010-02-17T06:00:00.020-07:00

Last week I volunteered to have Elana Johnson (aka the Query Ninja) from the Query Tracker Blog do some spectacular moves on my query. I’d bought her e-book FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL (brilliant book by the way, especially with the examples) and wanted to take her up on her offer to crit the query.

This is the before version:

Ten months ago, Calleigh Clarkson was a star on the high school swim team. But after a fan assaulted her, she quit swimming. Unwilling to tell anyone the truth, she buried herself in her studies. Now it’s summer vacation. She wants to be the fun-loving girl she once was, the one her friends miss.

Great plan, except her nightmares are growing more intense and frequent. And now she’s experiencing flashbacks. So not part of the plan. Calleigh’s determined to deal with them on her own, before anyone figures out something’s wrong. Fail that, and her mom will drag her to a shrink. And that’s the last thing Calleigh wants.

Then she meets Aaron. He’s a former competitive swimmer, haunted by a secret. As a romance develops between them, Calleigh discovers Aaron’s sister committed suicide. She realizes that for them to heal, they both need to return to the sport they love. But before she can do that, Calleigh has to push past her fear, and find the courage to swim again. Only someone doesn’t want that to happen.

LOST IN A HEARTBEAT is a 76,000-word young adult contemporary novel, which will appeal to readers who enjoy books by Sarah Dessen and Sarah Ockler.

I’m not going to rehash her comments here, but do check them out on the QT blog. You can learn tons from them.

I love her examples in her e-book, and really wanted to make mine sparkle just as much. So after much thought—and rewriting—I came up with the following:

Seventeen-year-old Calleigh has a plan for summer vacation, and it totally doesn’t include burying herself under the truth of what happened ten months ago. Once a star on her high school swim team, Calleigh quit when a fan assaulted her. Now she wants to be the fun-loving girl she once was. The one her friends miss. Great plan, right? Too bad her nightmares are growing more intense and frequent, and now she’s experiencing flashbacks. So not part of the plan.

To top it off, her best friend’s seriously hinted this’ll be their summer for romance and guys. And gasp, she’s even lined up a guy for Calleigh. As a romance develops between Calleigh and Aaron, he tries to help her deal with the disturbing dreams while also trying to convince her to start swimming again. And geez, is he ever persistent. But when Calleigh discovers his sister committed suicide, she realizes that for them to heal, they so need to return to competitive swimming. Only thing is, Calleigh and Aaron’s sister are linked in a way she could never have imagined—a connection that could be deadly for Calleigh.

LOST IN A HEARTBEAT is a 76,000-word young adult contemporary novel. It will appeal to readers who enjoy the character-based stories of Sarah Dessen and Sarah Ockler, and also to those who love the romance and danger in PERFECT CHEMISTRY and the VAMPIRE ACADEMY series.

See the difference? As you can tell, voice played a big part in it. Plus the ending is way better. That part was driving me crazy. Elana’s book really helped me there. (There’s my not so subtle hint that you need to check out the book if you’re planning to write a query soon).

The best part is I’ve modified the query slightly (I don’t want the reader to know about Aaron’s sister just yet) and turned it into a blurb for the novel. That and the first three pages can be found under the tab MY BOOKS at the top this blog.

Thanks Elana for your help!

PS. my new query landed me my first request yesterday. Okay it helped that I did major rewrites on my voice in the novel, but Elana made sure it came out in my query.

More Fabulous Contests!

2010-02-16T06:00:00.001-07:00

Psst. Have you heard? There’re some fabulous contests this week you definitely don’t want to miss. Trust me on this!

Check out Elana Johnson’s blog (aka the Query Ninja). Among the great prizes, you could win a query critique by one of five agents. How cool is that?

And watch for tomorrow’s blog (here) to see how she ninjafied my query last week on the QT blog.

And that’s not all! Check out Shelli Johannes-Wells’ blog for info on her contests this week. More amazing prizes! And in case you missed it, Monday’s clue was Start. But you’ll have to keep watching her blog to discover the rest of them.

