#OpenBook - P.J. MacLayne

Writing Mistakes #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne May 17, 2020 May 17, 2020 Open Book

May 18, 2020

What are your top five writing mistakes? Either mistakes you make or mistakes that make you cringe when you see them in print?

Eight books in, and I’ve learned a lot. I’m not perfect by a long shot, but I know what to watch for. That doesn’t mean I don’t slip and have to go back and correct myself, but at least I make the same mistakes less often. Here’s my top five.

Overusing “was.” The dog was. John was. The reason for my anxiety was. You get the drift. The word is unavoidable, but using it too much isn’t. I’m better, but still have to watch my words. And figure out how to find better words to use when I am editing.
Same thing with ‘sigh.’ I won’t bore you with examples. I challenged myself to write the current book without a single use of sigh. (The Samurai’s Inro, coming June 1st.) I need to go back and check, but I think I won the challenge.
Commas. I think the rules about commas were created to make us crazy. Heck, even the on-line grammar checkers can’t agree on commas. And I’m not talking about different grammar checkers giving different results. I’m talking about the same grammar checker giving different results at different times. Before you ask – Oxford commas are a yes in my book.
I’m a pantser. That means I don’t have everything all plotted out before I write a story. That also means I occasionally lose track of story time. It is Thursday or Friday? I have to go back to a known day and start counting. No one has ever called me out on messing up a day, so I think I get them right in the end.
This one is not me, but I cringe every time I see it in an on-line forum. In fact, I see it so often I’ve begun to doubt myself. People who are using barley instead of barely. Is autocorrect doing that? Or is it a matter of bad typing and not paying attention? I never noticed it until the last year or two. One is a grain, and the other is an adverb. How do you mix them up?

That’s my five. It won’t surprise me if there’s a lot of overlap with other authors on this loop. You can check it out by following the links below.

Until later, stay safe out there.

May 18, 2020

What are your top five writing mistakes? Either mistakes you make or mistakes that make you cringe when you see them in print?

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.

How Soon is Too Soon? #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne May 10, 2020 May 10, 2020 Open Book

May 11, 2020

How soon is too soon to include a real-life event in a fictional story?

Let’s start with the most current event. You know the one I mean. I subscribe to a lot of book newsletters, and I cringed the first time I saw an ad for a self-help book with a quarantine related title. I think it was two or three weeks after most people in the US were asked to shelter at home. My first thought was – how does anyone pull together a meaningful book in that amount of time? And my second thought was – nothing like taking advantage of people in a time of crisis. Yes, I thought that was far too soon.

In the past week, I’ve started to see fiction books with titles like “Quarantine” and “Pandemic.” First, I despise the titles as being unoriginal. They certainly wouldn’t attract me to buy the book. Second, I wonder how well the book has been edited. Yes, I am aware that there are people out there that can write a book in less than thirty days, but I’m not among them.

What do I consider a reasonable time lapse to include a real-life event in a fiction book? It’s going to depend upon the event. For the tragedy of 9-11, it would have been at least a year if not more. For the space shuttle explosion, six months would have been a long enough of a wait. For the current virus? I can’t imagine turning it into fiction for entertainment while up to 2500 people a day are dying from Covid in the US, let alone the figures world-wide.

Now the first moon landing? Shoot, go ahead and use that before the dust had even settled. A presidential election? Have at it. The capture of a criminal? I’ll give you a soft maybe, depending upon the crime. The murder hornet? Better get that book written before they become a real problem.

It comes down to how many people have been hurt by the event and how deeply. I can’t imagine trying to profit from an event when people are still suffering. (Unless every cent of that money goes to organizations working to help the affected.)

My caveat to this discussion is that the author has to be mindful of their use of the event. Either disguise it appropriately, or make your use historically accurate. I don’t want to read about the first landing on the moon with fictional names.

So, that’s how I feel about it. Me, I avoid real world events with a passion. I don’t want to get them wrong.

I’d love to hear about how you feel. Share your thoughts in the comments. In the meantime, I’m going to head over and see what the other authors in this hop have to say.

May 11, 2020

How soon is too soon to include a real-life event in a fictional story?

Holidays We Need

By P.J. MacLayne May 3, 2020 May 3, 2020 Open Book

May 4, 2020

May 4th is the unofficial Star Wars Day. (May the Fourth be with you.) What other days should be recognized as holidays but aren’t?

