Tag: #Writing

One Genre To Bind Them All #IWSG

  By IWSG
 
It’s time for another post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. 
 
The awesome co-hosts for the October 5 posting of the IWSG are Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!

This month’s question:
What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

First off, I would like to protest. I’m only allowed to have one favorite genre? That seems totally unfair to the wide variety of books I read. I have to pick one? Well, okay. I pick science fiction.

Here’s why. I love me some well-written, old-fashioned, world-building science fiction. But I also love that it has become the base for many genres. That may be its best characteristic. It’s used as the backdrop for everything from romance to mysteries to suspense to fantasy. There are even stories centered around pets in space. But I haven’t seen an Amish romance in a science-fiction setting yet. Someone tell me in the comments if I’m wrong!

(By the way, I’m not forgetting that fantasy used to be a sub-category of science fiction. Full circle and all that.) 

What about you? What’s the best characteristic of your favorite genre? Tell us in the comments. Don’t forget to check out some of the other authors on this hop by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

 

A Writing Style For The Moment #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

October 3, 2022

Does your writing style change depending upon what you are writing?

Daryl Devore, another writer in this group, mentioned in a post a few weeks ago how her writing style changes based on what she is writing, and it got me thinking. Does mine?

Easy answer, yes. The Free Wolves books are written in third person, but the Harmony Duprie stories are in first person. (We’ll get to Jake’s story later.) I know not everyone enjoys reading first person, but it was what the books needed to be. I tried writing what turned into The Marquesa’s Necklace in third person, but it didn’t work.

Other differences? The Free Wolves books mostly center on one or two characters. Harmony, however, in telling us her story, gives credit to the friends that support her and give her strength. The real hero of the series is the ‘village’ that she is a part of.

How about the Jake books? (The Fall of Jake Hennessey and my WIP, The Resurrection of Jake Hennessey) They are also third person, but I tried to dive deeper into Jake’s thought process and motivations. He’s a bad guy in sheep’s clothing with a hero complex-an interesting mix of characteristics. Unlike the Free Wolves, which were story-driven books, the Jake tales are more personality-driven, which meant I had to move the action along without dialogue.

Speaking of dialogue—my style of writing dialogue can switch between characters, depending upon their personality and the situations they are in. Harmony is a great example of this. She’s a laid-back person, but when the need arises, her style of speech changes. It becomes stiffer, more formal. I don’t plan it ahead of time: it comes naturally. Here’s an example I wrote yesterday. (Unedited, so please forgive any mistakes.)

“Is that how you want to play this game? My lawyers will request that any files the agency has backing up the request become part of the record. Which means I will have access to them. If I feed my media contacts a story about a secretive government group harassing a grieving widow, how will that look? And I can’t imagine any judge in the area siding with that agency over a local girl coming home to heal after a tragedy in her life. Think carefully. You may believe you have me cornered in a game of checkers, but I’m playing chess. Checkmate, Agent.”

So yes, my writing changes with the story. I don’t think about it; it comes from knowing my characters. How about other authors? I think I know what Daryl is going to say, but I’m not sure about some of the others. Follow the links below, and we can find out!

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

October 3, 2022

Does your writing style change depending upon what you are writing?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

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The Horror Of It #IWSG

  By IWSG

 

Welcome to another month of the Insecure Writers’ Support Group, whose purpose is to share an encourage. The awesome co-hosts for the September 7 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Olga Godim, Michelle Wallace, and Louise – Fundy Blue!

September 7 question – What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why.
 
The one genre I have no interest in reading and would never tackle writing is horror. The why is simple-I do most of my reading for entertainment, and I find nothing entertaining in stories about humans getting joy out of hurting other humans. Sure, I know there are lots of other aspects of horror, but I just don’t like the genre. And, since I write for personal fulfillment and enjoyment, I’d never use my limited writing time on a subject that I don’t appreciate.
 
I also wouldn’t try science fiction, but that’s because I don’t feel up to the task. I just don’t feel I could do a good job with the genre. My current WIP is set twenty years in the future, and that’s tough enough. I don’t have a crystal ball to reveal what subtle changes we might see in our daily lives by then and am trying to project based on what had changed in my lifetime.
 
There’s one genre I’ve tried unsuccessfully and I may try again – romance. Sure, I write with a touch of romance in my stories, but action is the primary component. My few attempts at writing a full-length romance have been unsatisfactory and I have shelved them. But who knows, I might try again.
 
That’s it for me. But there are plenty of other authors on this hop. Check out the list below. And, until next time, please stay safe.
 