You do need to follow both blogs to enter. But that shouldn’t be a problem ‘cause they’re seriously worth following.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Tip # 62: Monochromatic Beauty

2010-02-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Just because the weather is blah doesn’t mean your photos have to be. Look for interesting textures to make up for the lack of color. In this picture, the removal of the snow from the street created cool patterns on the road, and the evergreens added additional texture. The result is a beautiful picture that you might not have otherwise expected.

The Happy Award!

2010-02-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Squeal! Last week Roni Griffin from Fiction Groupie gave me the Happy 101 award. So first, here are the ten things that make me happy:

My husband
My three adorable kids
Books, books, books (especially the YA kind)
Exercising (especially running)
Chocolate (especially dark chocolate)
Blog comments (I love checking my inbox because of them)
Research (I love learning new things)
My writer friends
Spring
Movie night with my family

And now I’m passing the award to blogs that make me happy.

Suzette Saxton & Bethany Wiggins at Shooting Stars
Elana Johnson
Steena Holmes at Chocolate Reality
Jenn Johansson
Abby Annis
Shelli at Market My Words
Chimera Critiques
Windy Aphayrath
Sarah at Confessions of the Un-published
The Musings of Christine Fonseca

I also received the Sunshine award, which I’ll pass on to some of my other favorite blogs next week.

Have a great weekend!

Body Part Workout

2010-02-10T06:00:00.002-07:00

Two weeks ago, Kate Testerman (agent) posted on her blog about smirk and other words to avoid. Now the problem wasn’t so much the words, but how often they might show up in a manuscript. For example, I read one popular YA paranormal novel in which the main character or one of her friends rolled their eyes for a grand—and painful—total of between 100-200 times. Sometimes eye rolling occurred twice on the same page. Fortunately, for the next book in the series, the author found some other gesture to overuse.

It was really Jodi Meadow’s comment that got me thinking. She mentioned that some writers get obsessed with a particular action—say breathing—and use it way too many times in order to demonstrate emotion. Gulp. Guilty as charged. Since I have a background in physiology, especially cardiology, and spent eight years prompting cardiovascular drugs and ones for asthma, I have a bad habit of relying on anything to do with breathing and the heart when describing emotions.

After reading Jodi’s comments, I used the FIND function in Word to see how many times I’d abused the terms. I’m not going to tell you the exact numbers, but it was way beyond embarrassing. I then highlighted them using a different color for each body system I used. Determined to cut the number to something I could count on one hand (and I mean major cutting), I systemically went through the pages. Anything I thought was important, I kept. Anything I knew wasn’t a big deal was either cut or rewritten. I did this several times till I was able to negotiate my way down to my goal. And the best thing is, my writing’s much stronger for it.

So give it a try. Is there some word or phrase you think you might be abusing? Do what I did. You’ll be shocked at how many times you can remove the offending item and not even miss it. I promise.

Note: dramatization of Lost in a Heartbeat was brought to you by Wordle.

Another Great Contest!

2010-02-08T06:00:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's time for yet another contest for writers who have finished writing either a YA or MG novel. Check out the fabulous Guide to Literary Agents for a chance to win a 10-25 page critique by Jennifer Laughran (Andrea Brown Literary Agency) and some other fantastic prizes.

To enter, you need a logline and the first 150-200 words of your completed manuscript. There’re some other requirements, so please check out the blog.

For help on writing your logline, check out this and this great advice from the Query Tracker blog.

Good luck!

PS. Photography tips will resume next week. I was super busy this weekend, so I didn't have a chance to write the post.

Voice Envy

2010-02-03T06:00:00.033-07:00

Not long ago, I started sending out queries for Lost in a Heartbeat. I didn’t expect a lot of agents to jump on it since it deals with a tough issue. It really isn’t for everyone. Fortunately, among the form rejections were two personalized ones. The agents liked the concept (yay!), but my voice was an issue. Groan.