Sadly, there are a number of holidays in the U.S.A. that have been basically forgotten or turned into nothing but a big commercial. President’s Day is a good example. Does anybody beyond banks and government agencies celebrate it? Without looking, I couldn’t even tell you the date it was originally celebrated.

People have lost track of the difference between Labor Day in May and Memorial Day in September. All they know is one marks the unofficial beginning of summer and the other the end.

Growing up, the first day of deer hunting season was practically a holiday. Unofficial, but lots of people took the day off and even the schools let kids out for the day. I don’t think as many people hunt anymore, so I suspect that has changed.

Another area I lived in had an excellent high school basketball team. Somehow, Spring Break normally was scheduled for when the state level basketball tournaments were held. Then one year the schedule was changed and people got really upset. When the team had a bad year, the furor died down.

(Political Rant ON) If I was going to create a holiday, it would be Election Day in November. Too many people find it difficult to go vote because of their work schedules. Either that, or make voting by mail the standard. It’s ridiculous that people have to stand in line for three or four hours to vote in some places. (Political Rant OFF)

I’d like to see Earth Day turned into an official holiday. I participated in the first Earth Day back in 1970 and it helped to make me aware of the challenges the environment faces. Combine it with May Day and let’s have some fun while doing good things.

And I really want a play day holiday. Did your school do that, just have a day to play games and have fun? Wouldn’t it be great if we could do that worldwide? We’d all get to ride bikes with bells and toss inflatable balls or whatever else makes us happy. Heck, we could call it Fun Day!

Is there a holiday you think we should add to our calendars? Tell us about it in the comments. And don’t forget to check what the other authors on this hop think we should add.

In the meantime, stay safe and hope to see you next week.

May 4, 2020

May 4th is the unofficial Star Wars Day. (May the Fourth be with you.) What other days should be recognized as holidays but aren’t?

Pet Peeves #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne April 26, 2020 April 26, 2020 Open Book

April 27, 2020

What are your pet peeves when it comes to grammar and spelling?

I’m sure the list will be ones you’ve all heard over and over before, but I’ll give this a shot.

Too! Many! Exclamation! Points! Now, I’m not against the use of
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
exclamation points in general, but I think they need to be used sparingly. It’s like sending an email in all caps—it’s yelling. Look at me! I’m important! If you, as an author, have to use an exclamation point to show how important the sentence you wrote is, you need to rewrite the sentence. There are exceptions, of course, because they help to show what a character is feeling. But, please, please, don’t overuse the exclamation point!
Apostrophes. Apostrophes can be hard. Is it it’s or its? And how about the possessive of a noun that ends in s? If you have more than one dog, and they each have a bone, is it the dogs’ bones or the dogs’s bones? Now throw in someone whose name end in ‘s’. Let’s say someone’s last names is Cookes. Is the car belonging to Mr. Cookes, Cookes’ car or Cookes’s car?
Here’s a fun one. One or two spaces after a sentence? Old style sheets will tell you two, newer versions will say one. The truth is, back in the days when documents were typewritten, two spaces made for a cleaner look. Nowadays, that’s not true. Microsoft, in all its wisdom, has decided to flag two spaces as errors. (But it’s an option that can be turned off.)
There, they’re, and their. It strikes me as silly that the English language has three words that sound the same but have different meanings. Especially when all the words are used frequently. Homonyms are bad enough with two words that sound alike, but three word homonyms are totally unnecessary. It’s a wonder that auto-correct ever gets them right.
How about the word I am most likely to misspell. Awkward, isn’t it? No, that’s the word. Awkward. I always want to put a c in the first syllable. I know it doesn’t belong there, but darn, if my fingers don’t reach for that key every time I type the word awkward.

There’s my five. What did I miss? Tell me your pet peeves in the comments.

And stay safe, y’all.

April 27, 2020

What are your pet peeves when it comes to grammar and spelling?

Making Fiction Out of Real Life #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne April 19, 2020 April 19, 2020 Open Book

April 20, 2020

Talk about the setting of your book. Is it entirely imaginary or is it based on a real-life place?

As I say in my bio, I grew up among the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania. I know that people refer to them as mountains, but after spending years in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, what you find on the East Coast are just big hills to me.

