I am in an online critique group and absolutely love the members of this group. In our crit group lately we have been talking about fleshing out scenes. It's something we all need to do from time to time with few exceptions.
I was pondering a little about fantasy writers and how different fantasy is from things like sci-fi. We were talking about how fantasy by nature is longer than other genres. And how sometimes because of pressure to stay under that "expected word count" the fantasy author strips the scene they are writing to the bare bones in order to "fit" that count. Or that the world/story is worthy of nine books and for fear of not selling the entire series they try to cram 3 books into one by again striping the scenes of the details and richness fantasy especially deserves.
Think about it, fantasy is the one genre where you have the pleasure of building worlds and magics and governments etc, etc, etc, with abandon. What's the point of doing all that world building if you can't use it in your book? Whats the point in introdoucing your reader to this world you've worked so hard on, if you fly past it on your way through the story.
My advise to any writer whatever genre is to write the best story you can. Granted there are rules you must follow. But if you write a wonderful rich book with scenes with a little meat on them you have a much better story and a better chance of getting published EVEN if the story has many more sequels. Don't short-change yourself, your characters, or your readers by writing less of what needs to be told.
Write the book that needs to be written. If it's too long, split it in half. If you have a lifetime of stories to tell, decide what parts of the story need to be told and expound on those and let the rest go. I promise the reader wont miss what you MC had for breakfast every morning or what kind of underwear he wears or if he wears any at all.
While publishing guidelines are there for a reason, there should be no stopping the writer from creating something rich, fleshy, and wonderful. I guess what I am trying to say is, write the story you want to write, the story your reader deserves from you.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Bear with me. . .
As I posted on my Facebook Status.
"Growing a baby takes alot of physical, emotional and mental energy. Especially when you're 40."
I am finding it hard to concentrate and have enough energy to take care of everything I am expected to do, and take care of myself and the growing babe inside.
Not to use this as an excuse, but my posts might be a little less than the expected three times a week, and less intelectual. At least until my energy and brain come back. LOL
I'm not going to promise anything, but know that this blog and my readers/followers are a priority. I will work as hard as I can to keep it from going stagnant. I just thought you guys should know why my posting behavior has been erratic and odd.
I am doing well just the normal pregnancy complaints and am looking forward to two dates. March 29, I will get a level 2 ultrasound and hopefully see what gender the babe is, and August 20 when the baby is due.
Thanks for being loyal readers and followers. :)
"Growing a baby takes alot of physical, emotional and mental energy. Especially when you're 40."
I am finding it hard to concentrate and have enough energy to take care of everything I am expected to do, and take care of myself and the growing babe inside.
Not to use this as an excuse, but my posts might be a little less than the expected three times a week, and less intelectual. At least until my energy and brain come back. LOL
I'm not going to promise anything, but know that this blog and my readers/followers are a priority. I will work as hard as I can to keep it from going stagnant. I just thought you guys should know why my posting behavior has been erratic and odd.
I am doing well just the normal pregnancy complaints and am looking forward to two dates. March 29, I will get a level 2 ultrasound and hopefully see what gender the babe is, and August 20 when the baby is due.
Thanks for being loyal readers and followers. :)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Emotional response, and the power of our writing.
I participate in a number of social avenues for my writing. I am in a critique group and also talk about my writing occasionally on Facebook. I also work with my local library teaching and encouraging new and teen writers.
To get a point across in the writing group, I will use small snippets of my current story to make what I am talking about clear. I have often posted on Facebook a small idea of what I am writing. My crit group gets three chapters twice a month to crit and my friends, who all know I am a writer, hear all about my story.
Every time I tell someone about my story I get eavesdroppers tellimg me that they want to read it. I guess either the story is really good or my enthusiasm rubs off on them.
At the library monday, I was using Emergence to illustrate the peroid of time between the introdouction with the first plot point and then the second stage of the story until the mid point. The cleaning lady at the library overheard me and asked where she could get the book. I had to tell her it wasn't published yet. I was talking to a reader at a baby shower and the lady next to her asked to read it too. I get this alot.
I was at the local store months ago and I told a friend I figured out the ending of the book and was so excited about it. She'd never read it, and after we talked I gave her the finished MS. She started reading it and loved it. Every time I'd see her, she'd tell me where she was and how much she was enjoying it.
To be honest, I was loving the admiration and compliments. Talk about stoking my ego. LOL
However, about three quarters throgh the book she stopped reading it, TWICE! In the same place. I was frustrated and kept wondering if my story dropped at that point or I became a terible writer between the begining and the end.