Note: I lost track on myself and posted this last week- way to early! So if you are here again, it’s not your imagination, and thank you! 
 
 

Exploring Short Stories #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

August 29, 2022

Do you ever write short stories? What do you see as the biggest difference in the writing process between a short story and a full-length book?

Novels are my primary form, but I have explored and published a few short stores. I wrote two of them for collections that are no longer available. But for every book I’ve written, I’ve reached a point where I’ve wondered if I’d get enough words to call it a novel. (50,000 words is the figure often used to denote a full-length novel, but that number can vary by genre.) Short stories have the opposite challenge—fitting the plot and characters into few enough words. (Usually between 1,500 and 10,000.) Considering my longest book, the Ranger’s Dog Tags, is about 90,000 words, and the shortest, The Fall of Jake Hennessey, ran 52,000, you can understand the difficulty I have writing something much shorter.

What’s the difference? The writing has to be tighter. Descriptions need to be hints and not long strings of flowery phrases.  Same for the characters—there’s no room for lengthy speeches or action scenes to build their personalities. Everything has to be compact.

But creating those short stories helped me become a better writer. They forced me to show, not tell, and made me reach for the thesaurus to find the exact word instead of settling for one that was close enough. Those changes slow down my writing speed, but also translate to less editing. One of the short stories took me almost six months to complete. I’m currently writing at the non-breakneck  speed of one book a year. (Compare that to authors who strive to complete a book a month. Every month.) They also forced me to do more plot development before I put words on paper, although I remail a pantser (writing by discovery.)

While I don’t expect to ever adopt the short story as my default writing style, I wouldn’t object to writing another one if the right opportunity presented itself. I enjoyed the experience.

How do the other authors on this hop feel about the short story form? You can find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

August 29, 2022

Do you ever write short stories? What do you see as the biggest difference in the writing process between a short story and a full-length book?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Top 5 Gotta-Haves #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

August 15, 2022

What are 5 must-have things you keep on your desk, and how do you use them?

When it boils down, there are only two things I really need to write. A pen or pencil and paper. But that wouldn’t make for much of a blog post, so I’ll share some other things that make my desk a friendlier writing place. I haven’t settled into a new routine since we moved, and still don’t have my office set up, so I haven’t done much writing and all my answers are subject to change.

  • A beverage. The choice will vary depending upon the time of day and what mood I am in. Mornings often start with a cup of fruit tea – peach or white pear. The rest of the day, it’s cold water. Now that I’m retired, adult beverages have joined the lineup.
  • Music of some sort. Often it’s classic rock or John Denver. This evening I’m sitting on our deck, so it’s bird songs and crickets. (I’m not sure what kind of birds.)
  • A dictionary and a thesaurus. I suppose that should count as two things, but for this list, I’m going to clump them together. I have both physical copies and use what is available on the internet. I prefer my physical thesaurus over a virtual one. Wandering through the nearby listings of related words expands my choices and sends me down related paths to stumble across the perfect word.
  • A fidget spinner or something else to fiddle with. The older I get, the harder time I have concentrating for any length of time. (Or maybe it’s a symptom of the stress of the last year as I prepared to retire and move.) Having something to toy with as I try to come up with the next sentence keeps me from wandering off to some interesting distraction on the internet.
  • And my top need? It’s not a thing at all. It’s being alone. All my to-dos done, no one interrupting me, no guilt about taking time for myself. It’s a rare luxury. 

There you go. My top 5 must-haves. But other authors may have different needs. You can find out by following the links below. 

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

August 15, 2022

What are 5 must-have things you keep on your desk, and how do you use them?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

On Your Mark, Get Set #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

August 1, 2022

Do you have any tips on controlling pacing in your stories? How do you manage it?

I plead guilty. More than one reader has noted in a review that my story was slow at the start, but once they got into it, they couldn’t put it down. I’ve worked to correct that, but it’s hard to know if I’m been successful. I don’t consider myself a master of technique, but what have I done?

First, I’ve tried making my openings start with a bang. We’ve discussed that on this blog hop previously – getting the beginnings right. It’s hard to do. I’ve rewritten the beginning of my work in progress probably ten times, paring it down from 3000 words to about 250. (I’ll get back to writing the rest of the story soon!)

You’ve all heard the advice about “show, not tell.” No need for me to expand on it. Or about using dialogue when possible. There is truth in both statements, but sometimes a story will demand the rules be broken. Neither will resolve the issue of pacing; making sure the story doesn’t drag in spots.

