My Life, the Directors Cut by Asa Maria Bradley

At a recent reading in my town, author Craig Johnson talked about how much he liked Robert Taylor’s audition for the role of Sheriff Walt Longmire in the A&E TV series based on Johnson’s Longmire novels (Viking). That is, he liked it until a breathy “Oh, my” escaped from his wife’s lips while she watched Taylor saunter across the screen. She quickly defended her reaction by describing Taylor as a taller and slightly better looking, “TV version” of her husband. (Nice save, Mrs. Johnson.)

This made me wonder what the TV/film version of me would be like. I pictured a polished version of me with better skin, thicker more lustrous hair, wearing expensive designer clothes and shoes. She would know how to walk in high heels, have an infectious tinkling laugh, and use a clever repertoire of insightful comments during conversations.

And she would look good in hats.

Later that night, I uploaded some pictures from the author event to social media and realized the edited version of my life already exists: Facebook.  

Here are some of the director choices I’ve made while presenting the Facebook version of my life:

Major Milestones:

My husband and friend arrange an amazing 40^th birthday party—show pictures of guests, especially cute children of friends playing with dog.

After 40 I now spend an alarming amount of time I spend in front of the make-up mirror with tweezers—CUT!

Traveling:

Ziplining in Costa Rica—post photos of posting with hubby in matching helmets, include video of me whizzing down a very high line at fast speeds. 

Spending hours on toilet purging from both ends due to Costa Rican amoeba entering gastrointestinal system—Are you crazy?! CUT!

College Instructor Day Job:

Interacting with smart/clever/funny students—share quotes of tongue-in-cheek test answers, mention star students’ Ivy League acceptance, scholarships, and prestigious internships.

Grading for hours, sitting in office at 10.30 pm, shoving Dove chocolate in my mouth while mainlining Mountain Dew—Nope. CUT!

The truth is, my life appears much more interesting and fun on Facebook than what I experience every day. I’m not fabricating anything, but I choose on which scenes to focus the lens to tell my story.

In writing, we do the same thing. We select only the parts of a character’s back story that informs our reader about their goals and motivation. We show only the scenes and dialogues that propels our plot forward.

If I was a character and my life was a novel, I may include the scene of grading tons of assignments late at night to create sympathy for my character. Although, I probably would have made the chocolate stash smaller than it is in real life.

The toilet scene may be included too—a heavily edited version with a way smaller grossness factor. But the moments in front of the make-up mirror with tweezers would probably bore even the most valiant of readers.

What are some of the scenes you’ve cut from the Facebook version of your life that would work in a novel?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asa Maria Bradley is working on a paranormal series featuring Vikings and Valkyries and their struggle to prevent Ragnarök—the god’s final battle and the end of the world. She grew up in Sweden, surrounded by Norse mythology and history apparent in archeological sites and buildings. Her essays and articles have appeared in a variety of magazines and the anthology FEMALE NOMAD AND FRIENDS: TALES OF BREAKING FREE AND BREAKING BREAD AROUND THE WORLD (Three River Press, Randomhouse). She lives in Washington State with her British husband and a used dog of indeterminate breed. Visit her at www.AsaMariaBradley.com.

The Klutz Protecting the Laptop by Rebecca Zanetti

Hi all!  Our guest blogger today ran into a snag, so you're stuck with me.  I wrote a fun blog about being a klutz a while ago, and I thought I'd post it here today.  This one is for those of you who are a bit, um, clumsy.

A while back I sprained my ankle.  For the first time ever, and I have to say, it really hurt.  I had no clue.  Once my husband picked me up and tucked me into a chair with a pillow under my foot, he said something that really gave me pause.  After learning it was my first sprain, he scratched his head, and said, “That’s really surprising.  I mean, since you’re such a klutz.”

He said it thoughtfully, and I couldn’t take offense.  You know why?  It is really surprising because I am a klutz.  Nearly every pair of sweats, jeans, and nylons I own have an identical rip right above my left knee because I always get caught on this edge of a table nobody else gets caught on.  I’ve fallen down (and up) our stairs more times than I can count.  I trip over everything…and nothing.  Honest.

My mom, who really loves me, says that I could stand in the center of a round room and hit a corner. 

When our kid hits the floor during a basketball game, my husband always gives me the look that says, “That’s from you.”

When it starts to snow, he always gets out my strongest, best traction boots right away.  And I always end up slipping on the ice.  Every day.

You know that person that knocks over the pyramid of cans of corn at the grocery store?  Yeah, that’s me.

My mother in law gets a panicked look on her face when I touch her dishes.  And I can’t blame her.  I’ve taken out an entire saucer and cup display before.  Well, I did it three times. 

But the other day when I missed the bottom step, I sprained my ankle.  I had a diet coke (open) in one hand and my laptop in the other.  And I protected the laptop.  There’s something about being an author that instinctively had me clutching the laptop, even as my foot folded over into something unnatural. And when I hit the ground, yelping, I clutched that computer to me with both hands.

On the laptop was the next book in the Dark Protector series.  I hadn’t sent it to my editor yet.  In fact, I was on my way to do just that.  After a lifetime of falling, slipping, and tripping, I finally became injured.  From writing.