I also entered last month's Miss Snark’s First Victim Secret Agent Contest (see her blog for more info on future ones). The Secret Agent was intrigued with my first 250 words, but thought the voice was bland. Talk about a left hook to the ego. Luckily, one of my brilliant crit partners had also read the entries. She told me the ones that grabbed her attention were the ones written in a chick lit voice. She was envious because that wasn’t her natural voice—it was mine.

Now the thing is, I'm jealous of her voice. I also love the voices of Sarah Dessen, Alyson Noel, Lisa McMann, and Richelle Mead. The trouble is I love their voices so much I lost sight of my own. It wasn’t like I was trying to emulate them. Now that would have been a huge disaster. But my Voice Envy had seriously hurt me.

Finding your voice is tricky, especially when you’re a new writer. It’s so easy to want to write like someone else. But even when you’ve established your voice, it so easy to let Voice Envy sway you. Sometimes it works. And sometimes the results are disastrous—as I’ve proven.

For more information on finding your voice, check out the blogs of Mary Kole (agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency), Elana Johnson (contributor of the Query Tracker Blog), and Christine Fonseca for their brilliant insight.

Has anyone else struggled to find and keep their voice? Or is there an author whose voice you envy? Just beware of that nasty old Voice Envy. You never know when it might strike.

So I’ve learned my lesson. I’m now storing my voice in a safe place so I don’t lose it next time. Somewhere safe from Voice Envy.

The Link Between Writing and Photography

2010-02-02T05:00:00.007-07:00

Yesterday, Carolyn Kaufman (Query Tracker Blog) posted a great article on what writer’s could learn from photographers. Naturally, I started to think about other connections between the two disciplines.

Stories have themes. It’s the unifying thread that ties everything together. Great pictures have themes, too. Like in stories, sometimes they’re obvious, and sometimes they’re not. If you haven't already, figure out what theme you're going for when you take pictures. It doesn't have to be complex. Maybe just a word like friendship. And definitely make sure your stories have a theme.

And what about detail? I love doing close up photography. It’s the attention to detail that gets me excited. For example, in the above shot, I zoomed close to the plant so the only thing you see are the leaves and the rain drops. Those are the important details. Not the ground or my home. It’s the interaction between the two that'll stick in your mind. Same thing with writing. By focusing on the important details, relating to the setting or character, a more vivid image is painted in the reader’s mind. Specific is easily remembered. General is quickly forgotten. But like in the plant picture, keep the number of details presented at a time to a minimum so not to overwhelm your reader.

And then there’s perspective. Remember how changing the angle from which you take a photo gives you a completely different picture. Same deal with fiction. Maybe your story could be told from a different point of view than from what you’d originally envisioned. For example, Cinderella is told from her point of view. But what if you retold the story from the fairy godmother’s point of view? Or better yet, the fairy godmother’s really a teenage girl attending the Academy of Fairy Godmothers, and Cinderella’s her first class project. The story would be very different, right?

So there you go, some more things to dwell on as to how you can make your pictures and writing even better. And thanks, Carolyn, for inspiring this post.

Stay tune for tomorrow’s topic. I’ll be discussing that dreaded condition that writers fear—Voice Envy.

Tip # 61: Sneaky Effects

2010-02-01T06:00:00.002-07:00

To me, there’re two types of photographers. There are those—like me—who prefer to spend their time before snapping a shot to make sure everything’s perfect. That’s when we’re at our creative best. We tend not to like wasting our time on Photoshop. But it’s during the post production work (editing) when the creativity of the second type of photographer really shines.

So how did I turn the sky purple? Simple. I held a transparent piece of colored plastic in front of my camera lens. True, the Photoshop loving photographer would be able to create all kinds all different effects on her computer. But to each her own.

So what kind of photographer are you?

Destiny?

2010-01-30T14:14:00.006-07:00

Check out the following cool Canadian Nike commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR14o0R5Xlg

Destiny doesn’t determine if we win.

