Showing posts with label #Rodeo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Rodeo. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

My Work in Progress: The 12 Scents Of Christmas, "Fragrance and Love Series," Novella #1 By Connie Vines #Perfume, #Fragrance Library,

Temps are in the mid-80s (26.7°) today in SoCal.  Getting into the holiday spirit takes a little work, but I'm getting the hang of it.




Scents/ fragrances are personal preferences.  While we may not like the same perfumes, colognes, or candle scents, we usually agree on the scents which represent "holidays."

The phrase 'smells like Christmas' is something we use throughout the year. 


Scents that come to mind are:

Mulled wine. 
Cinnamon. 
Pine. 
Orange. 
Clove. 
Gingerbread. 
Rosemary and Thyme.
Hot Chocolate.
An Open Fire.

What are your favorite holiday scents?
What memories come to mind when you relive that special moment?

Why are the choice of scents universal?  Because scents trigger memories.

Why are scents capable of triggering memories?

Because scent skips the thalamus, smells can enter our brains and attach to memories without us consciously registering or processing them.


3 roses from my garden

With this thought in mind, you can imagine the fragrance of my roses, correct?

Rose scent varies with the time of day. The early morning is when scents are strongest, with the most powerful scents produced by the first blooms of summer. 

When confronted by an unfamiliar scent, we must process the fragrance.

Magnolia is one of my favorite scents (having spent a great deal of my early childhood in the southern states). The large floral blossom has a sweet floral fragrance that's lightly fruity, with some comparing the scent to that of Champagne. Its fresh yet relaxing aroma makes it incredibly popular in aromatherapy.


Are there fragrances you are drawn to?  

Do you have a favorite perfume?

A favorite lotion scent?


More about more work in progress:


My setting is near the southern California coast, where abundant flowers are grown.
Since I worked as a fragrance consultant at a perfumery. You also have a peek into the perfuming process. 

Though I'm still pondering names for my Hero and Heroine.

I assure you there will be recipes for holiday treats and a few surprises.



 Follow me on Facebook/Instagram/or my blog for updates!

Remember, I post questions to my readers.  Naming my hero and heroine will be added tomorrow.







click on the link to purchase my novels :-)  
Or view my bio.


Happy Reading,

Connie








Monday, August 28, 2017

Decluttering Your Novel by Connie Vines

You know that feeling when you open up your closet and it’s so stuffed with clothes you don’t wear that you can’t find the ones you really like?  Or you locate something from the depths of your closet you don’t recall every seeing before?


Or maybe your desk is piled with papers that need filing, and you waste time looking for that one you need? Clutter adds stress and sucks up valuable time.

The same situation applies to writing. Unnecessary words and redundancies in a page or paragraph obscure its core meaning and interrupt its flow. The essence of your message is buried under all those excess words.

Once you’ve written the first draft of your novel or short story, it’s time to go back and look for cluttered sentences and paragraphs.

Ferret out words that don’t add to the meaning or imagery and are just hampering the fluid flow of ideas. Look for instances of overwriting or beating a point to death. Say it once, or twice — then move on. Otherwise you risk annoying your readers.

Ready to search out the clutter in your story?

1. Avoid little-word pile-ups and eliminate redundancies

Reveal the essence of your message by streamlining your words. Instead of “in spite of the fact that,” just say “although.” Instead of “in the vicinity of,” say “near.”

Replace “in the direction of,” with “to” or “toward.” Instead of “came in contact with,” say “met.” Instead of “during the time that,” say “while.” No need to say “located at” – just say “at.”

Before:

On their cross-country trip, they slept each night in the cheap motels located less than a mile’s drive from the interstate.

After:
On their cross-country trip, they slept each night in cheap motels just off the interstate.

Before:

The car drove slowly through the large complex heading in the direction of a secluded building at the back of the facility. It was located on the shore of the Mississippi River. The vehicle came to a stop next to the entrance to the building.

After:

The car drove slowly through the large complex toward a secluded building on the shore of the Mississippi River. It stopped next to the entrance.

Before:

He was shooting off his mouth in the bar last night telling everybody that he was going to find the jerk that ratted on him.

After:

He was shooting off his mouth in the bar last night about finding the jerk that ratted on him.

Before:

He moved his mouse pointer over to the other email that he had received.

After:

He clicked on the second email.

2. Don’t drown your readers in details

Leave out those tiny details that just serve to distract the reader, who wonders for an instant why they’re there and if they’re significant.

Before:

He had arrived at the vending machine and was punching the buttons on its front with an outstretched index finger when a voice from behind him broke him away from his thoughts.

After:

He was punching the buttons on the vending machine when a voice behind him broke into his thoughts.

In the first example, we have way too much detail. What else would he be punching the buttons with besides his finger? We also don’t need to know which finger he’s using or that it’s outstretched, since everybody does it pretty much the same. Minute details like these just clutter up your prose.