When I think of pacing, I usually consider the overall ebb and flow. I like to give readers a “breather” after a major scene to allow them to take in what just happened. But how slow or fast an individual moment takes is what keeps the reader involved. 

Pacing isn’t only the the way the action flows. I’m not a fan of long sentences and paragraphs. Just seeing a block of text that takes up an entire page can be daunting. It’s also an indicator of slow pacing, in most instances. (Depending on genre. Non-fiction plays by different rules.) But having a lot of short, one sentence paragraphs can also make a reader lose interest. As always, the trick is finding the right balance.

I’ve also worked to improve my word choices. (See show not tell.) This is the area I need to work on the most. A lot of those changes happen in editing, as I try not to let finding the exact word I need slow down my writing flow. I also try to get rid of ‘filler’ words in my editing. (So, but, and similar words.) They will slow down the pace of a scene. 

What do the other authors have say about pacing? You can find out by following the links below. As always, please stay safe until next time.

August 1, 2022

Do you have any tips on controlling pacing in your stories? How do you manage it?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

When Is It Not Enough Or Too Much? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

July 25, 2022

How do you avoid giving readers TMI (too much information) about a character? How do you decide what to share about a story’s characters?

I am still getting moved in to our new home. Today we hung three pictures and I put away most of our souvenir mugs.

You don’t care, right? What if I told you if I told you we found the perfect place of honor for a picture that was my mother’s, an aerial view of our hometown, mounting it on the wall above her cedar chest in our new dining room? Are you a bit interested?

Now what if I told you we installed the hangers 18 inches from the ceiling and centered on a 56 inch wide blue-gray wall? Have I lost you again?

Writing is a balancing act, walking a tightrope between not enough detail and too much. The challenge is finding the pivot point. How does an author know when they’ve gone too far?

The answer changes based on genre and target audience. A home decorator will key into different details than a mathematician. Fantasy requires different details than cozy mysteries. Authors need to look at their writing thru their readers’ eyes and decide what is needed. More important questions are – do the details enhance the story? Help develop the plot? Give insight into the character? (Or too much – there may be things a reader should wait to discover.) There’s also the question if the details slow the pace of the story.

A trap that some authors fall into is repeating the same information in the story. Does the main character have brown hair and wear glasses? The reader doesn’t need to be reminded of those facts each time he or she enters the scene. In most cases, once is enough.

So, how much is too much? That’s up to the readers to decide. Do you really care that I unwrapped a mug from Yellowstone and put it in the kitchen cupboard today? And one from Daytona Beach Bike Week 1997? And from Kennedy Space Center? And – okay. I’ll stop now.

But don’t forget to check out what the other authors on this hop have to say about the fine art of not giving too much information. Just follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

July 25, 2022

How do you avoid giving readers TMI (too much information) about a character? How do you decide what to share about a story’s characters?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

A Thousand Words: Cover Wars #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

July 18, 2022

Do you create your own covers? Work with a cover artist to design them? Hand your ideas over to a professional and let them come up with a design? Buy a pre-made cover?

Before I begin, let me update you. We are in our new home on Pennsylvania but nowhere near settled. We’re working hard to get the basics in place—its nice to sleep in our bed again—but there’s lots of unpacking to do. Since I have officially retired from my day job, we can tackle it a little at a time, at least until we get tired of boxes everywhere. One of my goals once we are at basic functionality is to put together my new writing space. That room is currently not usable because it’s filled with boxes and furniture that needs reassembled, but soon I will have a real office. I’ll share pictures when I can.

Now, on to the topic—covers.

I have several artistic hobbies I enjoy, but making covers isn’t one of them. Heck, I can barely pull together a post for social media using Canva. I know enough to know that a cover is beyond my skill level.

Luckily, I have a talented sister who is trained in graphic arts and helps me. (As always, thank you, K.M.!) We’ve developed a ‘standard” process for cover designing.

We start with the blurb so she can get a ‘feel’ for the story. Then we spend time scanning photo sites for ‘the’ picture that will become the basis of the cover. I’ll send her links to several I think have potential, and she’ll use them to find one that’s better. That’s just a starting point—she will end up combining several pictures to create her final design.

Fonts are another aspect of covers I leave to her. She understands how to combine them—or not—what size they should be, and which style works with the overall theme. Things I am clueless about.

What do I do besides watch her create a masterpiece? I get final approval. Tough job, but someone has to take the responsibility!