So when they tell you that writing is blood, sweat, and tears, there’s some truth to it.  As well as a whole bunch of spraying, spilled diet coke.  But you know what?  If I took that fall again, I’d protect that laptop.  J 

BIO:

USA Today Bestselling Author Rebecca Zanetti's current series include the Maverick Montana cowboy series, the Dark Protector vampire series, and the Sin Brothers romantic-suspense series.  FATED, Book 1 in the Dark Protectors, is on sale for .99c for a short time.  Please visit Rebecca at: http://www.rebeccazanetti.com/

 

No one ever told me I’d NEVER READ again! -- By Debra Elise

As you can tell by my title, I’m a little beside myself at the moment and I must confess, I’ve been lurking on the FF&P loop for the past couple months, so uh, Hi!

My current wip, and only, is a futuristic paranormal and I’m having a great time writing it, mostly. You see it has become increasingly clear that now that I’m writing seriously, as opposed to casually, I’ve become unable to read my beloved authors without having their voice throw me off my game.  Now I will confess I’ve made one exception.  I managed to finish one of Rebecca Z’s latest, but full disclosure I am a huge fan girl, plus she’s a member of our local RWA chapter (score!) and I think it’s in our by-laws or something *grin*. But I digress. My point, and I do have one, is that this has been a huge adjustment for me. Because… I’m an addict, a book addict.  Always have been, always will be.

 “Hi, my name is Deb and it’s been 53 days since my last book. I’m doing well, but some days, well let’s just say, it’s not pretty. Even the dog leaves me alone.”

In the good old days, about four months ago, as soon as I had finished one novel, I’m on to the next and the next. It was a feeding frenzy. And if I found a new author and she had any type of backlist, watch out.  My family ends up eating pizza and frozen dinners for days and the laundry piles up. Kinda like now, only different. But that’s how it is with me. Or was. I couldn’t stop reading.  Not until I decided to finally listen to the inner voice which said, “Yes you can.” Now I’ve had to rewire my brain, training myself to be patient and delay that need for instant gratification *wink* when a new Kresley Cole novel comes out.

Now like many of you, I’m guessing here, but think I’m pretty close to the mark. I think many of you, ok me, wants to be like Nora. Prolific, successful and so damn good! Isn’t she like the demi-goddess of art and literature? No? Well she should be. But as I’m now a self-proclaimed ‘serious’ writer, I must follow my heart and my muse. Nora’s latest releases are as we speak languishing in the nether world otherwise known as eBook purgatory. Sssh, don’t tell her. I think by now I must have 20, okay closer to 30, books waiting to be accessed nightly on my Kindle only to be forsaken for my wip.  Don’t get me wrong though, I am loving this new journey I’ve chosen. My people, I’ve found my people! However, no one warned me about the downside. I’ve been jonesing for a while now and get my thrills by reading book descriptions at Amazon and Goodreads. It’s been dangerous though. By feeding my addiction in this roundabout way, I’ve found a whole new group of authors and great books. Little gems twinkling brightly at me “read me, read me.” Some days I feel like a Valkyrie (or is it a Harpy?) entranced by the winking glare of yet another book diamond. Am I being a bit melodramatic here? Maybe. But as much as I experience great satisfaction (so cool) from writing a scene or two, or three, I miss my book boyfriends! Doesn’t matter that it’s a self-imposed hiatus either, I’m just--sad.

So I’ve decided on a new incentive program. This may work for you or maybe everyone else has already figured it out, and I’m just late to dinner. If so, I’ll bring the wine next time. 

MY SOLUTION: Alright, here it is – write 20k, read a book, but just one. Write another 20k, read one book, etc. I promise. Also, I must do it without guilt or worry that it’s going to affect my voice. Solution found, right?  But that leads to an even bigger problem—WHICH ONE? Will it be Nora, or Rebecca? Gena or Cherry? Kresley or Larissa? J.T. or J.R or ahhh. Whom I kidding? How do I chose between all my favorites?  In the old days, I’d just read them in the order the books were released. But now I have a backlog. I’m hoping my proposed solution could be just one more incentive for me to finish my book, right? You know besides getting an agent or a contract.

Okay, so maybe my solution is not realistic. After all who am I kidding? I start reading one and that will lead to “just one more” and BAM! I’m back on the sauce. Better that I have a book orgy when my first draft is done and call it good. Hmm, I like that idea, less of a chance for cheating. But what do I know, I’m just a newbie. Wait, does a novella count?

Which of your favorite authors do you think you could hold off reading when they release a new book, say for a week? Or, “No way Deb, you’re crazy!”

Thanks for reading.  I’d love to hear your comments!

BIO: I am a stay at home wife and mother, married to the super supportive Master Chief and momma to the Rooster and BubbaBoy. Two monkeys who keep me on my toes--hourly. We have a chocolate lab named Bell who follows me around the house begging for treats. In my previous life, in no particular order, I was a telephone operator, optometrist assistant, receptionist, executive assistant, ice cream scooper and bar maid (not a waitress, but an actual maid who cleaned a bar - very glam). I love coffee and reality TV. The latter reinforces how good a life I do have.

