Writing 101 - Characters

Characters. Entire books have been written around creating them, and for good reason. You can write the most epic story possible and have it fall flat because you didn’t create good characters.

So, how do you catch the fact that you might be trouble – that you are using props instead of characters?

1. You refer to your characters as a pronoun most of the time.
2. You have a hard time figuring their name.
3. You can’t describe them.
4. You are writing in First Person and delivering long monologues.
5. They are all-powerful.
6. They have no regrets, sadness, or any emotion. Just an “action figure”.
7. Character “A” sounds and acts exactly like character “B”.
8. The character does exactly what you want every time.
9. The character starts spouting your personal philosophies or opinions.

A good character starts out with a bibliography, be they antagonist or protagonist. You should know something of their history and how they were raised. They should have parents and friends too. The character should come with a full set of emotions – from pride to regret. They should feel pain, remorse, and generally be human beings like the rest of us – even if they are not human. They can make the wrong choices, have quirks, and exhibit unique traits. You should know what they look like, what they prefer to wear, and also what their ambitions and motivations might be.

Once you have established your character (and we’re mainly talking about your primary characters here) then you should see the character take on a bit more “life”. If you have to squeeze into their mindset in order to ask “What would they do?” then you are on the right track. If you start thinking “No, they wouldn’t do that.” then you are right where you want to be.

In critiquing new writers, I find that the greater majority of character flaws come in three flavors.

1. The super-duper action figure. He or she kills gods for breakfast, feels no pain, and can tear a person’s head off without a second thought. Welcome to Egos Gone Wild where the author is having a wonderful fantasy at the expense of good writing. The super is as often a villain as a hero in this case, and replaces any genuine emotions with large helpings of melodrama. They often live in either a Fantasy or Military SF environment.

2. The possessed character. Often found in First Person point of view, this character sounds like one long droning rant. Their dialog could be cut and paste into any Forum or diary. Sometimes, the voice box is a poet – spewing all these flowery phrases. Other times, they are simply a pair of eyes describing in detail the scene before them just as if the author was narrating what he or she is seeing – because what has happened here is just that. The author has reached in and made themselves a hand puppet so they can voice box their own opinions. It is so easy to fall into this sort of trap as a writer that I strongly suggest new folks to the craft avoid First Person until they really can understand how it works. First Person begs you to take over your characters.

3. The robot. Character walks into a room. Does this. Does that. Kills this. Kisses that. Says a few words. Walks out. Nothing is hard. Nothing is worth thinking about. They say their scripted lines and that’s that. Rather than a character, you have a plot vehicle to move things along as they’re supposed to go. They have no concerns because they have no opinions to be concerned about. Good little robot.

So, lets show two characters who really have minds of their own – in fact, they don’t like each other at all. Here is Rick and Jamie from Waiting Weapon.

---

     “Only dead leaves answer an empty wind,” came a light voice in the melodic Me’Aukin language.
     An olive-skinned young woman walked in behind them. She was small by human standards, but stood eye-to-eye with Rick. This was no ghost. Rick could practically taste the swirling eddies behind her thoughts. She wore an off-white wool sweater with brown leather lapels and cuffs that matched her tailored pants. Jet-black hair curled along a delicate jaw line, giving her a disarmingly fragile appearance. Rick knew better.
     Like him, Jamie’s eyes were a deep ebony. They focused on him over a narrow nose, her expression no less intense than his own awareness of her. He noticed the moment of hesitation between her breaths. The subtle working of muscles along her throat. The intensity of her presence was stronger now than he ever remembered. The scientists at the Institute called it an empathic awareness. He called it stifling back then, and it apparently had only gotten worse.
     Rick took a mentally clearing breath. “Ma’thell.”
     “Ma’thelsa,” came Jamie’s more cautious greeting. “I didn’t expect to see you before I left.” She glanced at Andrea. “Problems at the site?”
     “Nothing to be concerned over,” Andrea replied with a manufactured grin. “Going back to Corven?”
     Jamie’s lips curved in an equally perfunctory smile. “Leaving shortly, as a matter of fact. I’m resuming my studies in political science at Lake Austin as ordered. Actually, I think Father’s nervous about having both Rick and I on the same planet.” Her eyes bored into Rick, her mind seeming to dig even further. “Still pretending to be human?”
     He stiffened. “Are we going to pick up that old argument again?”
     Jamie shrugged. “Don’t be offended. When it’s politically convenient for the Colonel, I pretend to be his daughter.” Her eyes lowered. “Forgive the interruption.” She turned to leave, and then paused. Rick was not sure if the shudder was physical or emotional. “Have you heard them?” she spoke once more in Me’Aukin. Her long fingers brushed against her temples. His startled reaction brought genuine relief to her face. “As I thought. Was it the whispers that chased you back, then?”

Investment of the Heart

Investment of the Heart, my second novel with Champagne Books, will be out May 1, 2009. It is a contemporary western romance set in the Hill Country of Texas. Here is a short blurb.

Widow Hallie Barron wants her daughter happily married to the young rancher she loves. When Simon Cole enters Hallie’s life she’s reminded she’s a woman with needs and desires. She yearns for a love like she once had, but fears risking her heart.

