LET YOUR CHARACTERS LIVE THROUGH YOU BY RITA KARNOPP

To create exciting strong scenes – make sure they vary from quiet to loud.  Lackluster to exciting.  Emotional to in-control.  Highs to lows.  Happy to sad.  Yet, they all must fit together like pieces of a puzzle.  Everything should snap into place and fit – nothing should stick out at odd angles.  Every part of the story should contribute and move the story forward, making it complete.

I don’t know about you, but I like to put myself in my character’s body, living the scene with his/her baggage, experience, flaws, and attributes.  Do the situations or challenges feel ‘real’?  What doesn’t feel believable?  You will know what needs changing by running your scenes through your mind like a movie – you are the character – living, breathing, and experiencing each scene you’ve created. 

You’ll find yourself rewriting - adding spontaneity from the character you’ve become.  You’ll make changes that transition the story better.  Step-by-step, you’ll feel, hear, touch, taste, and see yourself in the scenes of your character.  Do you believe them?  Did you miss any of the senses?  Add them in and you’ll be surprised how this will improve your story. 

If a scene feels confusing or uncomfortable – fix them.  Never leave them in hopes the reader won’t notice – believe me, they will.  Add deep internal emotion and allow your characters to have flaws that hinder their goals . . . making them realize they must change to have what they need or want by the end of the book.

You should laugh, cry, and get angry if that’s what the character experiences.  If the words don’t evoke this . . . rewrite . . . rewrite . . . and rewrite until you find yourself crying . . . laughing . . . and ticked with the world if need be.  If you don’t feel it when you write it – the reader won’t feel it when they read it.  It’s as simple as that.

Grab your reader right from the beginning . . . and don’t let go until you type ‘the end.’  

Getting the Last Word by Karla Stover

“Romeo’s a rage-a-holic, which means he’s often pissed off, unlike the vast majority of us gliding along devil-may-care.”

                                                              Andy Sipowicz, NYPD Blue

I have been accused of being caustic and I admit to it. Sarcasm and cynicism—what I refer to as realism—make me laugh. Ambrose Bierce, Andy Rooney, and the fictional, Andy Sipowicz are my heroes. But it’s more than being caustic; it’s also about the clever words, what the French call bon mots.

I went to see The Imitation Game with a friend last week. When the previews came on, she turned to me and said, “Did you ever wonder why movie trailers are called previews?” which I thought was pretty funny. I almost never have a clever comment when I need it—but I did have two, back when I was working, and I savor them to this day.

For quite a few years, one of my bosses read children’s Encyclopedias. He wanted to learn something about as many things as he could and, because he knew I was a non-fiction reader, he would quiz me. For example: every March 15^th he would stop at my desk on his way to his office and say, “The ides of March are come.” And it was my job to remember the response: “Ay, Caesar, but not gone.” Or, on April 1^st it was, “April is the cruelest month,” to which the second line is, “Breeding lilacs out of the dead land.” Then he hit the American history portion of his reading and one day said to me, “Karla, what is the largest piece of land the United States ever acquired and who was the president?”

Yikes!

So I thought about the Louisiana Purchase and Alaska and then, for some unknown reason and from unfamiliar part of my brain, I came up with, “The swath of land that includes New Mexico, and Polk was the president.” And I was right. It blew both of us away. Who even thinks about James Polk? He’s like Martin Van Buren—largely forgotten. But I was in my glory until July 14^th when, alas, I forgot it was Bastille Day and couldn’t remember the response to: “The secret of freedom lies in educating people.”

The next time was at a Christmas luncheon for the bookkeeping staff. My brother had been studying engineering and at breakfast one day told Mom and me that the word, LASER is an acronym like SNAFU. There were about a dozen of us at the luncheon, sitting around a lovely table at the Country Club and for whatever reason my boss mentioned laser beams, whereupon I said, “Oh, do you mean light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation?” (LASER). People mumbled and wouldn’t look me in the eye and at that moment my reputation for not being one of them was firmly cemented.

While not quite bon mots, these were my days in the sun as far as wowing people with my remarks went—two in a life time. Perhaps, that’s why I write, so I can give my characters the final word.

 

Missing You by Cheryl Wright

You may already be aware I make greeting cards as a hobby.

You may also know I make and donate cards to some community groups. One of those groups is Combat Cards Victoria, which is similar in nature to Operation Write Home (OWH).

Community members make cards that are then sent to our military personnel overseas, which are then used by individual military members to send back to their families. It's a very small way of saying thank you to our troops, and helps them keep in touch with those who mean a lot to them.

I make a variety of cards to send, but particularly birthday: kids, female, and male. I have recently begun making "Miss You" cards, which are very popular, and much sought after.

I recently bought a new embossing folder from Stampin' Up! which fits perfectly for this line of cards.  (It's a brand-new folder, and totally gorgeous!)

This was an extremely quick and easy card to make, but I believe, very effective. (The individual heart was cut from a strip of discarded hearts.)

I will be making a variety of these cards to send, because I know how much they will mean to the recipients.

In addition to the above solid colour card, I tried the 'shaving cream' technique for the first time ever, and made the following card using the results. (If you would like to learn more about this technique, go here.)

Thanks for looking!