You can find me on:

• Facebook: www.facebook/debraeliseauthor

• Twitter: Debra_Elise

• Website: Debraelise.com

• Goodreads: Debra Elise

Sinking Our Teeth into Urban Fantasy Romance by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

Question: What do you get when you stretch the boundaries of Paranormal Romance?

Answer: Urban Fantasy . . . romance.

Question: What the heck is that?

Answer: Unusual stories with a romantic core that don’t have to necessarily trend or end the way romance readers expect them to.

How much fun is that for an author?  Sheer creative bliss. And that’s exactly what lured me to write a new series of urban fantasy romance novels and novellas alongside my paranormal romance books for Nocturne. Pushing the boundaries just a little bit was the key to my love of the urban fantasy genre.

Hello to everyone. *waving* I’m Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, here to briefly discuss ways to stretch your imagination while still keeping the emotion, relationships, and inner turmoil of  the paranormal romance genre intact. Hence, my use of the word romance.

In a romance novel, it’s understood (and taken for granted) that there will be the development of a relationship between two people. The majority of the book deals with how those people meet and how the relationship escalates and expands through trials and a certain amount of angst. The culmination of a romance novel, paranormal or otherwise, is a satisfactory ending in which the reader will either know for sure, or assume that the two star characters will be headed down the aisle – or whatever their equivalent of that might be. Happy ending. HEA.

In a straight urban fantasy novel, there doesn’t have to be a viable relationship at all. The heroine can kill off the hero if she so chooses, or vice versa if the books stars him. It’s usually more about one character and their trials through a series of hardships. No HEA required, or even necessarily in sight.

But if we want an urban fantasy romance . . . we need two to tango. We also need a relatively decent culmination that I call the ITHEA, which stands for : Imagine Their HEA. Though I, as author, may not supply a happy ending in concrete terms, in writing, at the end of the story, I do always bring the story to that point, and allude to the possibilityof an eventual HEA. Although I might not take readers to the end game, I pave the way for satisfaction of two souls getting together.

So, in an urban fantasy romance, some rules of the romance genre would still apply. Two people (don’t have to meet up at the start/ we can drop into their lives) moving through the gyrations of a relationship, however flawed, but not necessarily tracked from beginning to end, with more of a fantasy plot mixed in to liven things up and take the headline . . . and an ITHEA at the end. Voila!

I’ve started a new series based on this premise, and here’s the blurb for the first one, releasing this September. Notice the key words defining this as a romance.

“Trapped In Stone”  The forces of Dark and Light are vying for the soul of one man op top of Notre Dame Cathedral, and the woman who loves him has vowed to change his fate.

Says it all, right, about the possibility of romance being an integral part of the story?

If you’d like to see more about this book and other ways I’ve twisted PNR into urban fantasy romance, visit my website: http://www.lindathomas-sundstrom.com  and look under the COMING SOON tab. Visit me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LindaThomasSundstrom

 

My short bio: Books published by Kensington Brava, Dorchester, Amazon Montlake, and I’m completing my 15^th  book/ novella for Harlequin Nocturne.

 

Questions of your own? Ask away. Please do wave and leave a comment here. I’ll look forward to hearing from all my loop-mates. I’m really excited to be here, guest posting.

Cheers-

Linda

 

 

Producing 5-10k words a day...by Virginia Nelson

I’m often asked, how do I manage to constantly produce 5-10K words a day? Do I live at the computer?  Of course not, no one can. I will admit I am a fast typist and I have a regiment I follow religiously but that isn’t where the secret lies. I’ll try to explain.

Back when I first started writing non-fiction, I took a lecture I developed for college students, adjusted it for my personal use. That lecture was on time management and utilizing it has saved me a lot of frustration. But this article isn’t on time management. Its primary focus is to get you, the writer to increase your daily word count. So let’s start at the beginning.

What is your typing speed? Don’t know- here is a simple way to find out.

Open a large print book. Set it up next to your computer where you can see it comfortably. Now set your timer for 5 minutes and type. When the timer goes off – stop. We are now going to figure out how many words you have written. A simple way is, if you’re in Microsoft word is to click on your tool button, then on word count. Now take that number and divide it by 5. Presto you have a rough estimate of what you can type in one minute.

Sadly, you are not going to be able to create a new story and hammer out that many words a minute but you can come pretty close if you follow my directions.

Now let’s establish your sprinting speed if you already know your typing speed.

Take the number of words you normally type per minute. Let’s say your last typing test was 50wpm. Knowing you won’t be reading off a sheet of paper nor will you have a Dictaphone plugged in.  You are creating your new piece of art. You can’t really create something new and type 50 words a minute no matter what you do. So take your WPM typing speed and divide it in half. This should be your average speed for sprinting if you follow my directions…. (Big if, I know but it is how I keep my word count up.)

Before you begin, there are a few rules that will help you make the most of your time.