Rancher Simon Cole is prejudiced against city women and believes they don’t belong on a ranch. He’s set to prove his nephew’s fiancée is a mistake. Yet when he meets her mother, he finds himself wishing there was a place for Hallie in his life.

On a ranch in the Hill Country of Texas, love is recognized, lost, and found.

I hope you'll check it out.

Happy Reading!

Linda
Linda LaRoque ~ Western Romance with a Twist in Time.
Forever Faithful, Investment of the Heart 5-09, When the Ocotillo Bloom, 7-09, Champagne Books; A Law of Her Own, Desires of the Heart, My Heart Will Find Yours 5-09, Flames on the Sky 10-23-09 from TWRP.
http://www.lindalaroque.com/
http://lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com/

Research, the easy way.

When I wrote my first two historical novels, I wasted hours searching the internet or pouring through books looking for specific facts. Facts that were often just a minor detail. Let's face it, does anyone really care if a mule brays or neighs? Probably...if I got it wrong.

That particular question had me bogged down at a crucial point of the story. Out of desperation I grabbed the phone book and looked up 'horses' in the yellow pages. Actually, I think I looked up mules first, which wasn't listed, then went to the next closest thing. I called several stables before getting a live person. The question was too stupid to leave a message. Besides I didn't want to wait for someone to call me back.

Fully expecting the woman to hang up on me for wasting her time, I blurted out the question and the reason I needed to know. Not only did she answer my question, but she gushed—that's right, gushed—over the fact that I was a writer. I never expected to 'impress' anyone, even after I explained I wasn't published yet. She, a complete stranger, seemed more confident than me that I would be someday.

Now, if it's just a question or two I need answered rather than researching an entire era, I take the easy way out; call an expert. So easy. Tell them up front that you're a writer and need to verify a fact. Ask if this is a good time for them or should you call back later. This usually sets a friendly mood right off the bat. If they're busy, they'll tell you when to call back and be receptive when you do. Not everyone 'gushes' but no one's ever been rude to me.

By the way, just in case you're dying to know...mules bray.

Rose Lerma
www.roselerma.com

Coming Out as a Writer

I started a new job a few months ago -- it's a fabulous situation. Even if the old job hadn't been a series of vignetts from Dante's Inferno this would be a great job. Team work, a true sense of camaradiere and over all good people. You can't beat it.

Some of you might know this week in the U.S. was Administrative Professionals day. We used to have secretaries day --actually we used to didn't have a day at all, and then there was secretaries day. Now we are honored as administrative professionals. Doesn't matter what you call it, at my job we were honored and treated to a lovely lunch and toasted in a gathering after where each of our supervisors stood up and talked about us and what we do for them professionally. They also had to share with the rest of the group something about us no one else really knew. My supervisor shared with my co-workers I write.

My old job I got a lot of lemon soaked faces -- it wasn't something to bring up. Of course I had two co-workers who felt we had something in common because they always dreamed of being a writer. One of them has engaged in cyber-following, avidly reading anything she thinks might have to do with me, pouring over my blog, telling people that's her on the front page of my website -- trust me, it's me. It was taken the night of the Marine Corps ball and I remember that night with more than fondness. She's a bit creepy, you know? One day she wrote this 2 or 3 paragraph statement about someone for a celebration and was thrilled to tell me that now she's a writer too. Oh goodie!

But I digress.

This job I was nervous about it being announced. After all, I write romance and some of it is a tad steamy. In fact in America's Hero Austin Quinn himself participated in an ultra steamy movie that he thinks of as artistic-- Cass Winter, however, calls it what it is.

When my supervisor got to the part of her kudo to me about America's Hero and she told everyone it was (then) at 94 out of 10,045 books on Fictionwise everyone started talking at once. They were all excited and almost every woman I work with came to me and told me how much they love reading romance. They all asked to see copies of mybooks and where is my website.

Two of the supervisors asked me if I could do some writing/editing for them which is an excellent opportunity professionally.

Sometimes, those of us who write romance, aren't so out about it. While the women among us, I think, for the most part, would love to be the damsel on the cover and the men fancy themselves the dashing hero, we have that moment of taking a deep breath before we tell our "normal job" co-workers "I write romance."

If my supervisor hadn't of said anything I would not done so either. Now it's out and it's great because I found out I also share the enjoyment of reading a good love story with my co-workers.

Regan Taylor
www.ReganTaylor.com

Creaky Joints

Michael W. Davis

Davisstories.com

There’s two measures other than the calendar that remind you when you’re getting really ancient. First, your joints ache all the time and you begin to sound like your dad when you get out of bed in the morning. The second, and really gut wrenching indicator is when people two decades younger have no idea what you’re talking about. Two weeks ago, I was having breakfast with an attractive young lady I sometimes eat with at a local hangout. She’s cute as a button and has red hair (love red headed ladies) and I used the phase "Go ahead and threw me in that brier patch." Her visage became confused and I realized I had just leaped across a generational gap. As a primer to any other youngen’s out there that might be compassionate enough to spend some time with us cranky old birds, here’s a translation guide for a sample of old timer terminology:

1. Mr. Green Jeans was a character on a children’s TV show called captain Kangaroo. Can you guess why they called him Mr. Green Jeans?

