Monday, July 22, 2019
Sunday, July 21, 2019
A Greek Adventure and Research by Diane Scott Lewis
Recently we took a trip to Greece, where I met my husband many years ago while stationed at a navy base (closed in 1990). We attended a reunion of former navy personnel stationed at the base in the waterfront town of Nea Makri. The famous town of Marathon is a few miles to the north.
Before we left the U. S. I had an epiphany to write a novel set in Greece, ala Mary Stewart. She wrote so many wonderful romantic suspense novels set in Greece, including my favorite The Moon Spinners. My story, A Spark to the Ashes, takes place in 1955. A running away (from whom?) American woman with a small child seeks employment with a burned-out Englishman, to research ancient Greek pottery. She needs shelter yet desires freedom, he dislikes children and had expected a 'male' assistant. He's scarred from his experience in WWII. Both their pasts will haunt them and put their lives in peril.
I scoured the countryside to get my geography correct, now much research on the era remains.
It was sad to see the neglect of the base (where I married my husband at the base chapel), but wonderful to connect to former Nea Makri buddies, and meet new ones.
Greece has a poor economy, but it's a beautiful country with much to offer. The restaurants in Nea Makri are fantastic, with fresh seafood and views of the gulf that flows into the Aegean Sea. The people are friendly, and most speak enough English to make you comfortable.
But to speak of writing--soon my Revolutionary War novel, Her Vanquished Land, will be available from BWL (September), then I dive into the Greece of 1955. Good thing I love research!
To purchase my novels at Amazon or All Markets: Click HERE
Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.
Author and Husband, navy base front gate |
Before we left the U. S. I had an epiphany to write a novel set in Greece, ala Mary Stewart. She wrote so many wonderful romantic suspense novels set in Greece, including my favorite The Moon Spinners. My story, A Spark to the Ashes, takes place in 1955. A running away (from whom?) American woman with a small child seeks employment with a burned-out Englishman, to research ancient Greek pottery. She needs shelter yet desires freedom, he dislikes children and had expected a 'male' assistant. He's scarred from his experience in WWII. Both their pasts will haunt them and put their lives in peril.
I scoured the countryside to get my geography correct, now much research on the era remains.
Cape Sounio, Greece
|
Former navy base, Nea Makri, Greece |
Greece has a poor economy, but it's a beautiful country with much to offer. The restaurants in Nea Makri are fantastic, with fresh seafood and views of the gulf that flows into the Aegean Sea. The people are friendly, and most speak enough English to make you comfortable.
But to speak of writing--soon my Revolutionary War novel, Her Vanquished Land, will be available from BWL (September), then I dive into the Greece of 1955. Good thing I love research!
To purchase my novels at Amazon or All Markets: Click HERE
Just a sampling of my novels, mystery, suspense, romance, adventure, with strong female heroines, mostly set in the later eighteenth century.
For further information on me and my books, please visit my website: www.dianescottlewis.org
Labels:
1950's,
Greece,
historical research,
marriage,
novels
I'm a former Navy Radioman (person) from California, married to a retired Navy chief. I've always loved to write and discover the past. I have two sons and two granddaughters.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Mandatory Sex Practice by Stuart R. West
Now that I have your undivided attention with that title (sorry, sorry, sorry, etc...), please allow me to explain...
Recently, my awesome mother-in-law sent us a post-holiday card. Within it was a personalized message to me.
"Stuart," it read, "you better start practicing your sex--will expect entertainment in the nursing home."
Huh.
After I rolled my tongue up off the floor and tucked it back into my mouth, I reread the card. Yep. Same thing.
What the...
The ramifications of the note were mind-boggling. And not even a bit cryptic. Kinda an order from her.
Which begs the question: what in the world have my wife and her mom been talking about? Furthermore, what does my mother-in-law mean by "practice?"
I suppose I could use a little boning up on my sex technique. But honestly, I'd rather not have my mother-in-law as teacher.
And what kind of nursing home are we talking about here where sex is used to entertain the crowd? I imagine the facility has quite a long waiting list. (I'd better get signed up now.)
After the fireworks in my head fizzled out, I took a closer look at the note. "Stuart," it read a bit differently this time, "you better start practicing your sax..."
Ooooooohhhhhhh...... Okay. That's better.
Which is my long-winded way of getting to the point. Often (okay, rarely), people ask me where I get my ideas. Nothing's funnier than real people in real situations. This will undoubtedly end up in one of my Zach and Zora comical mysteries as do many people I meet or situations I hear about.