But I love the landscape. Growing up, I spent many hours exploring the woods and meadows, and dreaming up stories. I knew where the huckleberries grew and when they were ripe for picking. I knew where large patches of endangered ground pine hid in the shadow of the nearby hardwood forest. I stared down a whitetail buck from across the patch of grass where an old farmhouse used to stand. I watched pheasants flash by when I flushed them from their nests in the meadows and listed to wild turkeys call their mates. I tracked a field mouse searching for seed among the dry winter grass. From my third-floor room on hot summer nights, I fell asleep to the song of the whippoorwill.

Naturally, when I started writing, I drew upon what I knew best for my settings. Both my Free Wolves series and my Harmony Duprie stories lean heavily on that area. But I fictionalize the details.

For my wolves, I work on the theory that they don’t want people to know exactly where they are. Between the two main packs in the stories, their territories cover parts of two states and may occasionally bleed over into a third. (New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio) I try to not be accurate when creating their pack lands to honor their need for secrecy.

When I write my mystery stories, I deliberately don’t reveal which state Harmony lives in. It gives me the ability to play with laws and police duties, which can vary from state to state. What the sheriff’s department in a Pennsylvania county does differs from their counterparts in Ohio. And laws dealing with things like gun ownership and speed limits may not be the same. By not saying exactly where Oak Grove is, I can use whichever legal system makes the most sense for the plot.

That doesn’t mean I make everything up. I spent several hours studying road maps for one chase scene that took place north of Pittsburgh. I wanted the road numbers, intersections, and exists to reflect reality. I often search out average drive times between cities to create an accurate timeline.

It’s been a lot of fun ‘building’ Oak Grove, naming its streets and populating it with a variety of people. Some of those eccentric characters may or may not be based on people I’ve known in real life. And some may be tributes to people I’ve loved. It’s been a challenge to give the town the happiness it deserves, and still include the challenges that small towns all over America face.

Anyway, I hope the love I have for that part of the country comes through in my books. But before I take off to see what the other authors are sharing, I’m going to say it again.

Be safe, everyone.

April 20, 2020

Talk about the setting of your book. Is it entirely imaginary or is it based on a real-life place?

Best Blogging Tools #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne April 12, 2020 April 13, 2020 Open Book

April 13, 2020

What are the best tools you use on your blog? (widgets, templates, etc.)

I’m no expert when it comes to the subject of blogs. I’ve been running this version of my blog for a little over a year now, and I’m still figuring out how to do things. But I’ll share what little I know.

First, the basics. I left the Blogger platform when they dropped the google component that had gained me most of my followers. I debated what to use as my base platform and decided to go with WordPress. I looked at several others, but my choice was made by the sheer amount of free support out there from other WordPress users. I’m not doing anything fancy, and every time I’ve run into a problem, I’ve found a YouTube video to help me out.

Image by William Iven from Pixabay

Next up was choosing a theme. I’m using Parabola, but that certainly isn’t the first one I played with. I don’t remember how many I tried before another author suggested this one. It gives me the flexibility level that’s just right for my basic skill set.

Let’s dig deeper into widgets and plugins. I use the built-in Gallery widget in many places. It has its limitations, but my graphic artist and I have been able to work around them.

I use MailChimp for my newsletter, so the MailChimp widget was a no-brainer. Except for setting it up. I had help with that.

I also use the basic Add to Any for sharing. That’s the widget that gives you the pretty buttons to tweet my posts or share on other websites. I hope you’ll make liberal use of them.

My best non-standard widget is Code Embed. It’s the one that allows me to turn Java Code into clickable fields. That’s what I use to take the code for our blog hop and make it user friendly. (That’s why you can click on the pictures from everyone else’s blog and get taken directly to their post.) It took me a few weeks to learn to use it correctly, but there are helpful videos on YouTube on how to make it work.

I want to find a plugin that allows for basic slideshows. (I had one bookmarked to check out, but it’s no longer being supported.) Does anyone use one and is willing to share the information? Share in the comments, please!

Before I go check out what tools the other authors are using, I’m going to say it. Be safe. I want you to be able to come back next week. Thanks for taking the time to drop by!

April 13, 2020

What are the best tools you use on your blog? (widgets, templates, etc.)

Growing Up #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne April 5, 2020 April 5, 2020 Open Book

April 6, 2020

What did you want to be when you grew up vs. what you are today?

Once upon a time, I posed that question to Harmony, the main character in my mystery series. Well, Jake, the anti-hero, asked.

“You know, when I was a little kid, I wanted to be a cop when I grew up.” He glared at me. “Don’t laugh.”

I swallowed my chuckle with a sip of coffee. “What happened?”