2. The peanut galley was how Buffalo Bob (from another Kids show called Howdy Doddy) would refer to the kids in the audience.

3. Kilroy was a fictional character that WWII soldiers drew on the walls, trucks, and houses as they moved through Europe, along with the phrase, “Kilroy was here”. He also was a cartoon character. No, I’m not that old, but my dad used it all the time and he flew a B29 bomber in the war.

4. Sky King was a Saturday TV show with a father and daughter that flown their plane everywhere out west apprehending the bad guys.

5. Buster Brown was another TV show with a jungle boy and mister froggy. The show sponsor was Buster Brown shoes. If you hear anyone say, “Pluck you magic wanger froggy”, they’re not being lewd. It was what the boy Buster Brown would say to the frog. I think Buster had a dog named Patches

6. Mutt and Jeff were characters from a cartoon strip in the newspapers. I think Mutt was the short bald fat guy with the mustache, and Jeff was real tall and skinny as a bean stalk.

7. Diver Dan was another kid’s show from TV with a guy in a diver suit and a punch of string operated fish.

8. Ranger Joe was a cowboy on TV that the little boys loved. I actually have a fifty year old white porcelain Ranger Joe mug that was my milk cup. Probably worth some money but the boss won’t let me sell it.

9. I’ll conclude with my favorite of all times, the phrase, “Throw me in that briar patch.” It’s derived from a children’s story book and Disney movie called ‘Song of the South’. It was with out a doubt one of the best children’s story series I’ve every seen. Unfortunately, the political correctness police removed the books from libraries and boycotted the movie so you never see it on TV. Why? A true case of misguided perspective and lack of appreciation for the beauty within the story. You see, the story was about a wonderful poor man in the Deep South named Uncle Remus that would tell stories to all the local children. One of his stories, and my favorite, was of Ber Fox and Ber Rabbit. This particular phase came when the fox trapped the Rabbit and was about to cook him. The clever Rabbit tricked the Fox into tossing him into the brier patch instead and as we all know, rabbits thrive in briers. When old timers (like me) say, “Go ahead and threw me in that brier patch,” they’re alluding to the fact that someone’s efforts to make things difficult for you will be a waste of time, because you thrive and grew up on adversity.

There’s probably several dozen more, but you get the idea. And someday those pre forty adults of today will experience their own generational gap phrases.

See ya in four weeks.

Big Mike
Michael W. Davis (Davisstories.com)
Author of the year 2008:

Blind Consent, “The answers are buried in the secrets of the past.”
Forgotten Children, “Only Sara knows the truth.”
Tainted Hero, “Sometimes good people do bad things.”
The Treasure, “A lonely heart can impair one’s judgment.”
Veil of Deception, “Sometimes the truth cuts deeper than a lie.”, Jan 2010

April Writing Prompt - Camel Time

One of the things I LOVE to do is take reader expectations and and flip them around. Like with this photo, you might EXPECT my story start to be about the Sahara (as I do love the exotic locations). Instead, my story is set in Oregon.

$$$

Mary's heart stopped. She stared, unable to believe her eyes. "You bastard." Her greatest fear. Right there in front of her.

Not for long. She pivoted on her heel and walked as quickly as she could away from the horrible creature.

"Mary, wait." Brad ran after her.

"No. I… I… can't." She shook uncontrollably, the tremors so fierce they hurt.

"You said you'd do anything to get this account," he reminded her.

"Not that. Anything but that." She'd die first. "Who told you?" she whispered, nausea burning the back of her throat. She thought herself so safe. They were in the forests of Oregon. Why would anyone have camels? Why?

"I told you I'd find out everything about you." He rubbed her rounded back. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't… "It isn't that unusual. Many people have phobias about camels."

A quarter of a million people in America alone but Mary didn't care about them. All she cared about was herself. Her stomach, it rolled, it… "You can keep your business, Brad. I don't want it." Oh, lord, she was going to embarrass herself.

"Mary…" He stood dangerously close to her.

She bent over and retched all over his expensive leather shoes.

$$$

I KNOW you can do better than that (maybe a sheikh story?). Share your best story start.

$$$

Kimber Chin's novel Invisible has a no camel guarantee. To read more and to enter to win her favorite romance eBook of the month, visit http://businessromance.com/

THE EYES HAVE IT

I knew I had an appt. with my eye doctor today, so I carefully wrote a blog last night and, saved it, Have been trying to post it for an hour. For some reason I can't use copy and paste on my blogs with the desktop, which has Vista. So all I can do is post a few comments this evening. I can hardly see, so it's a problem. and this will be short.
First of all this retinal specialis dilated my eyes and peered into them. I'd been to my regular eye doc for evalustion for a cataract surgery, and he found my left eye had fliud behind the retina, which is not good. Hence the retinal doc. I had no idea what he meant to do. I know I have age-related dry macular degeneration, which theree is no treatment for, but fortunately is slow-acting. But the left eye developed wet macular degenration, I was told, which does have a treatment. Morever, you either have the treatment or your vision goes to pot quickly.
This treatment is to numb the eyeball with a local anesthetic, then stick a needle into the eye (shudder) and inject a samll amount of a drying solution that mops up the fluid. Presto, vision returns to weherever it was before the fluid build-up. Since I had no choice, I agreed--but I didn't know he meant to do it right then,
Believe me, if you ever need this treatentt, it does not hurt. All you feel is a slight pressure, and it takes the doc a matter of seconds to finish. It's just that the idea is so frightening. So I'm home with blurred vision at least until tomorrowe. Usually one shot does the job. But sometimes it takes two. So wosh me luck with the first shot. Jane