Rule #1. DO NOT SIT DOWN AND OPEN UP A BLANK SCREEN and stare at it expecting something to transpire. It isn’t going to happen and it is one of the worst things you can do to yourself.

Rule #2. Make sure you are alone and going to be alone for some time. Constant interruptions will cause you to loose focus.

Rule #3. Get yourself situated. (Coffee, smokes, drinks – what ever makes you comfortable) and most importantly a kitchen timer or some similar device.

Rule #4. Do not, I repeat do not worry about grammar, punctuation, spelling or anything else. You are here to type. Once your 60k words are down and the story is on paper (yes it is rough – really rough) but it’s down and you have something to work with. We will worry about editing it later.

NOW formulate the scene (or chapter) in your mind. See it coming alive.

Sit, turn on the computer and open up a clean page or your document.

Now take a minute to make sure everything is arranged how you want it.

Now get up and go potty! You heard me – take that break now before you begin but keep that scene in your mind.

Ok. You’re back from the restroom, and reseated. Good.  Set your timer and start typing. I tend to do 30 minute sprints with a 15 minute break between them. This gives me time to stretch my legs, hit the bathroom again, refill my coffee, have that smoke and most importantly form the next scene in my mind. When I’m ready I go at it just like I did before.

So how long is it going to take you to type out 60K words you ask? That of course is going to depend on your dedication and your typing speed and how many sprints per day you do.

Let’s say you can do 4 sprints per day at 25 wpm actual sprinting speed. That works out to 750 words per 30 minutes or 3000 words per day. At this rate it will take you 80 –thirty minute sessions.

To figure out how long it is going to take you to type a 60,000 word story you can do it this way.

(1) You can take the 60,000 words and divide it by your daily average, 3k. 60,000/3000=20

Guess what? Your rough draft should be completed in 20 days.

Ok, so the editor gave you forty five days to get that story to him. You have taken twenty days to write out the story in a very rough form. That leaves you twenty five days to go back re-read your story and make adjustments. Since I write full time it is easy for me, but maybe not so easy for a working mom.

Again, you will need to set aside working time just like you did for your sprint sessions. You can work your edits exactly like you did your initial rough draft writing. Sit down with the first chapter, set your timer and read it through – yes through the mistakes. You are bound to see several mistakes but you are reading for FLOW the first time through. Ignore them! Yes, I said ignore the typos – they will be fixed soon enough.

Ask yourself is the flow right? Did you capture the essence of the scene? Good. If not highlight those areas.

Now take a quick break, do what ever it is you want to do… smoke, drink, potty. Come back when you’re ready and begin to re-read that chapter again. This time you are looking for typos and misspelled words – correct them.

A normal chapter takes me three sprinting sessions to correct – it may take you more or less depending on the number of mistakes you have made. Remember to take your breaks – it is important for you and your eyes.

When you are ready, go on to the next chapter and repeat the process. This process usually takes me a few days so allow your self enough sprinting time to get through it with time left over. Once you are finished, TAKE A DAY OFF, you have earned it!

With fresh eyes go back again and reread your manuscript. Again, you will probably find sections that need tweaking or correcting. Make those changes but don’t get bogged down with tiny little details. We all know we can edit something to death and still not have it “right.”

The original idea was to get something written and clean enough to send to the editor for their approval and you should have it. He/she of course is going to have his or her own ideas for the story and ask you to make more revisions. Worry about them after you have them.

So there you have it, my method for constantly typing out 5-10k words a day. I hope this simple method has helped you and you will at least give it a try to see if it works for you.

Virginia S. Nelson

Writing as V.S.Nelson

Virginia is a member of three RWA chapters. She is also the current VP for the FF&P chapter. She no longer writes non-fiction but devotes her time to writing paranormal and urban fantasies. She lives with the love of her life in Mesa, Arizona. You can find her around cyberspace at the following locations.

 Website  Blog  Twitter  Goodreads  Facebook   Authorsdb  Book Trailer

Cupid and Penelope and book one of her Sekhmet’s Guardian series, Eternal Lovers, were both released in January of this year. She is expected to release at least three more titles this year. 

Naked in the Mud Puddle: on the Vulnerability of Critique by Amber Belldene

I confess that I’ve never taken a mud bath.  The closest I’ve ever come was being buried under some very hot enzymatic saw dust.  The cedar flakes went everywhere, and I can only imagine mud gets even more up-close and personal when you bathe in it.  Maybe that’s okay.

I like mud.  It’s rich, it’s fertile, it reminds me of primordial soup.  Mud is the kind of fecund mess that life comes from.  

And so is criticism.  

I’m one of the list parents for FFnP’s online critique group, the Mud Puddle.  It’s an amazing community of talented writers, many of whom are published.  We are all willing to trade constructive critiques.  That’s no small thing, considering few of us have have ever met face to face.  Critique is hard, vulnerable work—balancing positive feedback and honesty, accounting for subjective taste, and trying not to mess with a writer’s voice—the exchange of critiques can be like an embrace, a kiss, or a slap in the face.  

A writer friend of mine named Laurie Brock said to me the other day, “The wisest, most secure people I know are perfectly able to hear criticism without becoming angry.  They’ve seen their own shadows, so someone else pointing it out isn’t a, ‘Hey, your panties are showing,’ moment.”    