He grimaced. “Life, I guess. I still think I would have been a good one.”

It was surreal, having a conversation with a renowned jewel thief about being a police officer. “Sometimes dreams just don’t work out,” I said, thinking about Janine and the library job.

“What dream hasn’t worked out for you?”

I picked up a section of the newspaper so he couldn’t see my eyes. “It’s not important. I’ve got a good life and good friends and that’s what matters.”

“Let me guess, you wanted to be an astronaut but your eyesight’s not good enough.”

“Worse. I wanted to be a cowboy. Not a cowgirl, mind you, but a cowboy.”

Jake snorted into his cup, spraying coffee everywhere. He snatched a handful of napkins from the holder and blotted the liquid from the newspaper. “Yeah, I can see where that might be a little hard to accomplish.” He eyed me. “You don’t have the right parts. But I must say, I like the parts you have.”

I crumpled up an insert from the paper and hurled it at him. I needed to find a way to keep him busy and out of my hair, and soon.

Now, I never wanted to be a cowboy. Daniel Boone, maybe. Or a hermit. There was a time I wanted to be a singer-songwriter, but only knew the basics about music. Or maybe a writer. Then I decided to be a librarian.

Those of you who have followed this blog for awhile may remember I actually got to be one. Part-time, in a small library in a small town. But it was everything I wanted. I got to be surrounded by books, I got to do story hour for kids, I got to help pick out new books to the collection. Best of all, I got to read when there was nothing else to do!

Life happened, and I had to leave that small town and small library. Eventually, I was introduced to computers and fell in love. (I won’t talk about the many jobs in between.) Yes, I’m old. No one had a personal computer when I was a kid.. And now I’m a Windows server administrator. A job that didn’t exist when I was growing up. (And one that certainly wouldn’t have been suggested to a teenage girl.)

The best part is, I’m a writer too! Which may seem like an odd combination. One is mathematical and the other creative. In the whole right side of the vs the left side of the brain theory, I’m using both equally, but not at the same time. And loving it.

I tell people I didn’t decide what I wanted to be when I grew up until I was over 40, and it’s the truth. Better late than never!

To find out what the other folks on this hop wanted to be when they grew up, follow the links below.

Be safe, everyone!

April 6, 2020

What did you want to be when you grew up vs. what you are today?

Killing Off A Character #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne March 29, 2020 March 29, 2020 Open Book

March 30, 2020

How do you feel about killing off one of your major characters?

If you’ve read my Free Wolves stories, you know I’ve killed off quite a few characters. Minor ones, mostly, but I’ve thrown in a major one here or there. Villains are easy to kill off in those books because it’s true to a wolf-shifter heritage. Staying ‘civilized’ is more of a challenge. And I’ve seriously injured my main characters, but they’ve pulled through.

In my Harmony Duprie Mysteries, I’ve set about writing stories that don’t necessarily include anyone dying. Yes, I’ve had a murder or two, but they were off-camera. The stories are relatively light-hearted, and don’t contain a lot of gore. We’ll get back to them later.

In the first book I wrote (the one that went through about four revisions before I decided the plot was flawed and it would never be published) I actually killed my main character in one version. It made sense for the story, but I knew that readers would hate me for it. So, I switched up the story and gave it a happy ending.

But I cried hard as I wrote my heroine’s death. And cried harder when I wrote her funeral. And cried more when the hero (her lover) scattered her ashes to mingle with those of her late husband. In the revised version, they got to stay together as they aged, a no-tears, happily ever after ending. It was a good ending, but I thought the original was better. (Can’t say I liked it, but it was better.)

Now, let’s go back to Harmony. I’m currently editing the fifth book in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, (The Samurai’s Inro) and I’m worried about her stories getting ‘stale.’ I love the character but she needed a shake-up. And the only thing I could come up with was killing of a major character- Eli, her lover. And I wasn’t happy about it.

Harmony and I have been known to have arguments about the plot of her stories, but oddly, she wasn’t talking to me about this idea. I didn’t know if she agreed with it or if she was mad at me for even suggesting it!

Well, as Harmony is wont to do, she let me know how this was going to go down in a dream. (Hey, I won’t reveal her decision now…that’s another book.) I’ve had several dreams about this book, leading me to places in the story I didn’t know it needed to go. I’m somewhere near 15000 words in a book that I haven’t officially started writing yet!