When two immoveable objects meet…

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m—forceful in personality. (At this point, my mother always says “Forceful? You mean intimidating!”) I am one of those who have been accused of quelling others with a single look.

Friday night I began my babysitting of my Lil Alyx. (My son finally found a good job YAY!) He and his wife work together and I spend the evening with Alyx. Friday was the first night.

So, my DH, mom, Alyx and I went for Subway for supper. After eating Dh left to run some of his errands. Alyx wouldn’t eat her apples or her pieces of sandwich. Instead, she wanted to grab things off the table. I gave her the look.

She gave it right back to me.

At this point my mother says “Dear Lord! There’s TWO of you!”

Then Alyx added the finger (index, thank you very much! She’s only 16 months old!)—She pointed at me and began shaking it.

I pointed and shook right back, reestablishing the look and adding “Alyx, I said don’t” in as stern a manner as I could manage.

I’m convinced that what she said back it was baby talk for “You think you can intimidate me? Yeah right…” She then reached out and resumed her bad behavior.

I slapped her hand.

She wriggled her finger at me again and more gibberish followed.

Then, she sat back in her seat and gave me one of her classic I’m adorable grins. While she was grinning at me in that angelic manner, I watched her hand slowly slide toward the things on the table.

I popped her hand again.

She tried whining and crying. All that accomplished was my wrapping up half my dinner and taking it away with us.

I had heard stories of myself when I was small. Like how when I did something I knew was wrong, I would hold out one hand to have it slapped while persisting in being naughty…Now I understand how my mother felt. Alyx has a very determined streak in her. She sets her jaw at an angle, her eyes squint a little, then she does what she wants—consequences be damned!

She does the same thing to me. She will look me dead in the eye and continue to go for what it was she doing—one hand held out to be slapped all the while. But, she’s WORSE than I was because after she does it, she gives us the angelic I’m Adorable grin.

Little monster…

I tend to call her my spoiled bratling--which irritates my mother to no end! But, after all, Alyx can be a little brat.

And I wouldn’t trade her for ANYTHING in the world.

Speaking of the little booger…I better be getting ready to take off and spend the afternoon with her!

Hugz
Donica

winners - from my blog "Multi-writers genre"

To all the authors who commented on my blog today, please email me for your prize. I know...I just can't decide which one to give a prize to, so...I'll give one to all! Email me - phylliscampbell84302@yahoo.com


~Phyllis~

Multi genre writers

Hello all! For those of you who are following the "Tisket A Tasket, Put Romance In Your Basket" contest, you're in the right place...on the right day. (grins) For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about and would like to know how to win lots of prizes...visit my website to learn more.

Today I'm going to talk about authors who write different genres. Why, you ask? (I know you did, I heard ya...) Because that's what I do. I've heard from big authors that in order to make a name for yourself in this business, you have to stick to one genre. Then, when you are big, you can branch out. I know several big authors who have branched out, but still used different pen names. If you ask me, that just means you have to promote twice as hard. lol

So what's the deal with that? Does anyone know? When I first started getting published (almost eight years ago), my first two stories were contemporary. At the time, I used the name C.H. Scott. But I also knew I wanted more than anything to get my historicals published. I decided to use Phyllis Campbell for that. My third story published was a historical. So was my fourth, fifth, and sixth. lol By this time, I was promoting more Phyllis Campbell than I was C.H. Scott. Pretty soon my historicals were Best Sellers! So, I kept my Phyllis name and dumped C.H. Scott. When my first contemporary came out as Phyllis Campbell, my publisher worried that it wasn't going to do well...because after all, Phyllis Campbell is a historical writer. But wouldn't you know...Ten Ways To Melt A Man's Heart was another Best Seller...and so far, it's been the story making the most sales. Go figure...

Now I'd like to know YOUR thoughts. As a reader, what do you like. Do you prefer one author to one genre?



It's time now to give you tomorrow's url for the "Tisket A Tasket" contest. Tomorrow, visit Linda's blog http://lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com/ to continue with this awesome contest. Remember, when you've visited the last blog site, make a list of where you found the eggs by pasting the urls to the website pages in a email, then send the entry to Happyendings by midnight CST on May 1st, 2009. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced May 2nd on Skye Moncrief's blog.


Happy Spring everyone!

~Phyllis~

I'm Not Afraid Anymore

Well, I did it. I finally had my first book signing on Easter Saturday, featuring my second novel, Bad Ice. Fellow writers have told me horror stories about books that didn't arrive, shoppers ignoring them, too many books, not enough books, etc. I my case, I supplied the books myself, but I was still worried, anxious, excited, nauseated...

