Month: May 2022

When The Going Gets Tough-June #IWSG

  By IWSG

Welcome to another month of the Insecure Writers’ Support Group Blog Hop.

Thank you to the awesome co-hosts for the June 1 posting of the IWSG: SE White, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguire, Joylene Nowell Butler, and Jacqui Murray!

June 1 question – When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end? If have not started the writing yet, why do you think that is and what do you think could help you find your groove and start?

I’m a pantser – that means I don’t plan my stories out before I start writing. I may have a sketchy idea of what I want to say, but I ‘discover’ what happens as I write.

Most of the time. That also means that sometimes I get stuck along the way. Who am I kidding? I get stuck lots! How do I keep myself writing towards the end?

There are two techniques I use. The first one is to go back and read what I’ve already written. Just read. That frequently puts me back in touch with my characters and shows me where the story wants to head next. But it isn’t perfect. Sometimes I have to take it an additional step and start editing.

That puts me in touch with the deep core of the story as I prune and cut words and sentences I don’t need. Even whole scenes may disappear. What I’m left with is stronger, hopefully more compelling, and clears the path to move on in my story.

As far as not getting started writing? My problem is finding the ‘right’ place to start. I think it took me six attempts to find the beginning of my WIP. What started out as a full chapter is less than a page of a prologue. I’ve got a few other stories waiting in the wings that I’ve written and re-written the first few paragraphs but don’t feel as if I have a good grasp on the story yet.

And don’t forget – that ‘rule’ about writing every day is only a suggestion. It can be good to put your pen down for a day or two and allow your story and you to have a break. Life can interfere with the creative process, and it’s okay to acknowledge that.

At least that’s how I see it. Check out  the suggestions of some other authors. Just follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe!

It Was a Dark And Stormy Night #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

May 30, 2022

“The first sentence has to have a solid punch.” — Steve Berry from “Twisty Business” Let’s talk about it.

To quote Snoopy and others “It was a dark and stormy night…” (Yes, I’d love to insert a Snoopy comic strip here, but won’t because it would be copyright infringement.) The entire sentence, written by Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1830, is: ″It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.″

Then there’s this one penned by Stu Duval of New Zealand, winner of the 2021 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, honoring the most atrocious opening lines of the year. “A lecherous sunrise flaunted itself over a flatulent sea, ripping the obsidian bodice of night asunder with its rapacious fingers of gold, thus exposing her dusky bosom to the dawn’s ogling stare.”

Are you still with me? You didn’t nod off reading those sentences?

Compare those to this one from American Book Reviews 100 best first lines “Vaughan died yesterday in his last car-crash.” — J. G. Ballard from the book Crash.

I don’t claim my first lines match either the worst or the best, but I work hard on them. Here’s the opening line for my WIP. (untitled) “The rubber-tipped cane thunked as it hit the blacktop.” At least it’s better than the opening line from my first book, Wolves’ Pawn: “The spring rain had left puddles in the dirt road but she no longer tried to avoid them.”

Face it, readers need to get sucked into the story immediately. There’s no time to create a background story or a beautiful scene. They have their choice of thousands of stories to pick from, and if the first line doesn’t grab their attention, they may not move on to the second.

That first sentence should include hints about the genre, although it may not be immediately clear. (The cover should do that.). A mystery should be different from romance or fantasy. There’s a rule somewhere that the story shouldn’t begin with dialogue, but there are lots of examples of that being successfully broken.

It’s tough to do it right. I don’t know how many times I wrote and rewrote that first sentence for my newest book. Or how many times I may revise it again!

I’ve often said the first chapter is the hardest one to write, and the ‘right’ first sentence is tougher. I wonder if the other authors on this hop agree with me? Just follow the links below to find out.

As always, please stay safe until the next time.

May 30, 2022

“The first sentence has to have a solid punch.” —Steve Berry from “Twisty Business” Let’s talk about 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 It Works, It Works. When It Doesn’t… #OpenBook BlogHop

  By Open Book

 

May 23, 2022

We’ve shared marketing tips that worked for us. What have you tried that didn’t work?