Then she told me that she had become so emotionally involved in the story and so invested in the characters lives that she had to stop because she couldn't bear to read what happened to the characters in the end of the book. See if you remember, I told her the whole plot line and what happens at the end. Stupid me. :) I also had a friend who's husband had serious surgery and couldnt bring the MS to the hospital as it was too stressful to read at that point in time.
It was pretty frustrating because she had given me, up untill that time, really good feedback that I allways used for revisions. She even asked me if one character was too good to be real, what an eye opener that comment was, and more but much better revisions.
As I have thought about this dear friend of mine I have come to realize that when something is written well you elicit an emotional response. Whether good or bad. If this story gets published I am going to have people who love it or hate it. I am probably going to have people hate me for the ending of this book. I have joked with my good friends that I'm going to get hate mail for this one, and that I'm going to need a PO box.
I have had to accept that it's okay for her to not finish the book, a thought that had never crossed my mind before now. That as a writer I can't please everyone and that's okay.
That perhaps if I want everyone to love what I write, I should write something fuzzy with fluffy bunnies and butterflies. That I should abandon the high action and plot twisting story with the deeply conflicted MC . . . .
NOT!
To get a point across in the writing group, I will use small snippets of my current story to make what I am talking about clear. I have often posted on Facebook a small idea of what I am writing. My crit group gets three chapters twice a month to crit and my friends, who all know I am a writer, hear all about my story.
Every time I tell someone about my story I get eavesdroppers tellimg me that they want to read it. I guess either the story is really good or my enthusiasm rubs off on them.
At the library monday, I was using Emergence to illustrate the peroid of time between the introdouction with the first plot point and then the second stage of the story until the mid point. The cleaning lady at the library overheard me and asked where she could get the book. I had to tell her it wasn't published yet. I was talking to a reader at a baby shower and the lady next to her asked to read it too. I get this alot.
I was at the local store months ago and I told a friend I figured out the ending of the book and was so excited about it. She'd never read it, and after we talked I gave her the finished MS. She started reading it and loved it. Every time I'd see her, she'd tell me where she was and how much she was enjoying it.
To be honest, I was loving the admiration and compliments. Talk about stoking my ego. LOL
However, about three quarters throgh the book she stopped reading it, TWICE! In the same place. I was frustrated and kept wondering if my story dropped at that point or I became a terible writer between the begining and the end.
Then she told me that she had become so emotionally involved in the story and so invested in the characters lives that she had to stop because she couldn't bear to read what happened to the characters in the end of the book. See if you remember, I told her the whole plot line and what happens at the end. Stupid me. :) I also had a friend who's husband had serious surgery and couldnt bring the MS to the hospital as it was too stressful to read at that point in time.
It was pretty frustrating because she had given me, up untill that time, really good feedback that I allways used for revisions. She even asked me if one character was too good to be real, what an eye opener that comment was, and more but much better revisions.
As I have thought about this dear friend of mine I have come to realize that when something is written well you elicit an emotional response. Whether good or bad. If this story gets published I am going to have people who love it or hate it. I am probably going to have people hate me for the ending of this book. I have joked with my good friends that I'm going to get hate mail for this one, and that I'm going to need a PO box.
I have had to accept that it's okay for her to not finish the book, a thought that had never crossed my mind before now. That as a writer I can't please everyone and that's okay.
That perhaps if I want everyone to love what I write, I should write something fuzzy with fluffy bunnies and butterflies. That I should abandon the high action and plot twisting story with the deeply conflicted MC . . . .
NOT!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Hesitation, epithany, and the gift of inspiration
As many of you guys know I am a green stripe in Tang Soo Do testing to be a green #2 in a few weeks. I am also LDS.
A couple of days ago my hubby found a discussion on a very conservative LDS board about how evil martial arts are. He forwarded the discussion to me because he knew I would be interested. I read it and for a few minutes sat in shock. How could something that has been amazingly wonderful for me be seen as so evil by some.
I can see some of their points, some people who become involved in the art become disillusioned and tend to fall away from the church. That they begin to substitute the adversary's power for the priesthood and open themselves up to the bad influences that come with it.
This train of thought came to a dreadful realization for me, if people can think that this is bad, then the magic system (or power system) I have set up for my world and characters can be also perceived as evil by some. That is definately not what I want. Like I said I am LDS and live in Utah, I don't want something I write to be constrewed wrong. Granted some people are going to think badly of it inspite of every precaution I make. I can't controll that. But I can make sure that what I write is positive and good.
I spent many hours that morning in quiet contemplation over what I had read, what I had created in my book, and what I believe. Curtains drawn I sat at my computer and contemplated changing my entire second book. Then quietly in the silence of serious meditation it came to me as it always does.