We do.

A great reminder that everything we do, we do to become better writers and increase our chance of being published. And that includes the beating our egos take from our crit partners and our rejections from agents. We can whine or we can push ourshelves harder like these athletes. We can succeed!

Contest!

2010-01-29T08:04:00.005-07:00

If you've written a YA or MG novel (it must be completed), check out Kidlit Contest for a chance to win a critique by agent Mary Kole (Andrea Brown Literary Agency) . The contest ends Sunday.

ETA: As of Saturday morning, there were over 400 hundred entries. Wow, she's going to be very busy for a while.

The Snowball Effect

2010-01-27T06:00:00.011-07:00

I was recently editing Lost in a Heartbeat for voice when I came to the following flashback:

“So where’s your boyfriend?” he asked.

“How do you know I have one?” I did, of course, but Liam wasn’t there. There were only a few weeks left of summer vacation then he’d be leaving for college, so I didn’t think there was anything wrong flirting with this guy. Neither relationship was going to go anywhere, either way.

But I realized the main character, Calleigh, wasn’t the kind of girl to flirt with another guy when she had a boyfriend. Even if the boyfriend was going away to college and she'd no intention of having a long distance relationship. So I tweaked it:

“So where’s your boyfriend?” he asked.

“What makes you think I have one?” Liam and I had broken up only a few days before that. Or rather, I had dumped a Blue Raspberry Slurpee on his lap after Alejandra told me the latest gossip. He’d been caught getting all hot and steamy with a junior varsity cheerleader at a party just the week before. We hadn’t officially broken up, but I figured the Slurpee incident pretty much said it all.

Great except for one problem. Yep, you guessed it. It caused a snowball effect. Other sections then had to be rewritten because of this one little change.

Yes, it was a lot of work, but it was worth it. The result was a domino effect that started with Liam cheating on Calleigh, and which resulted in the story problem. Now you see why I love editing. *grins*

Has this happened to you? Has one little change in your novel led to a snowball effect that you were excited about? One you never expected when you wrote your first draft—or edited your fifth?

Tip #60: Getting Close and Personal

2010-01-25T06:00:00.001-07:00

This is gonna be a super quick tip.

Get close to your subject and see it in a whole different way. Plus, you can get some pretty cool abstract shots that way.

These two photos were taken of my neighbor’s apple tree during a foggy day (ice fog).

Mission Objectives

2010-01-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

Okay, quick question. In each scene of your short story or novel, can you tell me the objective for each of your characters? In other words, what are they planning to do?

For example, say you have a scene that takes place in a math class. Better yet, social studies. That class always put me to sleep. Your teacher’s objective might be to get through the class without any trouble from the known gang member who actually decided to show up that day. Your main character and her best friend’s objective might be to continue the conversation they started before the bell, without getting caught. And the known gang member? He has a thing for your main character and is trying to get a rise out of her, especially since she’s pretending he doesn’t exist.

Now that you know each of the characters’ objectives for the scene, you’ll be able to write dialogue and action that keeps readers glued to the page. Plus you can make sure some of your character’s objective clash (like the main character and that hot gang member) so the scene is dripping with conflict.

Obviously this is perfect for those of us who write outlines first. But don’t worry if you don’t. You can always go back after writing your first draft, and figure it out before moving onto your next one.

For more information (and there’s a whole chapters worth), be sure to check out Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors. I told you last week this is an awesome book.

Tip #59: Through the Clutter

2010-01-18T06:00:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things about photography and writing is challenging myself to do better. In writing, it’s called editing. Some writers love it. Others loath it.

In photography, it’s about analyzing your photos, and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. For example, in this picture, there was originally a lot of decorative clutter on the table behind the teen. Knowing from past experience that this would distract the viewer’s eye from the girl, I took the time to remove it. Except I left the blue and white vase, figuring it would be okay, and would provide balance to the picture. Wrong. To some people, it might not be a big deal. They don’t even notice it. But to me, it’s still a distraction.