3. Remove empty, “filler” words

Words like “it was” and “there were” simply get in the way of your story without adding anything useful.

Before:

I headed down a rickety set of wooden steps to the basement. There was a dim light ahead in the hallway. To the right there were cardboard boxes stacked high. To the left, there was a closed door with a padlock. Suddenly, I heard muffled sounds. There was someone upstairs.

After:

I headed down a rickety set of wooden steps to the dimly lit basement. To the right, cardboard boxes were stacked high. To the left, I saw a closed door with a padlock. Suddenly, I heard muffled sounds. Someone was upstairs.

The After result is more intense. More immediate.  This pulls your reader through your story.

4. Take out the word “that” wherever it’s not needed

Read the sentence out loud, and if it still makes sense without the “that,” remove it. This change soothes out the sentence so it’s less clunky and flows better.

Before:

She said that you thought that it was too expensive and that you wanted to shop around.

After:

She said you thought it was too expensive and you wanted to shop around.

5. Delete words or phrases that unnecessarily reinforce what’s already been said.

Cluttering your sentences with too many unnecessary words can get in the way of clear communication and confuse and subliminally irritate the reader. Go through your manuscript and see where you’ve cluttered up sentences and paragraphs with little words and phrases that aren’t needed and just impede the natural flow of ideas.

The phrases in italics are redundant here:

We passed an abandoned house that nobody lived in on a deserted street with no one around. The house was large in size and gray in color.

6. Don’t tell after you’ve shown

For example:

She moped around the house, unable to concentrate on anything. She felt sad.
He paced nervously around the room, muttering to himself. He was agitated.
In both instances, the second sentence should be deleted.

7. Condense any long-winded dialogue

In real life, people don’t usually speak in lengthy, complete sentences or uninterrupted monologues. Read your dialogue out loud to make sure it sounds natural, not like a rehearsed speech.
Break up any blocks of one person speaking at length by rewriting them in questions and answers or a lively debate, with plenty of tension and attitude. Try using lots of incomplete sentences and one- or two-word answers, or even silences.

How would your characters actually speak in real life? Think about their personalities and character traits. For example, men, especially blue-collar men, tend to be terser and more to-the-point than women.

Decluttering isn’t always easy.  I realized that when I write for hours at the time, without interruptions, my draft at the end of the day is less cluttered.  However, when I am required to stop and start throughout my writing session my draft is cluttered with ‘and’, ‘and then’—which I spot the next day.

Decluttering in your writing and in your life makes your day flow happily along. . .or at least, until the next ‘plot point’.

Happy Reading and Writing 😊

See you next month!

Connie Vines
www.novelsbyconnievines.com
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Thursday, April 28, 2016

Write-ins By Connie Vines

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Writing without interruptions and distractions--a fact or a life long dream?

If you have a full time day job (me) it is difficult to snag writing time.  While signing up for the book in a month writing challenge may work for many, it only creates additional stress for me.  Weekly critique groups were helpful when I was a novice writer.  Now I find attending a critique group results in  giving up writing time and ending up with several hours of additional home work.


So how do I get support, without taking on additional duties?

One answer: Hold a Write-in.

What is a Write-in?
A write-in is a gathering of writers at a predetermined place, within a predetermined time period--who work quietly and independently on his or her own project.

Is a Write-in like a Critique Group?
No.  Write-ins are only for writing. Writers arrive and leave at any time during the scheduled time periods, no pre-work is required. Any numbers of writers may participate.

Critique groups are for discussing manuscripts previously submitted and studies by group members.  Attendance is expected, and group membership is small and closed.

How Do I Organize a Write-in?

A Coordinator.  Our network chair coordinates suggestions for write-in locations each week and posts information on our weekly email list.  We could set up a yahoo group, but that seems too labor intensive.  We rotate between several locations:  a reserved library room, local coffee shops, homes.

Since I like to keep my weekends free, I usually attend the coffee shop group 2 evenings a month. Other members meet after a RWA (Romance Writers of America) Chapter meeting, or a book club event held at the local library.

A Consistent Time Frame, with Exceptions.  Saturday groups favor 9 AM to 3 PM with a break for lunch.  I favor the 6:30 - 8-ish group with multiple coffee refills, situated in several large booths at a quaint (aka: somewhat dated) coffee shop.







This is a welcoming, open, supportive atmosphere.  The only rule is to avoid talking, so writers can write.  It is during lunch time or during the first ten minutes that we play social catch-up or discuss publishing news.


For those of you who love a bargain, my books are on sale this month on Amazon.  Starting with "Lynx"  Rodeo Romance Book 1, "Brede" Rodeo Romance Book 2,  and "Here Today Zombie Tomorrow"  Novella 1 in my Sassy and Fun Fantasy Series!


Happy Reading,
Connie












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