Of course, she’s right.  And I am not one of those people.

Once upon a time, before I took up the crazy dream of writing, I was content and centered.  When someone at work gave me a piece of feedback, I could take it calmly, without feeling defensive.  Why, oh why, is writing so much more vulnerable?  I live to have people read my books and tell me what they really think, but receiving a full-blown critique is a bit like being submerged in mud—it’s kind of warm and cozy, and it’s kind of suffocating.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am grateful to every single person who has ever pored over words I wrote and taken time to point out missed commas, over-used words, and parts of my story they hated.  And, like most writers, I have a very thick skin.  I don’t get mad.  I rarely get defensive.  Sometimes I do feel confused about what to do, or whose opinion to trust, or how to fix a problem. But, all that fecund mud seeps into me, and I always find my way out of the mire with a new idea.

Buy me a couple of drinks, and I’ll gladly show you my panties.  But I’m more shy about showing my story, naked and streaked with mud.  From punctuation to story arc, baring oneself to critique is intense.  I won’t promise you that the Mud Puddle is a utopia, where your feelings will never get hurt, and the coal dust of your WIP will be quickly transformed into diamonds.  But it is a fabulous, safe place to show your underwear and make long-lasting writing friends.  The Mud Puddle has made me a better writer, more sure of my own voice and more aware of my weaknesses.  And honestly, because helpful critiquing requires mindfulness and sensitivity, it has made me a better person too.  

I wish for every writer that kind of fertile community.

And so I invite you to come play in the mud.  If you are a member of FFnP, you can join the puddle by emailing critique (at) romance-ffp (dot) com.  

To wrap up, I asked some members of the Mud Puddle to share their philosophy of critique, or  lessons they’ve learned there:  

“The greatest gift I've learned from the Mud Puddle is how to write active characters, in motion with their setting. The MP helped me realize how to eliminate passive voice.”- Paula Millhouse

“I’ve learned writing is a balancing act, too much of one thing, no matter how beautiful or fun, can become a distraction….[sometimes] I’ve written a particularly magical/funny/interesting phrase or paragraph and no one else cares for it.  I’m not saying a writer shouldn’t follow her/his heart, but when several people you trust all agree, it’s a good idea to ponder and perhaps reconsider, no matter how painful.” - Coleen Burright

“When I critique, I always try to find something good to say.  Saying something 'less comfortable' is sometimes necessary, but I always try to find a positive way to say it.  That said, I think it's important to learn how to receive a critique as well as give one.  We all have something to learn.” - Rhenna Morgan

“I am always honest. I try never to be brutal about it, but I won't lie and say something is great just because I can't find anything good to say about it. That's not helpful. It is probably one of the worst things you can do to a writer who is trying to learn their craft.” - Samantha MacDouglas

Photo of muddy feet is courtesy of Jonathan Isaac.

Bio:

Amber Belldene grew up on the Florida panhandle, swimming with alligators, climbing oak trees and diving for scallops…when she could pull herself away from a book.  As a child, she hid her Nancy Drew novels inside the church bulletin and read mysteries during sermons—an irony that is not lost on her when she preaches these days. 

Amber is an Episcopal priest and student of religion.  She believes stories are the best way to explore human truths.  Some people think it is strange for a minister to write romance, but it is perfectly natural to her, because the human desire for love is at the heart of every romance novel and God made people with that longing.  She lives with her husband and two children in San Francisco.   

Connect with Amber: website | facebook | twitter

Blurb:

Blood Vine, released January 2013, from Omnific Publishing

Bites are an inconvenient bliss, exiled vampires are wasting away, and the fate of their kind depends on the perfect PR campaign. 

When public relations pro Zoey Porter arrives at an enchanting California winery, she discovers her sexy new client is the almost one-night stand she can’t forget. After her husband’s suicide, Zoey has vowed never to risk her heart again. But can she walk away from the intriguing winemaker a second time?

Driven from Croatia by his ancient foes, vampire Andre Maras has finally made a blood-like wine to cure his fellow refugees. Now he needs Zoey’s PR expertise to reach them. After his wife’s death, Andre has a vow of his own—never to risk another painful blood bond. And one taste of the tempting Zoey would bind him to her eternally. 

Creating New Characters in a Character Driven World by Sayde Grace

Hello everyone! First let me give a huge thank you to FFnP for allowing me the honor and pleasure to be here guest blogging today. When I first decided to write a book I knew two things: one I wanted it to be about werewolves and two I had no clue where to start.

Thankfully a friend suggested I try FFnP where I immediately joined and hit the crit group up for help. A few years later I had written two paranormal books and secured a lifelong friendship and critiqueship with the amazing Rebecca Zanetti.

As I’ve grown as a writer and a reader I’ve learned something else, it’s damn hard to create characters in a world where we see and read about so many unique and fascinating characters. It’s challenging to create new worlds, spins, and points of views on ideas.

