Stylish Blogger Award

It's the little things ... I received a blogsite award from a new-found friend and blogger -- Krista and The Jelly Beans of Writing So, I am honored and now will talk a bit about me :-) How hard can that be?! (sweating profusely now). Before I start, here are the rules of the game. And best of luck to those five I pass the award along to!

Ok, here are the rules for this award:
1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 5 new-found blogging buddies.
4. Contact the winners to congratulate them

R.F #1: I used to be a closet Victorian Romance reader! You name it and I read it. From Victoria Holt to Barbara Cartland, I had no boundaries to my ravenous appetite. But then I got married, had romance of my own, and didn't find as much interest in that genre. I switched to Stephen King and Dean Koontz horror for a while. It took a heavy dose of gruesome to get me to change camps once again. And it's been mysteries and suspense ever since! (Although, I admit, once in awhile I will venture back into a syrupy sweet romance and feel joy!)

R.F.#2: I am like an only child, but am not an only child ... No, it's not a riddle. My youngest brother is 16 years my senior. I have a sister, the oldest, who is 23 years older than I. And I have 9 nieces and nephews who range anywhere from 3 years to 8 years younger than I. Those were and are like my brothers and sisters. It's crazy during family reunions. I recall when I was a kid, I used to tell them, "If you ever call me Aunt Kathy, I will deck you!" It must have had the impact I wanted because when one of them had a bridal shower years later she asked if it was okay now to introduce me as her aunt!

R.F. #3: I wrote my first song when I was 12. It was actually just lyrics which I put to the tune from a movie, "The Moon Spinners" (Haley Mills was my idol then. And Cary Grant. I loved his old movies.) Anyway, I remember going out into the backyard, swigging on the tree swing and singing my song. It doesn't get more cheesy than that, folks!

R.F. #4: I've been writing stories since I was 7, belonged to my high school writers' club, and even took a class or two on creative writing. But it was when I approached my 50th birthday that I remembered the promise I'd made to myself: If I didn't write a full novel by then, and try to get it published, then I would give up on writing. Rather harsh, don't you think? Anyway, I finished Oklahoma's Gold that year. It felt good :-) And I was encouraged to write even more.

R.F #5: I actually decided to dabble in the self-publishing arena, but I didn't want to publicly say it was me :-). So, I published a young adult novel under a pen name. It's actually a fusion of my children's names into one. It's here, somewhere. I will let you all do the detective work to figure it out!

R.F. #6: I love bodies of water ... oceans especially, but I can't swim! I often say that when I retire, I would like to live in a beach house and watch the ocean waves move, smell the salt air, and just relax on my deck. To me that is Utopia!

R.F. #7: I talk to myself. Not that it's so unusual. I know lots of people who admit to that. But I do it to act out scenes I'm writing about in whatever WIP I'm working on. It helps ... I think ... yeah, it does. Or at least that's what I tell myself ... out loud ... when I'm carrying on a conversation with no one else in the room. Oh, boy ...

That actually wasn't too hard. I guess like most of us, I enjoy writing about myself. It's almost cathartic. Okay, so here below are my five "victims". Enjoy!

Allison Simon

Sue Maynard

Elena Solodow

Katherine Crawford

Danielle Raver 

Stay Posted ... New Theme - Guest Authors

Just letting you all know that in a couple of weeks I will be having a guest blogger -- author, Michael Murphy, who has a published novel, Scorpion Bay, just released this month. I'm so excited for him! He will be writing about ... well, writing! And of course a bit about his novel, Scorpion Bay ... oh, did I mention that already? And that I'm excited for him?

Anyway, stay tuned for his visit, sometime around the middle of April. Until then ...

Five Quick Tips to NaNo-ing

The countdown hour is here. It is the eve of the NaNoWriMo 2010 launching and you are in a panic. You think maybe it's too daunting, too terrifying, just too, too many words! Relax. It's only a contest. Nobody is going to bully you while you write or fire you if you don't. But in case tomorrow comes, and you decide to give it try, here are a couple of useful or maybe not so useful tips. You decide.


1. Keep to your goal: 50,000 words divided into 30 bites = 1,667 words each day! or for week-end warriors -- 4 BIG bites of 12,500 words each.

2. When you hit a "bump" in the story -- KEEP WRITING and don't look back. (It's just your mind trying to trick you because it wants to take the easy way out and quit before reaching the finish line.)

3. Pick a place and time -- it's easier when you can tell the family or whoever tends to bug you when you're doing something important, (that's NaNo, of course). Just tell them, "I'm going to write, now. DON'T BOTHER ME."

