#OpenBook - P.J. MacLayne

Through A Child’s Eyes #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne August 7, 2022 August 7, 2022 Open Book

August 8, 2022

Do you think the child you were would be impressed by the person you’ve become?

It’s been a long time since I was a kid. (Long enough ago that it was impolite to use the word ‘kid’ to describe a young human. Kids were baby goats.) In the last few weeks, I’ve moved onto a new stage in my life—I’ve retired from my day job. Still, I remember many things about how I felt as a child, and I am confident that I would be impressed by how I turned out.

I remember an instance—I think I was 8 at the time—that I tried to figure out how old I would be in the year 2000. I was in the kitchen, probably helping with the dishes after supper, when the idea struck me. Little me couldn’t figure out the math, but I knew I would be old. I might even be dead. And here I am, in 2022, like the Energizer bunny, still going.

Young me would also be impressed that I’ve published 10 books (so far), especially my mysteries. I’d already discovered my love of reading, but writing a book hadn’t entered my mind. My plan to read every book in the school library before I graduated didn’t work out, but I’m good with adding a few stories for someone else to read in another library somewhere.

What else? That me would have been impressed that I ended up working in the tech field, something that was only science fiction back then, although I don’t remember reading science fiction. Biographies and mysteries were more my thing.

The one thing that would have impressed little me the most? The number of people I’ve met and become friends with through writing. I was an introvert—still am—and making friends was tough. It still is, but writing has helped me break through the self-created boundaries. Now I have friends all around the world. Freaks me out.

So, yes. The child I was would be impressed with the person I’ve become. I wonder how the other authors feel? You can find out by following the links below.

Until next time, please stay safe.

August 8, 2022

Do you think the child you were would be impressed by the person you’ve become?

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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.

On Your Mark, Get Set #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne August 1, 2022 August 1, 2022 Open Book

August 1, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 1, 2022

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

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

By P.J. MacLayne July 24, 2022 July 24, 2022 Open Book

July 25, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

July 25, 2022

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

This Writer’s Wish List #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne July 3, 2022 July 4, 2022 Open Book

July 4th, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July 4th

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

Saying Goodbye to Friends #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne June 26, 2022 June 26, 2022 Open Book

June 27, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 27, 2022

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

You Write What!? #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne June 19, 2022 June 19, 2022 Open Book

June 20, 2022

What assumptions do people make about you when they hear you are a writer?

I don’t have a good answer to this question, because I don’t pay much attention to it. Throughout my life, I’ve defied a lot of expectations and my writing is no exception. When I wrote poetry, no one seemed surprised—I fit the mold. Young housewife with two kids, writing poetry about nature and love—nothing out of the ordinary.

But those circumstances had changed by the time I released a book. I was in a professional role, and to outward appearances, I met the expectations of the job. The ‘correct’ clothes, the ‘correct’ attitude, the ‘correct’ game face. Then I released Wolves’ Pawn, a book featuring people shifting into wolves. Not what my coworkers or family expected. I received more than a few sideways glances and rolled eyes when certain people found out.

The reaction from my immediate team (mostly guys) was more encouraging. Gentle ribbing, but delivered with no malice and more as encouragement. How do I know? By the ones who bought copies of that and subsequent books even if they don’t plan on reading them.

I’ve met some of you at various comic cons and other events. Cons are my favorite. Everyone gets to be whoever they want to be. All assumptions are left at the door. I’m free to sell books about whatever subject I want. (And I’ve worked a mention of a few of the costumes I’ve seen into my books!)

Do people make assumptions about me? I’m willing to bet the answer is yes, but it doesn’t bother me. I’ve been around long enough to know that’s the way people work.

How do the other authors on this hop feel about the assumptions people make? Just follow the links below to find out.

By the way, stay tuned to this space for big news—a change coming to my life!

Until then, please stay safe.

June 20, 2022

What assumptions do people make about you when they hear you are a writer?

Childhood Memories in My Stories #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne January 23, 2022 January 23, 2022 Open Book

Jan 24, 2022

Do any of your characters have a favorite toy from their childhood? Do you?