 For me the creation of my characters take more time than creating my world or species within my paranormal books. Usually this is because I start with what I want my characters to be like, what drives them and once I know that I figure out why this drives them. Most of the time the why is what determines what they are.

One thing I have found useful in creating new memorable characters that will stand out in a sea of fantastic characters is to give them real world humor, events, and problems along with the apocalyptic disaster surrounding their species or world.

For example, I live in southern Alabama in a very rural area. Once in awhile I will drive into Mobile, Al to go shopping. About a week ago I needed to go get some new shoes and headed to town. I drive a gas hogging Tahoe so I had to stop to get gas in down town. Well, as I stuck the nozzle into the gas tank a man walked around the corner of my truck and asked me for my phone number.  I resisted the urge to give him the death stare and instead explained I wasn’t interested and thanked him anyway before he tried to sell me a Lakers shirt for $10 that would make me look super smokin hot according to him.  As he peddled off on his womans bicycle still holding onto the Lakers shirt, I wondered about what kind of character he’d make in a book.

I instantly saw him as the lust driven but never laid side kick to my newest hero. You know, super annoying because everything he does is about sex that he never has, yet in the end he’s funny and useful. Or maybe he’ll be an undercover cop or PI following my heroine for an evil wolf looking for a new mate. You just never know, but can you see how the real life situation opened up so many character traits and even plots? While it’s always great to create something new and special and completely different from everyday life you still want to have a character us poor humans can relate too.  Those are the types of characters I remember.

So go forth, watch the people around you, ease drop on conversations while waiting at the doctor’s office or in the line somewhere, you never know when a real life situation or person will strike a memorable character for you.

Thanks everyone,

Sayde Grace
http://saydegrace.com/

Revising with Timelines by Laura Bickle

Writers tend to get into a lot of trouble with time. There's making time to write, managing deadlines, and the vagaries of market timing.

One issue with time, however, is entirely within the author's control. And that's the timeline of the story.

I never paid a whole lot of critical attention to time when I read. Sure, I was conscious that some passages in stories could be languid and slow-moving like a drippy faucet. Others were exhaustingly rushed. I never was quite able to put my finger on why.

And then, when my first book was accepted for publication, I discovered the answer:  books can grow timeline issues. They're very subtle, but can really cause problems with the reader's perception of a work.

A timeline problem occurs when characters have too many events crammed into a period of time - or not enough. A succession of tasks emerges that would require the bending of the rules of the space-time continuum or superhuman abilities to accomplish. It occurs when your main character hasn't slept for days. It happens when she travels an impossible distance in an hour. It can take place when your main character hasn't worked regular hours at her day job without explanation. This goes for crazy amounts of overtime, or not working at all. It happens when your character is doing "cop stuff" for seven days in a row without a day off or at least a pro forma request for overtime.  It's easy for an author to lose track of what day it is, and a character can get trapped in a month-long weekend or a year of Wednesdays.

Mundane concerns? Maybe. But they catch an editor's eye and seep into the subconscious of the reader. And sometimes, we've gotta pay attention to the rules of the real world - like time - in order to allow the reader to suspend disbelief for the really magical things we want to do with the story.

My editor asked me to turn a timeline in with my book. Something simple, listing the day, night, and all the scenes that happened in each. By reviewing my manuscript in this way, I could see where I crammed too many activities into the heroine's day  - or (eep!) not enough. When I finish a draft, I read through it and start constructing my timeline.

I also create a second list that's not strictly a timeline. It's one that notes where chapters begin and end, how many scenes are included in the chapter, and how many pages each chapter is. Sticking a ten-page chapter next to a twenty-five page chapter creates unevenness, and keeping a note helps me be more aware of it. It also shows me where I have a bunch of stubby two-page scenes strung together. This causes me to question whether I'm head-hopping or whether I really need to find a way to collapse those scenes into less choppy ones. It helps me analyze flow. It also shows me whether I'm doing a good job of ending chapters in the middle of the action, causing the reader to want to turn the page to the next.

By doing this kind of post-hoc analysis, and correcting the results, I found that pacing issues automatically ironed themselves out.

I've turned a timeline in for every book since, whether or not I was asked. And it's really reduced the amount of time I spend fixing structural issues in revisions. Now, I tend to work with that timeline in my head, and it keeps me honest. It keeps my very human characters from turning into Wonder Women and Supermen.

Not only do I have to manage time, but my characters do, too. Maintaining a timeline is a front-line editing fix I suggest that every writer keep in her toolbox.

________________

Laura Bickle’s professional background is in criminal justice and library science, and when she’s not patrolling the stacks at the public library she’s dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs (she also writes contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams). Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and five mostly-reformed feral cats. THE HALLOWED ONES is her first young adult novel. For more info about Laura and her books, please visit her website at www.laurabickle.com. She’s also on Facebook and Twitter, usually exclaiming over cute cat pictures and nerdy things.

Spaceships are the cell phones of tomorrow by Erica Hayes

Do you know precisely how your cell phone works? Probably not – because you don’t need to. It just works.

The same applies when you’re writing futuristic tech: it’s just the stuff your characters use every day. Whether it’s a spaceship, a light saber or a pair of telepathic wave-generator goggles (see? I just made that up, and you get it) – the people of the future will have gadgets aplenty.