Here's my day in a nutshell:

9:00 a.m. Took a shower and tried to force my hair into some kind of order. Gave up and let it air dry.

11:00 a.m. Thought about eating but had no desire whatsoever.

12:00 p.m. Changed outfits four times. I decided to wear a sexy pair of stilleto half-boots to make myself taller (I'm 5'2").

12:45 p.m. Dropped my teens off at the mall and frantically searched through Zellers for last minute mints or Easter treats to give out. I had already baked three dozen maple syrup cookies in the shape of maple leaves (in honour of the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs grrr). The package of chocolate eggs was ten bucks! I couldn't find mints, so I bought gum in case my mouth started to feel like a sewer.

1:30 p.m. Zipped over to Chapters bookstore and carried everything from the car in one trip: Two shopping bags, purse, laptop, and box containing books, maple cookies, business cards, flyers, framed book cover, stuffed blue and white dog. It was heavy. I almost lost my grip and the blast of wind in the parking lot ruined any semblance of hair organization.

1:45 p.m. Sweating buckets from the trip across the parking lot, I unpacked everything and chatted with the manager. Signed my consignment agreement (45% goes to the bookstore!) for 16 books because my additional shipment of ten copies hadn't arrived (they showed up yesterday).

2:00 p.m. I heard a voice behind me, and it was my sister Cathy! She stuck around and chatted up the incoming patrons with me. I heart my sister.


2:15 p.m. My first customer! A white-haired gentleman approached and said, "I'm here for your book."

I didn't even have to chat him up! I was so excited I handed him a book and said, "Thanks!"

He looked at me and said, "Aren't you going to sign it?"

Oops. I signed it for his daughter, and my sister took our picture.

Immediately afterward, Dawn Brown arrived. She's a member of my writers group (Romance Writers Unlimited) and she's published with my first publisher. It felt great hugging an online friend for real, not just with a little Smiley.

Jim, the manager, had advised me to stand in front of the table and connect with as many people as possible. I got lots of nods and smiles, and a few stopped to look over the back cover of Bad Ice. Some took flyers containing an overview and reviews, some took cards. Some asked me where the Children's Section was, or where they could find little Easter Egg cups. I happily complied.

3:00 p.m. My feet started to hurt.

3:15 p.m. A boy approached shyly and asked me the price of a book about the Montreal Canadiens. I checked the inside of the jacket and told him. Glancing up, I made eye contact with his mother and she smiled back.

Later, the boy and his mother were browsing a table behind me. I noticed the boy still had the Canadiens book in his hand, so I went up to them and told them my dad helped renovate the Montreal Forum when I was a kid.

The boy was impressed. We talked more about hockey, and I told them about the time my mom lost the autograph Maurice "Rocket" Richard gave her when I was born. I mentioned the premise of Bad Ice. The mom took the bait. She asked if it was for adults and I told her yes. She said she'd buy a book.

While I was signing it, the boy said, "Mom, don't lose that book."

I asked, "Why, because I'll be famous some day?"

He responded, "No, because when I get older, I want to read it."

3:30 p.m. My friend Trish came with her two daughters. She bought a book and insisted on a unique caption with my signature. I almost wrote something TMI regarding her recent surgery. Instead, I wrote, "Keep your stick on the ice."

Later, an elderly fellow asked if he could have one of my cookies. I told him yes, and he took three. Then he took a handful of chocolates and started eating. As milk chocolate collected on his lips, he cheerfully told me about the unmarked police car at the rear of the bookstore, stopping motorists by hiding behind a dumpster.

He didn't buy a book, but I sensed he was lonely and I listened attentively.

3:45 p.m. My kids walked over from the mall, laden with Easter treats they bought themselves because I had neither the time nor the inclination. I suppose I have to reimburse them.

4:00 p.m. I reluctantly started to pack up in spite of the bookstore's willingness to let me stay longer. Since it was a day sandwiched between two holidays, I had to decline since I still had errands to run before the stores closed. The time passed so quickly!

Olga, the events manager, took six books for the shelves and promised to put Signed By Author stickers on them. I thanked her for the experience and left a basket of cookies for the cashiers.

Note to self: Do NOT wear three inch heels to a book signing. I could barely walk from the car to the house.

7:00 p.m. Ordered Chinese Food and watched the last Toronto Maple Leaf game of the season. They won.

Different pen for different genres...?

On the tail of yesterday's intriguing post, I have to say that ideas can pop up at the oddest, but always welcome, moments. *G* I even dream complete sentences of dialogue, lol. The problem is finding time to write them all. And I don't know about other authors, but my creative muse isn't biased to any specific genre. True, I write romance; however, I have penned several brief plots for stories yet to be written outside the genre. As well as the multi-hued genres within the romance category itself, i.e. Vampires, fantasy, time-travel, historical, paranormal, etc., etc.

So, the question came up, should an author use a different pen for different genres...?