4. Don't sweat the small stuff -- (hmm, not really trying to highjack your title, Mr. Carlson) There is plenty of time AFTER November to edit, revise, edit, revise and so on. So, ... (refer back to #2 tip).

5. Get some sleep! -- Your creative side won't appreciate working with your grouchy, semi-conscious side. Trust me, even with 50,000 words and a winner's finish, you'll still have a train wreck on your hands and no amount of editing/revising will salvage it!

Happy writing!

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month is upon us once again. Starting November 1st for an entire month, those who want to run the marathon of writing words at a frenzied pace should check it out. The idea (for those who have yet to experience the madness) is to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. Yeah, I know, but it can be done :-) Have tried and done it myself. And without any temptation or submission to cheating, either!

So cruize on over and climb aboard the NaNo train. Exercise your creative writing muscles! That's what they are there for. Right?!

NaNoWriMo

Enjoy! ^^^^

Pointing in the Right Direction ...

If you are looking for advice on what NOT to do in writing your great masterpiece, this post I'm about to direct you to might help. It focuses on the seven reasons agents will stop reading your first chapter.

• Generic Beginnings


• Slow Beginnings


• Trying Too Hard


• Too Much Info


• Clichés


• Loss of Focus


• Unrealistic Internal Narrative

The information for this post was gathered at a writers' conference where several agents listened to openings -- first 250 words -- of manuscripts and gave feedback. For more details, check out: WHY AGENTS STOP READING

Calling All Bloggers....

There are many thoughts about the best approach to canvassing your work. Going to writing conferences where pitching is done in person to agents and editors is one. So, check in and offer your opinions and experience.

Do you think pitching at conferences is the best way?
Have you ever been to one and done this? If yes, where did you attend?

Are You Connected?

Everyone -- unless you live under that proverbial rock -- knows about Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. These all provide a platform for social or business networking. Each has its own unique draw, depending on your reasons for signing up, and they are pretty easy to use.

One not so familiar though, but is ranked in the top five among users in the U.S., is LinkedIn . For business networking it's the best. Here, you can find discussions to help answer your questions or share your know how. Even better, it's a place where employers post jobs. And they will search the site for people who fit their needs. So, polish up your profile and show off what you know! Your contributions to discussions and articles give you that opportunity. It's also a way to gain referrals.

Of course, as with anything, it's a mixed bag -- there's the good, bad, and the ugly. We all want the good aspects of networking to come our way. Some useful guidelines help to achieve just that.

• If you don't want info to be publicly known, don't share it.


• Find a network that fits your needs and provide info that caters to those needs; if you're a writer, write about writing tips :-)


• Project and network -- OFTEN; people won't know you exist if you don't put yourself out there.


• Consider placing a photo of yourself on your profile -- it makes you real and approachable.


• Be consistent on your sites with what you advertise; helps people remember you.


• Find a tutorial to help you learn how to use these sites.


• Bottom line -- as the Nike commercial says, "Just do it!" or at least, just try it.
  

For a more detailed account of this topic, read Social Media on Writing-World.

So, how many of you partake in social networking? And how important is it to you?

Check It Out .... Weekly Websites

Want to visit the "world's largest" blog? This one has more than twelve million monthly pageviews. It focuses on reviewing new Web sites and services, giving you info on all those social media resources and guides. It's definitely worth checking out.

MASHABLE

Are you a mom? Are you a mom who likes to write? Are you a mom needing other mom writers to talk to, share and compare writings with, gain a bit of advice, and oh so many other desires? Then maybe you would be interested -- mom or not -- in this website:

MOMWRITERS

Hope you enjoy!

Check It Out ... Weekly Websites

Here are your weekly goodies, starting with a useful site for those who want to find writers' conferences and workshops going on in their area or across the country:

SHAW GUIDES TO WRITERS' WORKSHOPS


And for those who are wanting yet another site to help with editing and networking, as well as a shoulder to cry on or ear to bend with numerous message boards at hand, NaNoWriMo does a great follow up to their November contest by giving writers tons of information:


NANOWRIMO'S NOW WHAT?

Creating Suspense: Keep the Plot Moving

Creating suspense seems like a reasonable task when writing a story. After all, you just keep stuff happening to the characters, right? Well, yes, incidents that put your characters in some sort of challenging predicament is what keeps the story interesting. But is there a certain technique that a writer can consciously focus on to make it all happen in an effective way? Margaret Lucke in her book, Writing Great Short Stories, sums it up into four techniques: 1) raise the stakes; 2)eliminate the options; 3)isolate your characters; and 4)ignite a ticking bomb.