But how to include them in your story without bogging down in dull technical explanations?

Back in the old cyberpunk days (nostalgic sigh…) we decided we didn’t care about golden-age sci-fi exposition. We just threw the gadgets out there and moved on, a metaphor for the fast-moving, techno-sick society.

And ‘less is more’ is still a useful rule. If you’re writing futuristic romance, the story’s about the characters, not the gadgets. So give the tech the attention it deserves – it’s like living wallpaper. It’s the world-building, the same as the magical system in a fantasy or the werewolf pack hierarchy in a paranormal. It’s not the core of the story. So give a basic explanation of what it is and what it’s for, and move on.

You wouldn’t launch into a full explanation of the physics if your hero made a cell phone call. So don’t do it when he goes to warp, either. Just give the reader enough to understand what’s happening. And remember, readers are used to sci-fi movies and TV – where all they get is a bunch of visuals, without anything explained. They are smart. They’ll get it.

Unless you’re writing hard sci-fi, in which case readers want those details. Or, if you have a gadget that’s particularly important to the plot, you might need to go into a fuller explanation. But generally, if you’re genre-bending with a futuristic romance or a space fantasy, keep it simple, colourful and visual.

Tips:

Focus on what it does, rather than how it works. If your pan-galactic megaspace ion drive (or whatever it’s called) propels the ship faster than light, that’s cool. Just show it doing that, and move on. We’ll suspend disbelief and kick Einstein to the curb for a while. It’s when you try to explain too much that readers lose faith.

Keep your explanations in the character’s point of view, rather than stepping aside into infodump. For example, you could go for:

The communicator was black, and had a metal ‘press-to-talk’ button on the side, with a light that flashed when the device was out of range.

Or:

She thumbed the metal button on her communicator. “Are you there?” No response. The little red light flashed. Damn. Out of range.

A basic ‘show, don’t tell’ rule, yes? But it’s an easy trap to fall into when you have a lot of exposition to deal with. And if you absolutely must infodump? Try using dialogue, even if it takes longer. It’s far more interesting to read two characters bickering for a page about how the hyperdrive works, than a dry paragraph of explanation.

Don’t forget visuals. Like I said, readers are familiar with sci-fi movies and TV. They expect to be shown what things look like – the cooler, the better. Also, your visuals are a symptom of how things are in your futuristic world. There’s a galaxy of difference between the Starship Enterprise and the Serenity. What do you want your world to look like? Is it shiny and clean, or is everything rusty, broken and ill-maintained?

Don’t forget other senses, too. Details will bring your tech – and your world – to life. Does your heroine’s plasma gun buzz and warm up in her hand when she fires? How does it smell in the bowels of your deep space freighter? What does it feel like for the passengers and crew when the spaceship breaks the light barrier? Make your reader feel as if they’re right there.

And finally: if in doubt, leave it out. Readers are smart. They’ll get it. And don’t forget to use a good beta reader, who’ll pull you up when you’ve glossed over something important.

BIO: Erica Hayes is the author of DRAGONFLY, a kick-butt sci-fi adventure from Momentum Books, as well as the Seven Signs paranormal romance series from Berkley Sensation. To find Erica on the web, or to read an excerpt, visit http://www.ericahayes.net -- or chat with her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ericahayes

Writing Extreme Emotions by Karen Duvall

I don't know about you, but I have not experienced first hand most of the tragedies I put my characters through. I haven't watched someone get murdered, or seen my life flash before my eyes, or been chased by demons and gargoyles. My life is a bit more subtle (aka boring). So then how does an author write about the emotions brought on by these experiences without having gone through them herself?

You could say you've watched similar things happen to actors on television or in movies and that's what inspires you. Or you could say a friend or family member had a similar experience and told you what it was like. Or maybe you read a nonfiction book or article from the point of view of someone who endured similar tragedies.

These are okay sources if they inspire you and get you to crank up your imagination. In fact, I have an awesome nonfiction book called LEAD POISONING that does a pretty darn good job of recounting the experiences of gunshot victims. I got it from Paladin Press, a terrific resource for this kind of information. http://www.paladin-press.com/

I'm sure you already know that exaggeration is key to writing believable fiction. I don't mean over-the-top plots and purple prose, but sometimes you have to push the envelope just to get the right information across to the reader, whether it be emotion, physical description or action. That being said, a little goes a long way, so everything you write must pack one hell of a punch.

Sun Storm Collage created by Karen

I'm not pushing hyperbole, but I am emphasizing the importance of making your words count. In everything. I could go on for pages about this, and I'll add to this in future blog posts, but for now let's focus on the bugaboo writers tend to pull out their hair over. Emotions.

Think about anything, and I mean anything, that has had a powerful emotional impact on you and you can use it as a launching pad for any emotion you need your character to express.