I don't know if there is a right or wrong answer to that, but I wonder if it's true that some readers sometimes are so into, say, historical romances from a fav author that tossing a blood-thirsty vamp into the mix may actually scare them off as they may think you've switched gears for good. *shrugs* Who knows? ...Any thoughts?

Until next time,

Angie

http://www.angelaashtonbooks.com/

Story Ideas

Story ideas. I’m not sure when they first began coming to me. I suppose it was in fifth grade when I was supposed to be listening to my Social Studies teacher lecture on the economics of Peru. I remember sitting in my little desk daydreaming of what it would be like to have superhuman powers. I’d jet rocket myself high above the classroom, over the playground, and touch down onto the nearest amusement park. In high school, my daydreams changed to rock stars worlds where I was more popular and had better hair than Jon Bonjovi. No one knew of these stories, of course. It never occurred to me to write them down, and I would have never dared tell them to my friends or family. I just thought it was a little bit strange. It never occurred to me until my mid-twenties that this was the norm of a writer’s mind.

But the ideas haven’t stopped coming. They have come down from super powers and stardom, but they are still about ordinary people with an extraordinary stories to tell.
I’ve often wondered where they come from. Are they products from our outside world and our perception of that world? Or do they come solely from within us?

I like to think it is a combination of both. I suppose this is true for everyone, but I like to think that only writers have two brains within their heads. Right brain versus left brain. The right side of the brain is the creative part. This is where imagination lives. Right brain is the guy responsible for all those wild crazy ideas. Like crossing over into mainstream and trying to hit the bestsellers. The one who tells us that bungee jumping would be a sane thing to do. That it would, in fact, be fun. The left side of the brain, however, has different ideas. This is where reason lurks. This is the editor inside of you. Left brain would like nothing better than to stifle right brain. Left brain tells you to fix that sentence now, when the muse is just beginning to flow, so that you forget to get down all those great ideas. Left brain cares nothing about ideas. It just wants to edit. Left brain doesn’t care that without right brain acting first, it would have nothing to edit. Left brain wants that mainstream novel buried deep at the bottom of our filing cabinet. And it sees bungee jumping as something only the insane would try.

So if left brain is so dead set of destroying right brain, has can a writer get anything done? These are the tricks I’ve learned along the way:

Do timed writings. I find these are the best way to delay left brain. Get a simple kitchen timer, which is around five dollars at any department store. Start small. Set it for fifteen or twenty minutes. During this time, write down, or type, everything that comes into your mind. Don’t worry that it isn’t perfect, or if it’s downright awful. Keep writing until the timer stops. When it stops, put the writing away for awhile. This delays left brain even longer, which is good.

Journaling is another way to feel up right brain freedom. Keep a journal by your bedside, and jot down the right thoughts that pop into your mind in the morning or before going to bed each night. It just might light a spark that becomes the next bestseller.

Finally, read, read, read. You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s true. Reading sparks the imagination. It’s the oil which lubricates a dominate left brain. Read everything from romances to non-fiction. Even read a totally different genre than what you would normally write. It just might jog something out of the mind. You never know. Also, keep a tablet with you while you’re reading. If you like something you’re reading, write down why you like it. Whether it’s a particular writer’s voice or style, write it down. Then go back to your own writing and see where you could improve.

I define creativity as a fine line between the balancing of left brain right brain. With practice, you can teach the two to live in harmony.

~ Nancy
http://www.nancyhenderson.com/
http://www.nancyhenderson.blogspot.com/

Time Management

As an author, the end result is always the same...to write. Whether we write for our own enjoyment, for others to enjoy, or for purposes of information transfer, that's always the same.

But for most of us, that means balancing our writing time with all of the other drains on our time, such as work, family, relaxation (whatever that is), and the like.

So, here are five tips for how to improve your time management skills, and to hopefully increase your writing output in the process...because only by writing more in the time you have will you increase your chances of success in your writing endeavors.

1. Set the goals you want to achieve and the time frame you want to achieve them in.

Those who've followed my posts for long enough know that I can never stress the importance of goal-setting enough. If you don't know where you want to go, you'll never get there...and if you leave it open as to how long you want to take to get there, you'll end up with the same results (or lack thereof, as the case may be). If you know you want to write a 80,000-word novel in a year, that breaks down to around 220 words/day, give or take. If you know you're only going to be able to write 3 days a week, that jumps you up to around 513 words each day you write. If you only have an hour free on each of those days, then you'd better not waste it surfing the internet or shuffling through your MP3 player.

2. Schedule your writing time and stick to it.

Going right along with setting goals is setting a schedule. The first thing to do here will be to figure out all the time you spend already, and what you spend it on. Work, meals, sleep, extra-curricular activities. It all takes time, time you can't spend writing. Set up a schedule of what time you have free, and set up a regular schedule for your writing. Obviously, sometimes things will come up which you have no control over, and that prevent you from writing. Those will happen. When they do, just get back on your schedule at the next available opportunity (just like when you miss a dose of medicine, only you hope it tastes better). Once you get into a schedule, things will get easier...much like when you set goals.