Easy answer to this question is no, I haven’t written childhood toys into any of my stories. But, as always, there’s a gotcha! Not toys, but Harmony, my librarian-turned-internet researcher, has many of her childhood books.

I mention her collection of Nancy Drew in the stories, but she’s kept many other books as well. She’s got a copy of The Three Musketeers that was given to her by her uncle. A few of the James Bond books were added to her library when she was in high school.

There’s one small section of a shelf with children’s stories. Dr. Seuss is there for sure, along with Where The Wild Things Are and many others.

And it’s not a toy or a book, but Harmony also has her mother’s African Violet—well, at least a plant that is several generations down from the original cutting. She’s kept it alive through crisis after crisis.

And me?

I’ve still got a few things from my childhood, if you count high school. Coming from the middle a large family, most of our toys were passed down from one child to another as they were outgrown, just like our clothes. I never was attached to dolls or stuffed animals and had no desire to keep them. I’ve held onto a magnetic chess/checkers set I used to take to school, although I never played seriously, and a few books I claimed as my own from the shelves in the attic. (I may have previously mentioned the Narnia books I ‘borrowed’ from one of my brothers and never returned.) And I still have some of the embroidery thread that was my grandmother’s. (I know, it probably is unusable.)

I’d love to hear what childhood toys or belongings you’ve held on to. Tell us in the comments if you like.

This is the part where I suggest you check out the posts from the other authors on this hop and see what toys their characters might have. Just follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

Jan 24, 2022

Do any of your characters have a favorite toy from their childhood? Do you?

Comparing Me to Me in Writing #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne January 16, 2022 January 16, 2022 Open Book

Jan 17, 2022

What part of writing are you best at? Not compared to everyone else, but compared to you?

I once had a reviewer tell me how good I was at writing female characters. Which seemed strange to me, because, after all, I am a woman. So, I asked her about it, and it turned out she thought I was a man, based on how well I wrote my male characters!

Granted, I chose my pseudonym partly to disguise the fact that I am female. I wrote poetry when I first started writing, and it was a well-known ‘fact’ that it was harder for women poets to get published than male ones. (Lots of suspicions, but how do you prove something like that?) When I tackled fiction, I ignored the advice that said I needed a different pen name, having grown attached to this one, so the possibility of me being a man carried over.

But that’s part of what I like to think I am good at – being able to give my characters unique voices, allowing their personalities to come through their words. In the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, Eli is thoughtful and logical, Jake is seemingly impulsive but has a hidden agenda, and Harmony – she may appear to act irrationally, but that’s because her mind works in differently that most people’s.

The same goes for my Free Wolves series. Each of my main characters face varying challenges in different ways. That means not only do they have distinct personalities, so do the books themselves.

How does this happen? Where did I learn to do it? I suspect it was all those hundreds of books I’ve read., and the many, many people I’ve interacted with in my life. All those overheard snatches of conversations in stores and restaurants. Although I wasn’t very good at learning several languages besides English, I could work my way through the accents of non-English speakers and hold conversations with them. I understood their meanings even if the words weren’t perfect. I ‘read’ them.

And that’s what my characters do for me. They let me ‘read’ them, and translate their meanings to the readers. That’s why I feel like I can portray them accurately, in their voices.

Do I get it perfect? Heck, no. I don’t know how many times I get a character wrong at the beginning of a story and have to go back and change them. I’ve made bad guys into good guys and good guys into bad guys and everything in between. It’s a matter of understanding them.

I put a lot of effort into improving my writing. I’ve come a long way, and some parts are getting easier. I keep pushing the edges to become even better. But at long as my characters keep talking to me, there’s at least one thing I’m doing right!

We have a lot of talented writings in this group, and I’m looking forward to finding what each thinks their best talent is. You can find out too, by following the links below.

As always, until next time. please stay safe

Jan 17, 2022

What part of writing are you best at? Not compared to everyone else, but compared to you?