Of course you'll have to embellish it for the purpose of your scene. For example, consider the most frightening experience you've ever had. Even if it was a call from the IRS telling you you're about to be audited. Such shocking news would likely send an icy ball of fear hurtling to the pit of your stomach. You don't have to face an evil sorcerer, ax murderer or a vampire to know fear. You just have to compound what you already know with intensity. The point is to use your personal storehouse of bona fide emotions as a building block to create authentic reactions for your characters.

But here's the thing. There are different levels of feelings we derive from our emotions. The IRS phone call elicits fear related to anxiety and dread. Fear for our lives is on a whole other level associated with horror, terror, panic, and hysteria. Escalating nervousness to terror is no easy task, so you have to borrow from another emotional experience to balance the playing field.

Say what? How can a different emotion be in the same ballpark as the one you're trying to convey? When it comes to visceral reactions, there are plenty of physical similarities to draw from.

Physical pain and emotional grief are heavy hitters. Most of us have experienced these to some degree. That intensity is what you need to carry through to your characters in a way that will create a tragic experience for the reader to share. You'll have to put your imagination into overdrive, and if you build on these base feelings, you may be surprised at how effective it can be.

Everyone feels. Whether the character is a six-year-old child or a fifty-year-old hardened criminal, these individuals are human beings. And for the benefit of the reader, the characters need to emotionally react to the events around them, even if it's only expressed internally. A character who denies feeling anything is feeling it enough to think denial is the best way to handle it. That's a Catch 22, wouldn't you say?

Be prepared to venture into some dark places inside your head. If you want to create realism in your fiction, this is a sacrifice you'll need to make for your art. You can do it!

Feel free to share an intense emotional experience in a comment. It can be anything you think you could derive an emotional reaction from to enhance an experience for your character.

_____________________
BIO:  Karen Duvall lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and four incredibly spoiled pets. She's an award winning author published with Harlequin Luna and is currently working on a new contemporary fantasy series.

BLURB:  After the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, Sarah Daggot becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to forecast sun storms. And she’s not the only one. Other Kinetics possess different kinetic abilities, and Sarah believes they're destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun… before the world ends.

ALIEN SEX by author Margaret Fieland

I read a review of a science fiction book recently in which the reviewer commented that he had particularly enjoyed the book because the aliens in question were really alien and not some sort of human in disguise. This interested me particularly because when I invented the aliens in my recently published novel, “Relocated,”I went to some lengths to insure the opposite: that they weren't too alien. 

All of which brings me to my musings about what goes into creating an alien species, and the series of questions an author must ask themselves: what do they look like, how many limbs do they have, where do they live, what do they eat, how many planets do they occupy, what is their government like, what are their cultural values, what about their art, literature, music? What about their sex lives? How do they interact with other cultures? I could go on.

Those things, in my opinion, the fluff: what in my day job we call, "simple matter of programming." The real question for any author to ask is, what is their role in the story, and what, therefore, are the required characteristics? What is the theme the writer is exploring, and what part do these aliens play in it?

Now wait, I hear you saying, all I wanted was a list where I could fill in: Six limbs, no external ears, speech not audible to humans, reproduces by fission. Why do I have to decide on how they play into my theme? 

Um, well, because that's the question from which all others spring. Is your main character going to get up close and personal with the aliens or are they going to bomb the hell out of each other? How large is the canvas on which you're painting? Are the aliens part of a bunch populating a bar on some space station or other, or are they going to play a major role in your story? And, perhaps most important: do they interact with human in the story, and if so, how?

Sometimes the requirements are simple. I wrote a short story involving an alien species where they needed to look alien, be able to communicate with humans, albeit with difficulty, and drink whiskey. The last was the most important. Since I'm hoping to get the story published, I'm not going to say more. Not a lot of brain sweat went into inventing those particular aliens.

In “Relocated,” my recently published novel, I needed my aliens to look only slightly alien, because (warning, spoiler alert) one of my characters is a human-alien cross who was "passing" as human. In order for this to be believable, I needed enough background to justify this. 

Stories need conflict, and I wanted one of the conflicts in the story to be the discomfort my character feels when plunged into the alien society. I wanted the culture of the aliens to be different –and in some ways, disturbing – enough so that my character would find integration into alien society a challenge, but not so different that he would find it impossible.

Why? I wanted my character to straddle both societies and be forced to make a choice, and how I styled my aliens grew out of this. I didn't want clash of empires. I wanted culture-clash and individual angst. That's where my interests lie, and those are the kinds of themes I'm drawn to. 

I wanted to push the envelope in at least one area, and I chose sexuality. While there were other ways in which I made my aliens, alien, the sexuality piece and how their family organization, sex lives, and reproduction differed from humans was the keystone. 

Okay, you asked. My aliens form committed relationships involving, typically, four people, and the relationships involve same-sex as well as opposite-sex interactions. I had to tread lightly, however, as this was a novel for young adults. 

And so my character becomes involved romantically with an alien. The two characters do nothing more than kiss.

I hear you saying, "Oh, darn it." Never fear, I'm working on a couple more books set in the same universe, and one of them is an adult science fiction novel with a mixed-sex menage involving three men and a woman. One of the men is human, and the other two men and the woman are aliens. 

Face it, sex is interesting.. Even alien sex.

 

 

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