So there you have it. Two tips today for the price of one. Remove all the objects that can distract from the subject, or move your subject away from the clutter (unless the clutter is part of the theme). And take the time to figure out what’s good and what isn’t in your photos so that you can improve on them next time.

Now for the writers out there who are wondering if I love or loath editing, let me just say this: One of my favorite things about playing with Playdoh is trying to mold it into something new and exciting. But that’s a topic for another day.

Getting Into Character

2010-01-13T06:00:00.005-07:00

Not long ago, I was wandering through my local library and found the book Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors by Brandilyn Collins. Unpleasant memories of my high school drama class came hurtling back to me. Two guys getting into a fight during our improv, and me standing there stunned, unable to utter a coherent sentence. Disaster 101.

I slipped the book back onto the shelf and bolted out of the section, leaving my painful past behind.

A week later, I returned to the library and checked the book out. By the end of the day, I was dying to try out the advice (some of which I already knew). I also developed a new found respect for actors. I didn’t realize how much work is involved in getting ready for a role. They really do know the character they play, inside and out. And depending on the role, they do tons of research beforehand to understand the character’s psyche. You can’t play a teen with a bipolar disorder if you know nothing about the condition.

I’ll admit, I’m a huge fan of pre-planning and research. I like to know my characters and the plot before I start writing the first draft. True, both develop further as I write, but it helps to know where I’m going before I start typing. I found the first chapter of Getting Into Character to be especially enlightening at this stage of my writing. You learn how to personalize your characters beyond the typical questionnaire. I have a pretty extensive one I like to use, but nothing prepared me for getting to know my characters better than the exercises in chapter one of Brandilyn’s book.

Through questioning, you’ll discover your character's values. From the values, you'll identify the character's traits. And based on these traits, the subsequent mannerisms will be developed. No more forming random lists or stereotypical characters. Plus your readers will be able to tell your characters apart. They’ll be vivid on every page of your novel. It’s a lot of hard work, but I promise the results are worth it. You’ll be shocked just how flat your characters were before.

And that’s only chapter one. The rest of the book is also bursting with great advice to help your characters leap off the page. And isn’t that what you want when you pick up a novel from the bookstore shelf? I know that’s what I’m searching for.

So even if drama wasn’t your strong point in school, you’ll find the advice in Getting Into Character invaluable. And your readers and characters will thank you for it.

Tip #58: Cool Effects

2010-01-11T06:00:00.003-07:00

PHOTOGRAPH: a picture made using a camera, in which an image is focused on to film or other light-sensitive material and then made visible and permanent by chemical treatment. (Oxford Dictionary). Geez, and I thought Calgary’s winter air was dry. I wonder if the writers of the Oxford Dictionary have ever tried to write a novel.

Okay, moving along.

The key word in this desert-like description is ‘light-sensitive.’ When we take a picture, we’re recording the visible light bouncing off an object. There is, however, a specialty film that allows us to take wicked photos of infrared light, but that’s a discussion for another day (once I get the film developed).

So keeping this definition in mind, I wondered if it was possible to take pictures of an object made of glow-in-the-dark materials. Would it emit enough light for me to take a picture? Obviously yes.

To shoot this photo, I focused on the dolphin while the light was still on. I then turned the light off, and experimented with different exposure times. You definitely need a tripod to do this.

I did have to adjust the exposure and brightness in Photoshop Elements. Although the image showed up in the LCD panel of my camera, the picture was blank when I opened it on the computer. Never a pleasant feeling. Trust me.

Remember, part of the fun of photography is being creative and exploring new way of taking photos. So go out an experiment. That’s your assignment for this week.

Side note: The dolphin is a symbol I've woven into my novel, Lost in a Heartbeat. Hence why this dude has a glow-in-dark heart. But contrary to what my kids believe, it isn't a story about a dolphin who lost his heart.