In every magic system you create there has to be rules and consequences. Both good and bad. You can't have somebody just storming through your book creating either unending good or unending chaos. The reader is not going to buy it or your next book for that matter.
AND just like real life if there's a an evil side to something there has to be a good. God's laws are like that. So If my main character uses good powers. There must be a dark and bad side to emphasize the good. So if my MC is good, then I should give the opposite to my antagonist.
I sat back as a wave of relief washed over me and I realized that I had just recieved my answer. All I needed to do, is make my bad guy the opposite of my good guy and make the reader aware of how evil what my bad guy believes and practices is. (for those who are interested in what I am talking about, on the bad side, look up De' mauk.)
Simple and easy, at least the thought is.
Now I need to revise the whole book.
Sigh!
A couple of days ago my hubby found a discussion on a very conservative LDS board about how evil martial arts are. He forwarded the discussion to me because he knew I would be interested. I read it and for a few minutes sat in shock. How could something that has been amazingly wonderful for me be seen as so evil by some.
I can see some of their points, some people who become involved in the art become disillusioned and tend to fall away from the church. That they begin to substitute the adversary's power for the priesthood and open themselves up to the bad influences that come with it.
This train of thought came to a dreadful realization for me, if people can think that this is bad, then the magic system (or power system) I have set up for my world and characters can be also perceived as evil by some. That is definately not what I want. Like I said I am LDS and live in Utah, I don't want something I write to be constrewed wrong. Granted some people are going to think badly of it inspite of every precaution I make. I can't controll that. But I can make sure that what I write is positive and good.
I spent many hours that morning in quiet contemplation over what I had read, what I had created in my book, and what I believe. Curtains drawn I sat at my computer and contemplated changing my entire second book. Then quietly in the silence of serious meditation it came to me as it always does.
In every magic system you create there has to be rules and consequences. Both good and bad. You can't have somebody just storming through your book creating either unending good or unending chaos. The reader is not going to buy it or your next book for that matter.
AND just like real life if there's a an evil side to something there has to be a good. God's laws are like that. So If my main character uses good powers. There must be a dark and bad side to emphasize the good. So if my MC is good, then I should give the opposite to my antagonist.
I sat back as a wave of relief washed over me and I realized that I had just recieved my answer. All I needed to do, is make my bad guy the opposite of my good guy and make the reader aware of how evil what my bad guy believes and practices is. (for those who are interested in what I am talking about, on the bad side, look up De' mauk.)
Simple and easy, at least the thought is.
Now I need to revise the whole book.
Sigh!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Secret Sisters is almost here!
Tristi Pinkston has a new book coming out in March called "Secret Sisters". The series is called "The Secret Sisters Mystery Series". I am pleased to help her promote her book and announce the contest she is holding. Check out her blog here.
Ida Mae Babbitt, president of the Omni 2nd ward Relief Society, didn't mean to become a spy. But when visiting teaching stats are low and she learns that one family under her care is in financial trouble, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure they have what they need. If that includes planting surveillance cameras in their home and watching them from a parked car in the woods, well, isn't that what any caring Relief Society president would do?
With the help of her counselors Arlette and Tansy, Ida Mae soon learns that there's more to the situation than meets the eye. It's all in a day's work for the Relief Society.
The book will be launched on March 16th up at the Gateway Barnes and Noble, and to count down the days, we're going to have a little fun!
First of all, there's an awesome prize. The winner of my contest will receive:
A bag of lavender-scented potpourri
A white lace doily
A copy of "Secret Sisters," autographed to them
A $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon.com
And ... and ...
The chance to read the sequel before anyone else on earth, except for my editor and critique group
How amazing is that??
What do you have to do to be entered?
1. If you have a Facebook account, click here and friend Ida Mae. Value: One point
2. If you have a Blogger account, go here and follow Ida Mae. Value: One point
3. If you have a Twitter account, follow Ida Mae @IdaMaeBabbitt. Value: One point
4. Go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. Value: Two points Note: If you have trouble getting on to the newsletter page, e-mail me at tristipinkston AT gmail.com and I can add you on directly.
5. Send Ida Mae a question to be featured in her weekly "Ask Ida Mae" segment. She will answer any question from politics to religion to cooking. Reach her at idamae@tristipinkston.com Value: Two points
6. Blog, retweet, or post this contest on Facebook. Value: Two points each. Do all three - triple points.
7. Tell your friends about this awesome new series. Value: One point for each friend you tell.
Add up all your points and send them to me at tristipinkston@gmail.com You will receive one entry per point. The more things you do on the above list, the more chances you have to win! The winner will be drawn the night before the launch party, so set your sights on March 15th. If the winner happens to come to the launch party, I will bring the prize to the event, have my picture taken with you, and I'll post that picture on my blog and Facebook accounts.