Here’s the hard, honest truth. When it comes to publicity, what works one time to sell books may not work the next. And what works for one author may not work for another. And I’m not great at publicity.

For example, Facebook ads. Some authors swear by them. I’ve only tried a couple, and got no results. I can sometimes trace sales to a FB post with the opportunity for free publicity, but FB ads are a wasteland for me.

Amazon ads were the hot sales avenue for a while. I even sat through a workshop that explained how to put one together and how they worked. While the one I ran brought in sales, it never paid for itself. Then, last fall, it stopped working. I didn’t change anything, so I assuming that Amazon revised its algorithm. That’s on my to-do list—update my ad and see if it kicks off new sales. (But I’ve heard from other authors that the same thing happened to them, so I don’t hold out much hope for success.)

I missed the glory days when blog tours were the way to get sales of new releases. I still set up one for my books, but they don’t pack the power to bring in sales like they used to. Either that, or I’m using the wrong tour companies.

I haven’t done an ad with one of the major newsletters like Robin Reads for a long time. I don’t know if they are still effective, but I need to find out. Maybe another author on this hop will share their recent experience with them.

A reminder to any author reading this blog—please don’t limit your publicity to only one form of social media. P.J. Fiala, one of the founders of this hop, recently had her FB account hacked and she can’t recover it. And she did everything possible to secure it! It also happened to Richard Dee, a regular here. Folks, consider changing your passwords. (If you followed P.J., and have lost track of her, you can find her at https://www.pjfiala.com/ )

That’s enough pessimism for one post. Y’all know the drill. Check out the other authors on this hop by following the links below, and see what publicity doesn’t work for them. And, until next time, remember to stay safe!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

May 23, 2022

We’ve shared marketing tips that worked for us. What have you tried that didn’t work?

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.

It’s All In The Name #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

May 16, 2022

How do you come up with the names for your characters?

Shakespeare wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet.”

There’s a lot in a name and we all know it. I won’t get into the ways that social/economic/political factors can be influenced by names, but I will acknowledge they make a difference in the way I name my characters. I try to make my good guys sound like good guys, and my bad guys like villains. How do I do that?

It’s the way the names ‘sound.’ Although American English draws from many languages, some sounds are more pleasing to the ear. For example, think about the contrast between the ‘hard’ c and the ‘soft’ c. Which is easier on the ear? Chaos or celery? So, my villains may have names that use ‘hard’ sounds while my heroes have softer names. Gertrude vs Sarah, for example.

But where do I find my names? I’ve got a variety of sources. For one, I keep a notebook with unusual names that I run into. I have pages of nothing but names, both first and last. Most of them I use for minor characters because my major characters often name themselves. But I try to come up with names that aren’t found in social media or in a google search. I do this by changing one or two characters in the name.

For Wolves’ Pawn, I used the US census from the 1700s and 1800s as a source for some of my last names. I wanted to give the wolf packs a historical feel, to show they had been on their lands for a long time. I’m probably the only one who is aware of it, but now you are in on the secret! Most of the first names were more modern, to make the characters more comfortable for the readers.

The names continued in Wolves’ Knight, but Wolves’ Gambit changed geographic locations, I switched the basis for names to reflect the difference in the packs’ backgrounds. I drew heavily on minor biblical names, but changed them to be familiar without being the actual names. My intent was to mimic the way language shifts happen in isolated populations.

Names in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries are different. I wanted to use names that could be found in any small town in the northeast USA. That gave me a wide range of options because my small town reflected the diversity of the area. As my cast of background characters grew across the series, I had to make sure I didn’t repeat a name accidentally, and my notebook came into play.

The notebook has been used for other thing—scribblings with ideas for plots, revisions, general notes—, and I’m running out of pages. It’s about time to retire it and start a new one. Maybe one of those nice ones that I hate to use because I should save them? (Don’t ask me save them for what. I don’t have a good answer.)

How do our other authors get their characters’ names? Just follow the links below to find out. And, as always, until next time, please stay safe.

 

May 16, 2022

How do you come up with the names for your characters?