I’d love to show you a few of the preliminary designs in contrast to the ultimate covers, but my PC  with those files is still packed away. Instead, I’ll share my top three favorites.

Three different styles of covers reflecting three very different books. I think the first one is my all-time favorite because of the intensity in the model’s face, but the last one I love because it showcases the skill of my cover artist. The middle one made the list because of its seeming simplicity, but a closer look reveals semi-hidden details that elevate it to one of my favorites.

I believe we have at least one regular on this hop that designs their own covers. It’ll be interesting to hear their take on this topic, as well as everyone else’s. Just follow the links below!

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

July 18, 2022

Do you create your own covers? Work with a cover artist to design them? Hand your ideas over to a professional and let them come up with a design? Buy a pre-made cover?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

This Writer’s Wish List #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 4th, 2022

What’s on your writer’s wish list – List 5 things you have been wanting to buy or try as a writer.

My wants are simple, but I’ve accumulated too much ‘stuff’ in my life. There’s a story behind that sentence, but you’ll have to wait to hear it. Still, there are a few things I’d like to add to help me with my writing.

  1. A whiteboard. Being a pantser, I lose track of what day of the week it is in my story. Having a whiteboard to diagram it on would save me from going back and counting. (Numerous times as my story develops.) 
  2. A new chair. I’ve worn my current chair out. Even the cushion I’m sitting on isn’t comfortable anymore. That’s because I’ve used the same chair since before the pandemic. Working from home meant my butt spent a lot of hours sitting in that chair.
  3. Speaking of new, a new computer. The hard drive in this one is dying. I’ve got everything backed up (and a back-up computer) so I’m not worried about losing anything. The last time I bought myself a brand-new computer was back in the 1990s. I saved money by repurposing outdated PCs from work. I need a new printer too, but that can wait.
  4. A warmer for my morning cup of tea. My tea always gets lukewarm before I am done drinking it. Or perhaps an electric kettle to keep near my desk so I can make a fresh cup whenever I want.
  5. A software named Fictionary that is supposed to help with developmental edits. The company is partners with ProWritingAid, which I use extensively. Fictionary seems worth a try. Has anyone tested it? If you have, please share your experience.

I alluded to having too much ‘stuff’ in my life. Well, the amount has shrunk over the last few months. I officially retired from my day job, and me and my husband are moving. Yes, I am leaving the Rocky Mountains and returning to Western Pennsylvania, closer to family. Frankly, I got priced out of the market anyplace in the Mountain States.

As a result, I’ve decreased my hoard of vintage computer parts and pieces. I even (shudder) passed on books to other people. The new place will have room for me to have an actual office and plenty of spots for bookshelves to rebuild my collection.

My plans include gardening, reading, sitting in the sun, and, yes, writing. There are still stories to be told and characters to meet. Who knows how the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania will inspire me this time around?

Tell me what else I should be wishing for in the comments. And check out the other authors’ wish lists by following the links below.  Until next time, please stay safe!

July 4th

What’s on your writer’s wish list – List 5 things you have been wanting to buy or try as a writer.

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Saying Goodbye to Friends #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

June 27, 2022

Do you miss a WIP (work in progress) when you’ve finished writing it?

That’s easy. Absolutely I do. In fact, I miss them before they are gone.

By that, I mean I find myself putting off writing the final few chapters. I know what those chapters need to accomplish, but I am reluctant to put the words on paper. It feels like saying goodbye to friends, even if I’m already plotting the next book in a series. The hours upon hours I have spent getting to know the characters—or getting to know them better—have made them not just people in a story, but my friends. A part of me will be missing when they are out of my brain and tucked into the pages of a story.

Still, I love writing the happy for now endings. No cliffhangers for me. I hate reading them so I refuse to write them.

A benefit of slowing down at the end? It gives my characters a chance to surprise me. Almost every book, as I reach the end, a new plot twist reveals itself. I think it’s my mind working overtime to put off that final scene where the story wraps up.

I have a confession to make – I have been known to go back and read my own books to reconnect with the characters. It’s like meeting up with old friends to share a meal and chat. They even manage to surprise me when a detail I forgot about reveals its importance to the story I’m currently writing.

Even the characters in books that I’ve written but never published will come back to hang out with me once in a while. Are they hoping to get me to take another look at their story? Whatever their motive, I enjoy their visits.

How about the other authors on this hop? Do they have a hard time saying goodbye to their stories? Find out by following the links below.

And, as always, please stay safe until the next time.

 

 

 

June 27, 2022

Do you miss a WIP when you’ve finished writing it?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter