Back To The Drawing Board!

I've just finished the first draft of my book Call of the Dragon and I've realized that my main character (MC) is lacking something that my readers can grab on to and say: Yep! I can relate to that! I thought because he was unhappy about his situation in life and wanted it changed, it would be good enough. But without a real outstanding character flaw, his character comes off as just so-so.

I plan on re-writing my novel and re-structuring it so my MC will have more of a challenge at getting what he wants and he'll have a character flaw he must overcome in order to reach his goal. While I'm not looking forward to that kind of major overhaul after finishing the draft, at least I can say it'll be easier to do it now than when I get all finished with the book.

Have any of you ever had major overhauls on your manuscripts that seem insurmountable? I like to think positive about it and say that it can only make my story that much more sensational to the reader and much more palatable in the long run.

An edit today means one less tomorrow!

 

5 Ways To Turn Up The Suspense...

I'd like to pass on some suggestions from Brian Klems article: Five Ways To Make Your Novel More Suspenseful. This was in an e-mail I received from Writer's Digest Magazine. I found the article to be what I would call a keeper. For the sake of brevity, I'm only paraphrasing what I read. If you'd like to read the entire article, please click here.

#1. Turn up the sensory detail.
Suspense is sustained by the absence of anything terrible happening, and the continued focus on detail. By focusing in on the little things like a car back-firing, the hiss of a cat or anything that would keep the reader holding their breath, you are building the suspense.

#2. Turn down the velocity.
Slowing down time increases suspense.
a. Complex sentences. Stay away from the short sentences that speed up the action.
b. Internal thoughts. Let the reader hear what your character is thinking.
c. Bring the reader as close as possible to the scene. Let them experience the tension of the sequence first-hand.

#3. Modulate suspense. 
Building suspense takes time. Break the tension by having something happen that advances the plot or provides a moment of comic relief.
a. Insert a pause. A telephone rings. One of the characters cracks a joke. Remember, in real life, humor is used to ease tension.
b. Reveal something that seemed menacing to be ordinary. A scary shape turns out to be the shadow of a tree in the moonlight. A hand on the shoulder of the protagonist turns out to be his best buddy.
You can use this technique to give your reader a respite, then continue to crank up the suspense to keep them hooked.

#4. Foreshadow rather than telegraph.
Creating a suspense sequence that ends harmlessly is a good way to foreshadow something more sinister that happens later on in your novel. Be careful to foreshadow and not telegraph: giving away too much too soon is guaranteed to ruin the suspense.
The line between foreshadowing and telegraphing is subtle. When you insert a hint of what's to come, look at it critically and decide whether it's something the reader will glide right by, but remember later with an Aha! That's foreshadowing. If instead the reader groans and guesses what's coming, you've telegraphed.

#5. Always end with a payoff.
You can have a suspense sequence early that ends with nothing more than a harmless tabby padding off into the night. But as you near one of your novels end-of-act climaxes, the suspense sequence should pay off. The payoff can be an unsettling discovery of evidence of a crime: finding a dead body, bloodstained clothing, a weapons cache, or that the floor of the basement has been dug up.
The discovery might reveal a character's secret. Finding love letters might reveal a hidden relationship between two characters.
Or, the payoff can be a plot twist. The bad guy confesses, the sleuth gets attacked, or locked in a basement, or lost in a cave, or the police show up and arrest the sleuth.

I hope these ideas have given you food for thought and have stirred your juices around enough to check on the suspense in your novel. The main thing is to enjoy the process. And write!

Carpe Diem...

Seize The Day. 

"O me, O life of the questions of these recurring.
Of endless trains of the faithless.
Of cities filled with the foolish.
What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer: That you are here.
Life exists and identity.
That the powerful play goes on,
and you may contribute a verse." 

~~Walt Whitman~~

 

Adverbs and Cliches...

 Do you get finished writing a piece and then discover you've put in every cliche and adverb that comes to mind? Why? Why do you have to get out the red pencil and whack out half the descriptive prose?

I've asked myself this question several times and today I read an article that answered it. We generally write how we speak in our head. And if it's full of those old fashioned sayings that scream cliche and adverbs galore, perhaps we should start a new trend. Instead of thinking with those -ly words, try inventing new descriptions when you sit at your favorite coffee shop, or even while you have a conversation with someone.

Of course, talking with new speech patterns might surprise your family and friends, but it will also bring new flavor to your conversations. Instead of being fantastically funny, you might find yourself saying things like: I am funny! More so than so-and-so. If you don't believe me, just listen to my new ideas about...whatever or whomever you wish to add. But don't say you're more fun than a barrel of monkeys. That's one of my favorite cliches. I had to root it out with a shovel. I think you get what I mean.

One of the best things I am doing is making a list of all the descriptive words I use in a story, and how often. If I'm repeating words, I get out the thesaurus and do a little expanding of my universe. In my latest story, I discovered I used the word froze too many times. He froze... alarmed by what he heard. I decided to try some different words to make this a stronger sentence. Petrified by what he heard, Elias couldn't move a muscle. 

I found that cliches were a little harder to replace when you want a certain meaning. But more fun than a barrel of moneys could be easily replaced with the most fun I've had since meeting last years circus clowns. It does become a little wordy at times, but the rules of the trade are exacting at times and make us think. How are you with adverbs and cliches? Have you got it down to a system? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Looking For Feedback...

It's been a beautiful spring week with the iris's in bloom in front of my apartment. With that brings the bumble bees and hornets. Unfortunately, the hornets decided to make a nest in my air conditioner unit, just outside my door. Agh! But not to worry, when I turned on my air conditioner for the first time this year, they went crazy. I haven't seen them for two days, so I hope they aren't coming back.

What does that have to do with writing, you ask? Believe me, I have a purpose in mind. When I first started writing, all was well and I was very excited about writing every day. But as time went along, it was like the seasons. It was winter, and everything looked bleak. Then spring came, with fresh ideas and challenges to write. Then came the bumble bees and hornets. You know, those critical jabs that you dodge so you won't get stung? I've always said you can learn from criticism; take the best - discard the rest. But when they build a nest near you, it's personal. So I've been careful about polishing my latest story until it shines.

I'm starting a new story this spring, after spending all fall and winter wrapping up Call of the Dragon. While I outline my story, I'm trying to decide whether or not to query an agent. It's a big decision for me, not because I'm worried of rejection, but because I'm not sure if I want to get wrapped up in the process of querying. It seems time consuming, but since I've never done it, I can't say.

If you've done the agent publication route and have some ideas for me, I'd appreciate some feedback. A little goes a long way for me. And since it's spring, I can sit and watch the flowers while I wait to hear from you. Thanks!

Medieval Muse in Review

Who said a small book counted fly? I've received three five star reviews and over 900 downloads at Smashwords and their affiliates since publishing this ebook. It was my first endeavor and I chose to make it free of charge. I'm happy to say that it now is continuing to be downloaded, as of today.

I don't think I would have published this ebook, except my sister, artist Loretta Stephenson (she did the cover, also) encouraged me to follow my dreams. She said: "You don't get anything if you don't try at all." It might not sound like the most profound thought in the world, but it is very true. Without giving yourself the permission to get out there and see what happens, you'll always wonder.

Thanks to all of you who have supported me and I hope you enjoyed reading Medieval Muse. I am preparing to bring a new book to you about kings and dragons, entitled Call of the Dragon. It will be out in a few months, but for now, thank you!

Medieval Muse

What happens when Victoria Budroix receives a cameo that promises to give her the desires of her heart? Since she doesn’t know what that would be, a trip to medieval times, intrigue, threat of war and an overbearing lord are on the list for her to choose from. Or could it be meeting her one true love?

Sir William of Conrad has escorted a stranger home to be under his protection. He discovers this woman speaks her own mind and melts his heart. He faces his father’s outrage and a broken alliance with the neighboring clan by falling in love. 

Available at Smashwords here.

It's Time To Lose A Little Weight!

Yep! This is me today, as I trundle out of bed and head for my morning cup of coffee. I'm not really as frazzled as this picture displays, but I am feeling a little out of sorts.

You see... I've been on a diet for the last 6 weeks (my sister would rather hear me say: a lifestyle change), and while I can report I've officially lost 19 pounds, I'm feeling like I need to do some other changes also.

One of those places I need to change is in my writing habits. I need to put them on a diet, too. What's that? I can honestly answer that I don't know all the things to clean up my writing, but to start with, I need to look at brevity. How concise is my work? When I write, I tend to ramble and then have to go back and delete a sizable portion of was, just, but, as, and so on. I think you get the picture. In other words, I need to lose a little literary weight.

I recently read another book by Noah Lukeman, How To Write A Great Query Letter and one of the main points I got out of it was keeping to the point. Make your statement and move on. Don't belabor the issue by filling in the white spaces with unnecessary words. In a query letter it will get you rejected. In your stories and books it will cause them to be overweight, or carry a plethora of extraneous material.

Like I said, it's time to experience a lifestyle change and cut out the extra words. Be good to your work and treat it like it was a part of your body. Go on a diet and cut out the extra adverbs and see how beautiful your work becomes. It will be strong and powerful in its new body, carrying less baggage and more literary punch. And, you'll become that lean, mean writing machine that you've always admired in others.

Good luck on you diet! Let me know how you're doing!