Raise the Stakes: This goes along with the idea that what happens to your main character, all that conflict, should keep the interest of your readers. In order to do this, you must raise the stakes, i.e. keep the challenges and obstacles coming with each one a bit more risky than the one before. It's as if she or he must bring more to the table to overcome the obstacles and has that much more to lose or gain, depending on whether he or she fails or succeeds.

Eliminate the Options: This reminds me of playing chess. The further you are into the game, the more pieces you may lose, leaving you with fewer options to overcome your opponent and win. Keep reducing the options your character has to get out of the fixes you put him/her in. Tease your readers. Let them think a solution is about to work, and then snap! The solution has disappeared and your character must scramble to find another way out of the problem.

Isolate Your Character: Everybody wants friends in a time of need. Like I mentioned in a previous posting, if your character has some allies to help out, that makes the situation workable. But what about at one of those climatic moments? A suspenseful juncture when you want to put your readers on the edge of their seats? In those points of your story when you think it needs a little oomph, why not isolate your character? Cut him/her off from the rest of the world? I mean physically put the character in a place where there is no outside help. The character must figure it out all by him or herself. Or maybe it's a place where the character is emotionally isolated. An abusive home that he or she can't escape, perhaps. There are lots of choices.

Ignite a Ticking Bomb: Several movies pop into my head right now: Speed, Die Hard, Air Force One, John Q just to name a few. You know, those movies where the clock is ticking and each minute that passes raises the stress and tension level. And to add just an extra element of suspense, you might create a situation where the character doesn't know how much time he/she has left. It could be five hours from then or five days. No one knows. How's that for excitement?

Those are just a few ideas on how to create suspense. Hopefully, some of them work for you. If you have techniques of your own, stop and drop a line! Happy Writing, all :-)

Are You Taking Notes?

Take notes. Jot it down. Then study it, absorb it, mull it around awhile. Okay, so what exactly is she talking about, you wonder. I'm speaking of style. When you hear the adage "read a lot, write a lot" you think that's great. You like to read and you like to write. So, that should solve everything. You will become the next Hemingway or be a bestselling author like Dan Brown. Right? Well, maybe you will. More than likely, instead of just reading you are studying. In that respect you really do get a lot out of the author's words, the style, the ability to make you feel what he or she has to say.

Some books on writing will advise you to copy down passage after passage of some work by an author you admire. That's a arduous and daunting task, but there are those who believe the ritual will help you absorb the way the author writes and make it yours. I tend to find a middle ground on this. I suggest whenever you see a word or a turn of a phrase that's clever, jot it down in a notebook so you can study it later. Or maybe it's a particular way a character acts, the words he or she says that catches your eye. Write it or describe it in your notebook.

I always think I'm going to remember what I've read or an idea I've had. I won't write it down and sure enough, it becomes buried, part of the tangled mass of thoughts crowding my mind. Write it down, please.

Then, when you have time to look over your notes, play with the words a bit. First, think and analyze the author's choice of words, the way he or she has put words together. We all want to avoid those overused, trite expressions like "clenching his teeth" or "squinting her eyes". When you see a unique phrasing, something that pops up from the page and you think, how great is that?, it's good to study it.

Next, try using some of those phrases, etc. in your own writing. See if it "fits" you. More than likely this exercise will help you to discover your own variation, a bit of an adjustment here, a little tweak there, and it's yours. Eventually--if you haven't already--you will find your own style. It will be drawn from all your experiences with reading and studying other authors' works. Then, someday, when you have your work published, aspiring authors will be studying you. And how awesome is that?!

Good luck in all you write :-)

Who's An Amateur?!

Amateur versus professional sleuth. It seems the pro has all the advantages -- the tools, the skills, the money for solving the crime. So, why fight it? If you are writing a mystery, is it worth making your hero or heroine tool-less and unskilled? How will he or she overcome all the obstacles to get the bad guy? In my opinion, it's not really all that impossible. After all, there are many amateur or semi-amateur mystery greats floating around out there in fictionland. Some of them are more entertaining because of this status. Of course, most of your hard-boiled crime novels are accompanied by the pros -- detectives, cops, etc. If I wanted to write that kind of book, I would stick with the pro. In any case, here is a list of items to keep in mind, if you plan on using the tool-less and unskilled to solve the crime.

1). Disbelief: why is this guy/gal solving the murder or crime? Shouldn't law enforcement be doing it? Create a situation where he/she has to get involved. Maybe the police have given up on the case. Or perhaps this is a close relative -- spouse, child, etc. -- who is missing. Personal involvement is key. If your amateur sleuth has something invested, something so great he/she can't turn away from it, then it's justified.