3. Don't let distractions knock you off-course.

This is one of the big issues most writers face. If you only have an hour to spare, you want to do other things. You want to check your e-mail, eat some snacks, shuffle through your MP3 player. But all of those things aren't writing, and only keep you from reaching the goal. If it continues to be a problem (and it often will, for even the best of us), set up another schedule for those things and stick to it the same as you're trying to do for the writing schedule.

4. Be sure to schedule time for yourself.

This is an issue even more serious than the one listed above. Burnout is a serious issue, especially if you try to write every day amidst the workweek and time with family and friends. You may feel that the only way to get anything done is to use every spare moment you can to write. But even writers need down time, time to relax and let the rejuvenation take place. Treat your free time as one of those distractions listed earlier, and set up a schedule for your own personal time...then stick to it. A happy writer is a productive writer.

5. Keep your eyes on the prize.

There are those who read all of this and will scoff at the idea of time management. You can't schedule creativity, they will claim. I beg to differ, and believe that if you set your mind to do something, you will do it. As I've mentioned several times, it's a matter of setting a schedule and sticking to it. Just like goals, that takes practice. And any type of practice is only as good as the effort you put into it.

Despair may set in when things don't turn out the way you'd hoped immediately. What happens if you don't get 40,000 words in the first six months? Will you give up? The trick is to keep your eyes on the prize, whatever it may be in your own writing hopes and dreams. You CAN do it, if only you keep running toward the finish line, and the victory you achieve will be even sweeter than you can imagine.

See you at the finish line!

***

T. M. Hunter (posting under his ever-popular Aston West moniker) is the author of Heroes Die Young, the latest science-fiction (space opera) sensation from Champagne Books. His Aston West short stories have been featured in the e-mag Ray Gun Revival with his short story "Little White Truths" a top ten finisher in the 2007 Preditors and Editors Readers' Poll. Heroes Die Young recently received the Best-Selling Novel of 2008 Award at the Champagne Books Annual Awards. He (and Aston) can often be found over at AstonWest.com.

When Too Much is Not Enough

Got your attention, didn't I?

And that's the whole point. How do author's continue to elicit attention to themselves and ultimately their books? What is effective promotion?

I can tell you what it's not. The moment someone comes up with something new and catchy in terms of promotion, and shares their brilliant idea, the entire publishing world jumps on the band wagon and poof, too much of a good thing is no longer effective. I think all you have to do is look at the readers' loops and promo days to realize the truth in that statement. When I was first published, you could join loops and actually talk with readers. For the most part, readers now lurk. As an experiment, I offered a free download at the end of an excerpt. No one took the nibble. So - hmmm, that particular day, no one read the escerpt to the end. Why? I think because promo days are flooded and it's just too much for readers to process.

So-the best form of promotion in my mind is to search for new venues, things others haven't tried or perhaps have tried, but haven't explored to the fullest. About two weeks ago, I went to my first science fiction convention. It was a blast and I sold 10 books. It was a small con, not well attended but with enough folks to make it worth while. I shared space with Kerry Tolan and he invited me to participate in a panel discussion on promotion. We had abut 15 in the audience and of those, at least 3 or 4 bought books from both of us. This summer, I also plan to attend a craft fair. This was a different venue for me, a place to promote where there weren't too many others doing the same thing. So in that respect, Kerry and I offered a special service.

With e-books, I think it takes longer to connect with readers. On the other hand, with the book being available for a much longer length of time, I think it highly plausible that an e-book author can become just as well known and sell just as many books as a best selling NY author.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of promotion and selling books, I got the cover for my upcoming August release. Yes, I'm going to spend a moment shamelessly promoting. I'm sure you'll forgive me the slight since it does go hand-in-hand with my topic. And hey, let's be honest. The cover model is rather sexy. Yep, I'm thinking too much is not enough in this case. LOL.

Making A Different Kind Of Music

Last night, after listening to the 'second banana' of an old movie
singing a love song to the heroine, I got to thinking about making
music. Not the kind you make with a musical instrument, but with words.
I'm not thinking of the lyrics of a song, nope, I'm thinking of the
way authors put words together to make a sentence sing.

Can't be done? I think it can. Just as an author can paint pictures
with words so they can make music with words. After all, what is music?
Pleasing sounds put together.

Let me give you an example or two.

The phrase - 'soft sounds slipped o'er my soul.' In writing we call it illiteration. Yet, if you think about it, it's like music.
I can change the beat of a sentence with words. Hard, short words, -
'The dog barked. Wood splintered. She screamed.' Well, you get the idea.
A different kind of music, but music at least to my ears.