Til next time,

Links:

My website:  www.cheryl-wright.com 
Blog:  www.cheryl-wright.com/blog
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/cherylwrightauthor

New Releases From Tricia McGill, Ronald Ady Crouch and Books We Love

A Dream For Lani
Beneath Southern Skies, Book 2
By Tricia McGill

Cosseted all her life, Lani Moore inherits a fortune, but yearns for a loving family. The chance to grab that arrives when two youngsters talk her into taking a flat in their house. Their father, Ryan, is enchanted by the air of intriguing melancholy about his new tenant. Will Lani’s lonely heart find the love she wants above all else?

Previously published as A Lonely Heart
 

“I believe this is the best book I have ever read! I probably think something similar when I finish a book, but I have never before printed the words. Ms. Tricia McGill keeps enticing us into the story with her wit and charming manner of writing. Of course, there is love and there is disaster. The love ebbs and flows and the “near hits and misses” just tug at the heartstrings. The ending may be predictable (after all, who wants a bad ending) but the journey is unforgettable! I urge you to read this winner!” ~ Brenda Talley, TRS
 

“Tricia McGill’s lonely heiress is so real that when she is being deliberately willful I just wanted to reach down through the pages and smack some sense into her. But, I kept reading faster and faster because after all, in spite of Ryan’s calloused moods, Lani is the heroine, and things just have to come out happily-ever-after for her.” ~ JoEllen Conger CTR, 5 Cups

http://amzn.com/B00T2GNKIW 

The Weatherman
By Ronald Ady Crouch

When adults tell young men, There is always someone bigger than you, Sam Stephens is the guy at the end of the line. He is a fiercely proud member of the First Nations, serving as a soldier on the front line in the Canadian military, stationed in Afghanistan. Because of his courage and bravery, his close friends call him Warrior. An improvised explosive device is detonated by the Taliban as his convoy is returning to base. His best friend is killed. Sam does not believe in turning the other cheek. His actions save the platoon. Privately he is thought of as Einstein in Rambo's body.
 

Sam joins the Toronto Police. At the Police Academy he is a force to be reckoned with. When an instructor begins to sexually harass a beautiful female student, Sam becomes personally involved. On his first tour of duty with Toronto, he becomes the Subject Officer in an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit. He remains one step ahead of them.
 

On a trip to the red light district, he and his new coach officer learn that one of the hookers has been badly beaten by four men, but will not complain to the police. She too is First Nations. Sam begins his own investigation. When he discovers that the same men are responsible for the violent rape of a veteran police officer's daughter, Sam formulates a plan to deal with them himself. 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TBDPA9S

Romance and Chocolate

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and with it comes the time to celebrate romance. Although it's unknown where the exact origin of where the first Valentine festivity began, it's still a favorite holiday for many people. Especially for those who look forward to the gifts from a loved one. Say...a beautiful bouquet of flowers and large delicious box of chocolates.

Chocolates....yum.  When you bite into that scrumptious melt in the mouth chocolate do you ever think about where it came from? Probably not, but before Nestles, Hershey, See's and all those that followed you can thank the Olmecs from the Mexico area. They were the first who discovered the cacao bean to be a delicious treat.

The Mayans came later.  Mayans loved chocolate so much they wrote about the cacao on their stone tablets referred to as "the food of the gods".

The Aztecs, 1420-1520 used cacao as currency. It is written they fed chocolate to their human sacrifices before killing them. A last treat. Not exactly romantic.

Then when Conquistador Cortez was served a cacao drink by Aztec Montezuma in 1519, he loved it so much he took it home to Europe and the love of chocolate quickly spread through Europe.

What have you planned for your special Valentine Day? Since it falls during the week it might not be as easy as if it fell on a Saturday of Sunday, but you can still make it special. You can always do the old standby breakfast in bed.  If it's only a muffin and a glass of juice or a cup of coffee it can still be a nice surprise. Or a nice dinner for two even if you stop on the way home and pick up something.

If you have time and want to bake something special there's always a red velvet cake, or cherry pie. Perhaps cookies cut in the shape of hearts, or chocolate brownies. We bet your mouth is now watering for a yummy piece of chocolate, or maybe a chocolate covered strawberry. Now, that's a good idea, a chocolate covered strawberry. With a glass of bubbly champagne. That's always special. Scatter rose pedals across the bed. We might be getting a little carried away. How about just a nice card for your honey and some pretty flowers. Works for us. But we still want the chocolate.

Here's an easy recipe for a chocolate dessert.

Yummy Devil’s Food Toffee Trifle Recipe

Ingredients

Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix

1 cup Kahlua (coffee-flavored, rum-based liqueur)

1-2 bags of small Heath candy bars (or 8 large Heath bars)

2 family size whipped topping

Instructions

Bake Devil's Food cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan the day before you plan to serve the trifle.

After cake has cooled, cut it into squares about 1½ to 2 inches square.

Leaving cake (sliced up) in the pan, pour Kahlua all over the top of the cake, getting the liqueur down in-between the slices.

Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator overnight.

Next day, 2-4 hours before serving time, assemble trifle in a large bowl or trifle dish as follows.

Layer of cake (one third of cake)

Layer of whipped topping

Layer of Heath bar 

Repeat above layers twice more but only put a light sprinkling of Heath Bar on the top when completing the last layer.

We shortened this recipe a bit but you can see all the directions along with pictures at: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/yummy-devils-food-toffee-trifle-

Whatever you do we hope you have a wonderful day filled with romance and of course chocolate.

Tia Dani

Visit us at  http://bookswelove.net/authors/tia-dani/