Books That Made Me Cry #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne January 9, 2022 January 10, 2022 Open Book

Jan 10, 2022

Do you remember the first book that made you cry? Or maybe the last one?

I’m getting old, and there’s a lot I don’t remember. Like the first book that made me cry. You don’t want to know how many years ago that was.

But here’s the thing. I’m not a crier. Well, I don’t cry at the expected moments. I hold my emotions in until they decide it’s time to let them go.

So, a book may move me, but that doesn’t mean I will cry while reading it. Or maybe I will cry at a part of a story when I am really crying about something else. I’m really good at compartmentalizing my emotions until I’m alone.

I remember crying while reading All the Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. (Won’t tell you what part of the book did it.) Moonless Nights by Cornelia Amiri was another one that drew tears. Long, long ago, I remember crying when I read Ivanhoe. I doubt it would make me cry anymore, as I would be too involved in analyzing the change in social norms of the time.

I’ve also cried while I’m writing my own books. I figure I’m doing something right if my characters can draw me in far enough to pull out my deepest emotions. I can only hope that my readers get at least a glimpse of those feelings.

In my latest release, The Ranger’s Dog Tags, I tried to play with the reader’s emotions. The rest of the books in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries are on the “light” side, but I broke the standard as I wrote this one. I knew it would be the last story in the series, and I wanted the reader to experience a side of Harmony that she hadn’t had to deal with in the other books, and give her the ending she deserved. Did it work? I’m not sure. Sadly, no one has mentioned it. (Although I have received reviews calling the book the best in the series, and that’s worth something.)

How about you, dear reader? What books have made you cry? Don’t forget to check out what made the rest of the authors on this hop cry. Just follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe!

Jan 10, 2022

Do you remember the first book that made you cry? Or maybe the last one?

Who’s Coming To Supper? #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne December 26, 2021 December 26, 2021 Open Book

Dec 27, 2021

If you could invite anyone in the world to be your dinner guest, who would you invite?

This should be an easy answer. But sometimes I think too darn hard, and this is one of those times. Out of anyone in the world, who would I invite for dinner?

I started by eliminating a few people from the table. I wasn’t in the mood for a political discussion, so poof! Every politician was off the list. And for sake of efficiency, I decided to not include folks who are dead. There are a bunch of kids who I’ve worked with in the past, and I’d like to know how they turned out, or even if any of them remember me. But all I have to go by at this point are my memories and my imagination, so I’ll pass them by for this discussion.

Then I came up with a great idea. I’d love to throw a dinner gathering for all those wonderful people who helped me in my many careers along the way. I’m going to use fake names to protect the privacy of a few of them. How much fun would it be to have ‘Ann’ who gave me my first job as a waitress in her little restaurant chatting with ‘Jerry’, my current boss in IT. (Okay, I know Ann died a few years ago. So, I am breaking my own rules. Oh, well.)

Or how about ‘Jane’ who insisted I come work for her in a law-enforcement field talking to ”Randy’ who hired me away from that agency? And ‘Jeanine’ who hired me to work with a youth organization hitting it off with ‘Paul’ who ran a local community newspaper back in the day?

Can I throw in some of my favorite coworkers from along the way? What a mix of people I’d have! The state-licensed alligator trapper ‘George’ and ‘Daryl’, who restores old cars in his spare time. I don’t know that I’d ever get a moment to eat, I’d be so busy catching up!

Who else can I add? The unnamed lady who made costumes for dead roaches and mounted them in displays? No, I think she needs to stay home and far away. Very, very, far away.

Well, now that I know who I’m going to invite, I have to figure out how to organize this little adventure. Actually, I think I’ll pass that on to someone else. The headache is starting just thinking about it!

Who would you like to invite to dinner? Let us know in the comments. (And you don’t have to play by my rules. 🙂 ) To find out who the other authors are inviting, just follow the links below.

Until next time, please stay safe. And have a Happy New Year1

Dec 27, 2021

If you could invite anyone in the world to be your dinner guest, who would you invite?

Tag: #OpenBook