Let’s just say I’m okay with killing off a main character if it’s true to the character and to the story. It can be a fine line between that and not alienating the readers. If it’s well-written, true to the plot, and not done for the shock value, a good writer can make it work.

That’s how I see it. And if you follow the links below, you can find out what the other authors think.

Off topic: I hope everyone out there is doing okay. Things will get better. It’ll take some time, so hang in there.

March 30, 2020

How do you feel about killing off one of your major characters?

Favorite Reads #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne March 22, 2020 March 22, 2020 Open Book

March 23, 2020

Ask your readers to share their favorite books.

This post is for you! Share your favorite books and tell us a bit about them.

Here’s one to get the ball rolling from Chelle de Notte on Twitter:

Tell the Wolves I’m Home is my favorite book. And a greater story…it paints a very clear picture of being set in a certain place and time, yet the emotions are timeless.

And one from me:

First off, it’s ridiculous to ask for one favorite book. So, I’ll bend the rules and go with the Harper Hall Trilogy from Anne McCaffrey. The story of Menolly, her struggles and her ultimate triumph, found a place in my heart the first time I read the books.

Now, it’s your turn. Share the books that have touched you, entertained, you, or taught you in the comments below. And if someone else has already mentioned your book, I don’t care, add it to the list again! I’ve already broken the rules, so you can too!

March 23, 2020

Ask your readers to share their favorite books.

Interview With My Cover Designer #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne March 15, 2020 March 15, 2020 Uncategorized

March 16, 2020

Interview your cover designer (even if it’s you!) (Talk about other covers they have worked on, what you love about their work, etc.)

I got lucky in having a personal acquaintance with a graphic artist (okay, she’s my sister!) to design my covers. I’m always astounded by her skill in being able to interpret my books’ characters and bring them to life. Although she’s on the road this week, she took some time to answer a few questions for me. I’m tickled to finally get her on my blog. Please welcome K.M. Guth.

*****

Describe your process for designing a book cover.

I work closely with my authors to make sure they get exactly what they want for their cover. We trade images and ideas back and forth, starting with the front cover. After that’s been drafted out, I move on to the spine and back cover. Because I often do covers for series of books, I try to use the same fonts and color families for each cover in the series so it all has a cohesive look while still maintaining individuality for each book.

I love what you’ve done for each of my books and the overall design of each series. It amazes me how well you can take different elements and put them together in a total design.

*****

Do you have a favorite among the covers you’ve designed?

This one is easy! “Wolves Knight”, the second book in the “Free Wolves” series. Everything went together perfectly and the image turned out so badass we used it to make a large banner for the table at conventions and signings!

I love that cover too! Tasha is such an interesting personality, and the cover reflects it. The intensity in her eyes gets me every time.

*****

Do you ever look back at one of your covers and wished you’d done something different?

Always! I don’t think any creator of any type will look back at something they’ve created and not want to change *something*. Whether it’s how I spaced pieces of imagery or the fonts or colors I chose … I’m always wondering how a cover would have looked if I’d done something differently. Even small changes can make a big difference!

I’ve watched you play with fonts until you get the “look” you want. No Times New Roman for you!

*****

Have you ever designed a cover for someone besides me? How was it different?

I have! I’ve done a couple of covers for another independent author whose books have a completely different audience and topic. The books were non-fiction and didn’t feature any people. Designing them was a totally different experience because I had to figure out where to focus the elements of the cover since there wasn’t a face to concentrate on. I had to be more creative with the text to really draw the audience in.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy week to ‘talk’ to me. May your travels go well. We’ll talk again in a few weeks when you’re ready to tackle the cover for “The Samurai’s Inro!”

On an off-topic and personal note…I hope each and everyone of you is safe and well. Please pay attention to the professionals in your area and wash your hands often!

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March 16, 2020

Interview your cover designer (even if it’s you!)(talk about other covers they have worked on, what you love about their work, etc.)

Tag: #OpenBook

Writing Mistakes #OpenBook Blog Hop

How Soon is Too Soon? #OpenBook Blog Hop

Holidays We Need

Pet Peeves #OpenBook Blog Hop

Making Fiction Out of Real Life #OpenBook Blog Hop

Best Blogging Tools #OpenBook Blog Hop

Growing Up #OpenBook Blog Hop

Killing Off A Character #OpenBook Blog Hop

Favorite Reads #OpenBook Blog Hop

Interview With My Cover Designer #OpenBook Blog Hop

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