2). Weapons: no guns. At least you wouldn't expect the average person to be a sharp shooter, killing off the enemy. So, he/she better rely on wits, and at the moment it's needed, a clever substitute, such as knitting needles or a frying pan or whatever is handy to disarm or disable the opponent.

3). Day Job: Like I said, it's the pro who gets paid. The amateur has to do something for a living ... car salesman, real estate agent, the lady who works in lingerie, whatever pays the bills, but leaves enough time off to snoop around and catch the bad guys.

4). Sub Genre: This really isn't such a bad thing. At least from my point of view, it isn't. That's because I enjoy cozies and any mystery with a heavy dose of humor. Let's face it. Seventy-year-old Aunt Maude, swatting at the thief with her umbrella, is comical. Joe detective popping off the killer with his automatic is not. But using an amateur as your lead does limit you. If it limits you where you want to be, then it's okay. Right?

5). Fiction Fakes: I really don't buy into this. If I did, then I wouldn't enjoy Lord of the Rings with Biblo, Frodo, and the Wizard. Or Superman and Batman. Okay, so those aren't quite aligned with mystery novels, but they all come under the category of fiction. That's right. FICTION. Make believe that's sometimes smattered with factual stuff, stuff that may happen. But when you shake it, turn it upside down and right side up while deciding how unreal the amateur sleuth really is, it still ends up FICTION. And those characters have feelings, they bleed just like the pros do, and they can think, too.

6). Helpful Friends: I thought it would be important to add something about back-up, support, i.e. who's the amateur going to turn to for help? After all, there will be those moments of crisis or need of expert opinion when it's convenient for your sleuth to have friends in the right places. For instance, Stephanie Plum has Morelli (a bonifide law enforcer) and that works just right. In fact, the help doesn't necessarily need to be human. Perhaps help comes from the spirit world or maybe your sleuth has special powers, being psychic for instance. Whatever the case, it makes sense to give your character some kind of back-up.

Okay, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed. If you want to read more, check out Writing Mysteries edited by Sue Grafton. It's full of wonderful information for those who enjoy the mystery genre. If you have any additional comments, drop a line. We'd love to hear.

Flashback: Another Way to Make Your Writing Pop and Sizzle!

"Jane was a shy girl. She never talked to anyone unless they spoke to her first. Maybe this was because she wasn't very pretty, wore thick glasses, and stood taller than most boys."

Seems like an okay description of Jane, right? Maybe if you were describing her to a friend in conversation or mentioning her in a letter. But for your novel or story? No. It's boring. At least if you wrote your character descriptions this way all of the time, it would be. So, what can you do about it? You definitely don't want your writing to be boring. What publisher would want to buy that? Come to think of it, what reader would want to read it?

Let's try this again with using flashback as a tool.

"Jane walked into the reunion, her palms sweating. She could see one of her classmates waving to her. Oh, God. Why did I come? She thought of turning around. This always seemed to happen. It never changed.

Her mother had taken her by the hand right up to the front door the first day of school. After some persuasion and a gentle push, Jane walked into the room and sat in the back row. All the kids were laughing and chattering. Jane kept fidgeting with her glasses. They felt heavy and awkward on her nose. One boy sitting next to her turned to stare.

'Your eyes look funny with those on. All big and goofy.'

Jane opened her notebook, brought it close to her face and studied the inside.

'What's a matter? You deaf?'

Jane popped out of the chair and scrambled over to another desk.

'Wow! You must be ten feet tall!'

Now, everyone was staring. Tears welled up in her eyes. Jane ran out of the room and out of the building.

'Jane Goodman! It's so good to see you after all these years. And you look great.'

Jane turned to see a face she would know anywhere. Even if there were a few creases around the eyes and grey in the hair. She smiled and nodded. Maybe this won't be so awful after all, she thought."

Now, if you will notice, the flashback to Jane's first day at school helps the character to come alive. This way, the reader begins to "know" Jane, become familiar with her. And in the long run, the reader will become "invested" in her character, care about what happens to her. When readers have this kind of empathy for the character(s) of a book, they want to keep on reading, they have to know what will happen.

Flashback is a wonderful tool, but there are a couple of warnings that go along with using it.

1) Don't announce the flashback with phrases like "it brought me back to" or "I remember the time" or even using ellipses ... Changing the scene with a certain look, (for example in mine the setting is the first day of school) and introducing it with the past perfect verb tense (in mine I used, "Her mother had taken her") is one example of how this works.

