Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Top 10 Posts Countdown #9

Writer's cave hiatus--finishing Assassins Bite among other things. Enjoy the top 10 posts from my blog in the meantime :)

#9 Guest Sarah Grimm Opens the Bedroom Door

When it comes to love scenes in a romance novel, I am SUCH a voyeur. Shocking, but true. A voyeur. I never thought that term would apply to me, but it does. If a love scene takes place behind closed doors, I feel…cheated. I’ve invested time into this book, fallen in love with the hero right along with the heroine, and for what? To have the bedroom door slammed in my face? Noooo!

So I’m a voyeur, a ‘leave the bedroom door wide open, thank you very much’ kind of reader. I don’t want to use my imagination about what is going on in the bedroom. I want the details! Lots of details. So it would only make sense that this is how I write.



Read more:
http://maryhughesbooks.blogspot.com/2011/10/guest-sarah-grimm-opens-bedroom-door.html

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

3T Writing Tidbit

Here are some of the things on my edit list. Note: not every occurrence needs correcting. Sometimes "he said gently" is exactly what I want.

  • Remove backstory from the first 30 pages
  • Mark any sections I feel like skimming. These need to be energized or cut.
  • Look for generic sigh, smile, nod, shrug. Substitute character-specific gestures.
  • Look for she/he said/did x-ingly. Substitute a strong verb.
  • Make the first description of each character memorable
  • Remove words which say what has already been said/shown
  • Make settings more dramatic (what is the impact the location has on the character?)
  • x of the y can probably be y's x or cut. (Lawn of the house=house's lawn)
  • Make abstract terrors concrete and personal for ordinary people

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Top 10 Posts Countdown #10

Writer's cave hiatus--finishing Assassins Bite among other things. Enjoy the top 10 posts from my blog in the meantime :)

#10 Confessions of a Fantasy Romance Author--Guest Helen C. Johannes

I confess—I’m Helen C. Johannes and I write Fantasy Romance. I can’t help it. That’s just where my brain goes—straight to heroes on horseback wielding swords and wearing armor.

You know that song from the movie Footloose (the Kevin Bacon version) where they’re driving tractors at each other and the soundtrack is playing “I Need a Hero,” someone who’s “fresh from the fight”? That’s my kind of guy. That’s Arn, Prince of Val-Feyridge, and the hero I’ve had stuck in my head since high school.
Read more:

http://maryhughesbooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/confessions-of-fantasy-romance-author.html

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

January 1T Olio -- Happy New Year!


Sharing some fun New Years links...

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20140102 (New Years resolution: take over the world)
http://xkcd.com/1311/ (The last prediction for 2014 gave me chills)
http://imgur.com/gallery/urbsikf (For EMTs on New Years Eve)

And a few more links just for fun...

http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4767 (Hiss...)
http://xkcd.com/1269/ (Internet privacy?)
http://xkcd.com/1253/ (Filter out the worst names)
http://xkcd.com/1267/ (Sorry about the mess)
http://xkcd.com/1274/ (Come on guys, get it together)
http://xkcd.com/1272/ (Shadow...facts? LOTR gets real)
 

Monday, December 30, 2013

Looking Forward to a Happy New Year--Guest Jordyn Meryl!

Jordyn is a lovely person and wonderful author I met through WisRWA. Today she's sharing inspiration for the upcoming year. Please welcome back Jordyn!

Looking forward to the beginning of a new year, I have to first express my gratitude to God and His Universe for the many blessings given to me as a writer in 2013.

Years ago I bought a crystal box from Waterford. I call it my Christmas Wish Box. On New Year’s Eve I open it and look at last year’s wishes. Then I write three more wishes for the coming year. Some wishes are repeated for years, but eventually all come true or they lose their importance and are dropped.

I am not big on resolutions. I do like to set goals. Someone posted that you should make goals every week. I agree. Some goals are meant to be replaced by other goals. Things change, new opportunity present themselves. As writers we must be prepare to move forward.

For 2012 I was inspired to go out into the writing world, meet successful writers, visit new places. Mid 2013 I was told to stay put. "Be Still. Turn Around". Who told me? The spirit in me that I trust more than any human. 2014? I know I am going somewhere, where and when is not clear yet. But I will be shown the way, given the resources, a course will be charted.

Why, as a writer, do I believe and follow the directions of my soul? That is where I live. In the creative world of magic. Even when I hit block walls, are betrayed or belittled, I still trust the voice inside.

My world has no room for bitterness or regrets. I push on. I am living my dream and I like it here. Like I said I have been blessed.

May the coming year encompass you with love, strength, patience and many blessings.

One of my many blessings was to sign a contract with Idyllic Ink Publishing for my first novel "Becca’s Dance". It is scheduled to be released this spring.

I have always been inspired by music when writing. A song will spark a scene, a melody stir a feeling. Starting in January I will be blogging at http://jordynmeryl.wordpress.com/ connecting songs with scenes.

Coming early 2014 from Idyllic Ink Publishing--Becca’s Dance


The journey of life is not about the path traveled, it’s about the dance.

Remember your first love? The itching in your palms to touch that person, the churning sensation of your stomach when you kiss, or the promise of forever love? A summer romance had all the possibilities for Becca and Clay. But a tragic accident killing two of their friends, sent Becca running away to build a sheltered life, protected from pain. Clay tried to drown his pain in booze and other women, but failed. Each picked mates for reasons other than love.

Twenty years later their paths cross as Becca tries to escape from the shame of a divorce, and Clay is living life as a single father to six grown boys.

In the small community of Lester Lake, love, fate and star-crossed lovers work towards rekindling a first and only true love.


I am adding two more novellas to my "When Dreams…" series. All my books are available at
A

Right now if you buy the print copy, you can get the e-book for free.

Here’s hoping everyone enjoys a year to remember in a good way. Love and Peace.

jm

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

To everybody who celebrates at this time of year,
warm wishes for a happy Christmas, Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays and Prosperous New Year!

Mary

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

3T Writing Tidbit

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

Archetypes. How many are there, and what are they?

Basically, an archetype is a prototype; a model on which all others are based.

The problem is that archetypes are found in a variety of fields, e.g. psychology, literature, drama, mythology. Each field adds its own flavoring to the word. For example, Jungian psychology ramps up archetype to a universal model subconsciously shared by all of us.

Of course as authors, we're looking for character archetypes. Are there seven? Eight? Twenty-eight? Depends on which website you visit. Some base their archetypes on recurring mythic characters; some on their roles within the story.

Here are some interesting links I found. (No recommendations explicit or implied here, they're simply places I found with ideas that might jump start your own. That having been said, I did see some neat ideas :)

Some views on archetypes:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArchetypalCharacter
http://www.tamicowden.com/archetypes.htm
http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/archetypal-characters.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetypal_literary_criticism