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

 

#OpenBook Blog Hop: The Award For The Worst

  By Open Book

May 9, 2022

Do you remember the worst thing you have ever written? Will you share?

The worst thing I’ve ever written? I’ve written some lousy stuff along the way, but I’ve learned from my mistakes, I hope. Narrowing it down to just one piece of work is difficult because I’ve got plenty to choose from!

I won’t inflict the early fantasy on you — I have a copy somewhere, but don’t want to dig it out. So, I’ll settle for one of my bad poems. Incorrect punctuation and all. Now, this isn’t the worst I’ve ever written, it has a good line or two, but a lot could be improved. Like start over from scratch and try again.

Newlywed Blues

Sure, we’re happy together
But this morning
The eggs didn’t turn out right,
The bacon got burnt,
When you go to the table,
You didn’t feel like eating anyway

So when you went to work,
Forgetting to kiss me as you left,
And I was alone
With your dog,
And the dishes to do,
I started crying
I can’t really say why

Because I know you love me
As much as I love you
These days will happen,
We can’t stop them
But tomorrow is another day,
Another beginning
And tomorrow,
We’ll have pancakes

Did you make it all the way thru? Will you ever forgive me for inflicting it on you?

I’ve written worse, but many of those have been (happily) lost to the passage of time. I didn’t realize how badly pencil fades, even when the paper it’s on is stored in a closed box. At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I’m looking forward to reading the selections from our other authors. You know the drill, just follow the links below to find their posts. And, until next time, please stay safe!

May 9, 2022

Do you remember the worst thing you have ever written? Will you share?

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

 

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times #IWSG

  By IWSG

 

Welcome to the May edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group  blog hop.

The awesome co-hosts for the May 4 posting of the IWSG are Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Chemist Ken, Lee Lowery, and Nancy Gideon!

May 4 question – It’s the best of times; it’s the worst of times. What are your writer highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)

I’ll start with the good stuff. Writing “The End” on a manuscript I’ve fought with for a year. Sure, now comes editing, but at least I can pat myself on the back. Or finding the solution to a plot hole that had been eluding me, or a part of a character’s personality that makes the story stronger.

Then there are the compliments coming from the beta reader. Sure, they are sprinkled with suggestions for improvements, but at least they don’t hate the story. Somedays, that’s all I can ask for.

Maybe the best thing is that first 5-star review left by a fan. Even 4 1/2 stars are enough to lift the spirit. Heck, any review feels like I’ve won a prize. 

What’s the low point? When the book I’ve poured my heart into writing isn’t an instant best seller. In  fact, it barely gets noticed. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Don’t forget to check out the posts from some of the other authors by following the links below.

And, as always, until next time, please stay safe!

 

The First Book Paycheck #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

May 2, 2022

What did you do with your first book “paycheck?” (Thanks for reminding me of this idea, Richard.)

For those of you who aren’t indie authors, or you’re new to the business, here’s a sad but true fact of life. It takes a minimum of three months to get the first money payout from the major ebook retailers. By then, an author may or may not remember what they sold to earn that money! I only had one book available at that time, so the what was easy, but I had to go back and figure out how many copies I had sold to earn the small amount of money I received.

What did I do with it? I don’t remember. Nothing special, I’m sure. Chances are I used it to offset the cost of publishing Wolves’ Pawn, that first book.

I haven’t had a “big” paycheck yet, and I’ve continued to put all my earnings into my next book or into publicity, hoping one day to make that big score. It’s as close as I come to gambling.

But here’s where I get to play ‘what if.” What if I woke up one morning and found out I’d become a best selling author overnight? What would I do with the anticipated paycheck? Truth is, I have no idea but I’d find something to splurge it on, I’m sure. Buy some flowers to plant in my yard.  Perhaps some quality chocolate. I could see a trip to the bookstore happening!

Let’s find out about the other authors. How did they spend their first book paycheck? Just follow the links below to find. out. 

And, as always, please stay safe until next time!

May 2, 2022

What did you do with your first book “paycheck?” (Thanks for reminding me of this idea, Richard.)

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