Ida Mae Babbitt, president of the Omni 2nd ward Relief Society, didn't mean to become a spy. But when visiting teaching stats are low and she learns that one family under her care is in financial trouble, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure they have what they need. If that includes planting surveillance cameras in their home and watching them from a parked car in the woods, well, isn't that what any caring Relief Society president would do?
With the help of her counselors Arlette and Tansy, Ida Mae soon learns that there's more to the situation than meets the eye. It's all in a day's work for the Relief Society.
The book will be launched on March 16th up at the Gateway Barnes and Noble, and to count down the days, we're going to have a little fun!
First of all, there's an awesome prize. The winner of my contest will receive:
A bag of lavender-scented potpourri
A white lace doily
A copy of "Secret Sisters," autographed to them
A $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon.com
And ... and ...
The chance to read the sequel before anyone else on earth, except for my editor and critique group
How amazing is that??
What do you have to do to be entered?
1. If you have a Facebook account, click here and friend Ida Mae. Value: One point
2. If you have a Blogger account, go here and follow Ida Mae. Value: One point
3. If you have a Twitter account, follow Ida Mae @IdaMaeBabbitt. Value: One point
4. Go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. Value: Two points Note: If you have trouble getting on to the newsletter page, e-mail me at tristipinkston AT gmail.com and I can add you on directly.
5. Send Ida Mae a question to be featured in her weekly "Ask Ida Mae" segment. She will answer any question from politics to religion to cooking. Reach her at idamae@tristipinkston.com Value: Two points
6. Blog, retweet, or post this contest on Facebook. Value: Two points each. Do all three - triple points.
7. Tell your friends about this awesome new series. Value: One point for each friend you tell.
Add up all your points and send them to me at tristipinkston@gmail.com You will receive one entry per point. The more things you do on the above list, the more chances you have to win! The winner will be drawn the night before the launch party, so set your sights on March 15th. If the winner happens to come to the launch party, I will bring the prize to the event, have my picture taken with you, and I'll post that picture on my blog and Facebook accounts.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Try Your Hand . . . Author Taglines.
Okay! time for another attempt at "try your hand". This time we're talking about author taglines. Taglines are the one sentence lines that follow your name, that tell the world about you. You put them on your business cards, put them in your email signatures, and other things to let the world know you write this or that.
While I am good at short things, this one line thing really tried my patience and creativity. How am I supposed to describe ME in one line. I had a hard enough time with the short author bio. So after hours and hours, I found something that EVERYONE but me HATED. So I trashed that one and moved on.
Finally I came up with one that I love and others seemed to like too.
"Science Fiction, secret agents, and bad boys gone good."
What do you think?
What is your author tagline?
I am having so much fun making these homemade book marks, I will draw a random commenter and send them one!
Come on you know you want to. Tell us your tagline and win a cute velentines themed book mark!
P. S. Thanks to Rebecca Talley for the tagline inspiration!
While I am good at short things, this one line thing really tried my patience and creativity. How am I supposed to describe ME in one line. I had a hard enough time with the short author bio. So after hours and hours, I found something that EVERYONE but me HATED. So I trashed that one and moved on.
Finally I came up with one that I love and others seemed to like too.
"Science Fiction, secret agents, and bad boys gone good."
What do you think?
What is your author tagline?
I am having so much fun making these homemade book marks, I will draw a random commenter and send them one!
Come on you know you want to. Tell us your tagline and win a cute velentines themed book mark!
P. S. Thanks to Rebecca Talley for the tagline inspiration!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Winners!!!!!
So my DD and I wrote out every name and then proceeded to cut them in little squares and after shaking the crap out of the little pieces of paper My daughter drew out two names.
Elizabeth Mueller is the winner of the Signed copy of "Devils Food Cake by Josi Killpack
Kimberly Job is the winner of a really cool hand made ribbon book mark.
If the winners will email me at cmichellejefferies at g mail dot com with thir addresses I will get these in the mail ASAP.
thanks guys and I look forward to even more follower contests in the future.
Elizabeth Mueller is the winner of the Signed copy of "Devils Food Cake by Josi Killpack
Kimberly Job is the winner of a really cool hand made ribbon book mark.
If the winners will email me at cmichellejefferies at g mail dot com with thir addresses I will get these in the mail ASAP.
thanks guys and I look forward to even more follower contests in the future.
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