2) Don't announce the return from flashback with phrases like "that was in the past" or "I was brought out of my daydreaming". Just changing the setting with a few words or even a bit of dialog will work. (In mine I used: "Jane Goodman! It's so good to see you...")

3) While you are new to using flashback, be careful of the length. The longer the flashback, the harder it may be to transition in and out. Many use a separate line of asterisks **** or white space.

Overall, giving your writing a bit of variety with flashbacks to describe characters or to explain needed information without literally "explaining", i.e. telling instead of showing, will make your writing pop and sizzle off the pages, make your readers cry for more. And that's what we all want, don't we?

Buffet Style.....You Pick!

I have an idea. The idea may fizzle out like a wet firecracker, but I like to try new things (and I can always find new firecrackers!) Anyway, I'd like to try some writing tips on topics you may want to read about... buffet style, so to speak. It could be about character or plot development, or even tips on the publishing end of the business, like where do you go to find magazine or book publishers or agents, how to write a query letter, etc. (even though there are PLENTY of blog sites and others who post about that one... I don't want to run that one into the ground). Anyway.... let me know your suggestion. If I can get a few responses, I'll pick one to write about. Then I'll work my way through the list. AND if I don't think I'm qualified to write about a particular topic, I will try to find you a site that does. Sound good?

Okay then, let's give it a try and see if this works. :-)

Joining A Writers' Forum -- Pros and Cons In My Opinion

I know, I know... it's been a while, a long, long while. My time away from here has been well spent... more or less. I wanted to try out a website --a writers' forum for showcasing and critiquing work--to see how beneficial it might be. After a couple of months, I've come to some interesting observations and conclusions.

The website is fanstory.com and is open to anyone who is serious about writing, sharing their work and/or critiquing others. After spending what I felt was an adequate amount of time being actively involved both in submitting writing pieces and reviewing others' works, I found both pros and cons to the site.

I'll start with the negatives. First of all, while other writers' sites are free to join, fanstory has a price, if you want to partake in all features such as submitting your writing or entering contests. It's $6.95 a month or $48 for a year's membership. For limited use, there is a "free" membership. Once you join, you may post as many writings as you like, though you may be limited to how many you post in a twenty-four hour period, depending on the category. You may enter contests, but many of them cost member dollars. Member dollars can be accumulated by reviewing others' works. When you search for pieces to review, you will find that each offers anywhere from 2 cents to over a dollar in exchange for your comments. Each time you review you add the "money" to your "account". Then after you accumulate a significant amount you can use your member dollars to help promote your posted work. Also, member dollars can be purchased with a charge card, if you don't review that much and need the bucks. I think you can see where I am going with this. Members who post work that offers a sizable amount of member dollars and cents will get the most reviews because members want to accumulate dollars, as much as and as quickly as they can, so they in turn can offer big bucks to promote their work to get lots of reviews. Whew! Are you as dizzy as I am? Do you feel like the mouse on the treadmill? As for contests, many of them, which can be created by members as well as the fanstory staff, may be free or may charge member dollars to enter. Yet, another way for you to make money as well as spend it.

However, there are several benefits to this forum. First, there are many stellar reviewers on board. They offer some great insight and are painfully honest at times. But then again, isn't that what you want? Not a pat on the back from Aunt Maude, telling you what a wonderful writer you are, when in fact your work may be crap. So, in this respect you may have the opportunity to improve some aspects of your writing. Another perk involves reading others' works. You get the opportunity to see what's out there, both good and bad. And in reviewing you may learn things as well. With the contests, though you may find some that cost to enter, if you win, you take away the "pot" and with the staff generated contests the winner may take away a gift card for as much as $100. Overall, this forum encourages you to write, to keep practicing your craft. Rather like taking an exercise class to keep you disciplined and in shape. In my experience, I came away with a splendid reviewer who now critiques my work through an email exchange. I feel fortunate in that respect.

So, would I recommend fanstory? I think it is worth trying out, if you have a lot of time to devote to it. The site has a significant following and many neat features to participate in. It is well-organized, very user friendly, and monitored for any inappropriate activity (at least that is what they claim). The main drawback -- and this is what makes it less than fair -- is the use of member dollars. Too often, though not always, the work that gets the most reviews and wins many of the contests is the one that offers the most member dollars as a payoff. Still, it is worth a look. It doesn't cost anything to peruse the site, or even to partake in some of the features. But for the "full course meal" you're going to have to pay. There are other writers' forums out there. You should check them out before spending money on any. Happy writing!