Allison Knight

Binghamton, New York

Okay, I know that this blog is to meant to chat about all the great things happening at Champagne Books. And believe me, there are lots of exciting things going on. I am in the midst of an MFA program and was prepared to blog today about the need for writers to not only write, but to learn how to write better.
But yesterday morning at 10:30 a man parked his car in such a way as to block the rear exit of the American Civic Center in Binghamton, New York . He then walked in the front door and opened fire. After killing thirteen people and wounding four, he finally taking his own life. I am sure many of you watched these events unfold on TV during the day and if not, you were filled in on all the details during your nightly news cast.
I, too, watched these events. But my TV was not tuned into CNN or the FOX network. I watched what happened on my local channels. I am resident of Broome County (the county where Binghamton is located) and very proud to say so.
Upon waking this morning, I knew that I could not post a happy-go-lucky blog about grad school and pretend that life was glorious.
After the tragedy in my community that seemed insincere.
Life is glorious, but it has become a little less safe for all of us. Regardless of where we live.
I want to share something else that happened this morning.
My husband is an FBI agent. After a very late night last night, he got up early and prepared for another long day of work dealing with the after-math of the slayings. As I lay in bed, watching John get dressed, he made the comment about the real work beginning now.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "The gunman is dead."
"But now we need to know why."
I think I snorted or at least rolled my eyes. "He's crazy. That's why."
"But the families need to know more than that. Besides, we need to learn from this. To try and stop this type of thing from happening again."
I didn't snort or roll my eyes as I asked, "Do you really think you can stop this kind of mass killing from happening."
"If I didn't," John says, "I wouldn't be doing what I am doing."
After he left for work, I wondered can he really stop this type of tragedy? I am going to say that my husband, as wonderful a man as he is, cannot stop senseless voilence alone. Nor can his brothers and sisters in law enforcement be solely responsible for stopping days like yesterday before they begin.
But as a society, can we stop the violence?
Will we ever rid overselves of shoot-outs and hostage takings and pre-planned killing rampages?
I'd like to say that we will evolve to where a blog like mine will never need to be posted. But how?
I suppose that is the real question.
And I have no answers.

Social Networking Pros and Cons

Do you Twitter? Facebook? Myspace? Goodreads? Bebo, Flickr, Friendster, Ning, Shelfari?

These are just a small handful of the social networking sites available on the great old world wide web. For authors contracting with a small (but growing) publisher such as Champagne Books, participation on these sites can be a great way to connect with potential readers at no cost. Other than time, that is.

Yep, these social networking sites can be great time wasters. Especially if you get caught up sending and receiving plants to save the forest, hugs and nudges, taking quizzes to see what kind of shoe you are or becoming a part of other groups within the site. Then there’s sending and responding to invitations, updating your mood and your activities, playing along with lists of 100 things about yourself and your life and reading all about your friends…

Whew! Keeping up on all the social networking sites could easily become a full-time job.

So is it worthwhile?

In my humble opinion, yes, it is.

I just had lunch with an old friend of mine. We went to school together, nearly 30 years ago. She recently joined Facebook and I was one of the first old (and I do mean, old, ugh! -although she was kind enough to say I haven’t changed a bit) schoolmates she found. Lo and behold, although we both grew up in New Mexico, she now lives in the same town I do!

Since I have yet to make any real friends up here, I was quite excited to meet her. It was amazing that even after all these years, we recognized each other immediately. And from the minute we got together, we started talking nonstop. Turns out she and I have many, many things in common and we can’t wait to get the rest of our families together and plan something fun.

For this reason, I am a firm believer that social networking sites can truly be beneficial, at least if they are used in the right way.

Until next month – I’m off to go update my status on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Goodreads, etc., etc. etc…

Candace Morehouse
www.candacemorehouse.com

WriteRite - when you want the glory without the work.

Many of today’s authors are plagued by an inability to write. A lack of time, or a short-changed imagination often can lead to a dead-end on their road to ambitious fortune. This includes me. I never had the time for creative writing classes, nor had much patience for tutoring or peer reviews. I knew, however, that I wanted to be a published author. In a world where bragging rights are more important than actually being able to provide something intelligible, I turned to the friend of faux-writers everywhere – WriteRite.

WriteRite is probably the most versatile writer’s tool anywhere. It is also the most expensive – weighing in at $300.00 with over 2 gigs worth of written material. Of course, it is also available free from Pirate Bay by way of bit torrents, so price is not the object here. Quality is.

Waiting Weapon, as well as Blade Dancer before it, were both written with this software. In the Outline tool case you can select multiple drop-down lists for both primary and secondary story plot lines and then just press a button. WriteRite does the rest – using over four hundred novels currently in the public domain in what the software terms is its Idea Library. You just supply your desired word count, and let your machine run overnight.

The best part of WriteRite is the customization features, where you can plug in or otherwise substitute names, places, and other little things to make the work appear unique. Also quite useful is the custom import into the Idea Library where you can bring in either text, Word, or even PDF files of your favorite novels. WriteRite dips into this library for all of the description and dialog, mixing and matching in a way that will guarantee the word “plagiarism” is never whispered.

Other neat features – a “Series Linker” that attempts to tie in more than one work into a series. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work well with custom names and places – you still have to supply them again and sometimes it doesn’t map quite correctly. I’m told that there should be an update coming for this soon, however.

Genre support, of course, is important, and WriteRite can deliver Romance, Science Fiction, Mystery, and Fantasy. I have found, however, that you need to exclude any of the Tolkien series from the Fantasy generator – it flags it as being over-used. Same for vampires and were-wolves, unfortunately.

So, for those of you considering a career in writing – especially self publishing, and you don’t want to deal with years of (yawn) practice and training, then WriteRite is for you. It certainly worked for me.

Kerry
www.kmtolan.com