I'm always on the look-out for comedy gold. I mean, you can't make half of this stuff up. At restaurants, I listen. My wife calls it eavesdropping. I call it "artistic license." She also warns everyone we meet to be careful because you could end up in one of my books. Duly warned!
So...have you heard the one about the dumb male stripper and his sharp detective sister working together to solve murders? No? Well, you're late to the party! Click here already for the first book in the series!
Clickity-click for laughs and mystery fun! |
Recently, my awesome mother-in-law sent us a post-holiday card. Within it was a personalized message to me.
"Stuart," it read, "you better start practicing your sex--will expect entertainment in the nursing home."
Huh.
After I rolled my tongue up off the floor and tucked it back into my mouth, I reread the card. Yep. Same thing.
What the...
The ramifications of the note were mind-boggling. And not even a bit cryptic. Kinda an order from her.
Which begs the question: what in the world have my wife and her mom been talking about? Furthermore, what does my mother-in-law mean by "practice?"
I suppose I could use a little boning up on my sex technique. But honestly, I'd rather not have my mother-in-law as teacher.
And what kind of nursing home are we talking about here where sex is used to entertain the crowd? I imagine the facility has quite a long waiting list. (I'd better get signed up now.)
After the fireworks in my head fizzled out, I took a closer look at the note. "Stuart," it read a bit differently this time, "you better start practicing your sax..."
Ooooooohhhhhhh...... Okay. That's better.
Which is my long-winded way of getting to the point. Often (okay, rarely), people ask me where I get my ideas. Nothing's funnier than real people in real situations. This will undoubtedly end up in one of my Zach and Zora comical mysteries as do many people I meet or situations I hear about.
I'm always on the look-out for comedy gold. I mean, you can't make half of this stuff up. At restaurants, I listen. My wife calls it eavesdropping. I call it "artistic license." She also warns everyone we meet to be careful because you could end up in one of my books. Duly warned!
So...have you heard the one about the dumb male stripper and his sharp detective sister working together to solve murders? No? Well, you're late to the party! Click here already for the first book in the series!
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
My year in Books Janet Lane Walters #BWLPublishing #MFRWAuthor #Books #Romance
Another Year
Every July, I sit and try to decide what I’ve accomplished
during the past year. For many people, their year begins on January 1st
but mine begins on July 17th. So I decided to look at what I’ve
accomplished as a writer. Not talking about big bucks earned but about the
books I’ve been able to write.
Forgotten Dreams will be out soon. It’s part of a series and I didn’t
realize how long it’s been since I last wrote a book in this series. I believe
that was 2015. How did I wait so long but that’s because there were so many
other books pushing at my boundaries. There are only 7 books to write in this
series so perhaps I’ll concentrate on them this coming year.
Murder and Mint tea came out in audio this year and I was
pleased to see this. The book was one of my first and has done well for years.
Glad to see it has a new life.
Finished up the Island of Fyre series and was a fun book to
write since there were four dragons. I’m kind of partial to dragons especially
when they talk.
This was the first of the ones published during my past year
of writing. And finished a series Opposites in Love
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Hosting a Teddy Bear Picnic, by J.C. Kavanagh
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends Short-listed for Best Young Adult Book 2018 at The Word Guild, Canada |
I've never been to a Teddy Bear picnic. In fact, I didn't know there was such a thing. But when imagination is rampant and your two granddaughters are visiting from Ottawa for a week - well then, everything and anything that is entertaining comes into play.
The imagination of a child is beautiful to behold. Unfettered, it is limitless. Witnessing the unfolding of ideas gives me great joy and is a powerful reminder to tap my own imagination when it comes to writing. The adventures that take place in the playground of your mind can be shifted to real life. Ask any child and they will show you how it's done.
So our Teddy Bear picnic adventure began with a dress code: stripes. Paddy, the name of our big teddy, was too big to carry so we carted him around in a stroller. He was dressed in a striped shirt too. A light lunch was prepared (PB&J wraps, granola bars, grapes) and we headed outside and took a walk through the trails on our property. We had to stop regularly to give the bears a 'drink' of water. Of course, the girls had to have a drink too. We pretended the bears could talk and we held silly conversations with them. I stepped back in time and became a silly kid too.
Their visit became a refresher course for me in the art of creative thinking.
Sometimes we have to pretend our minds have no boundaries.
Because imagination is not just for kids.
J.C. Kavanagh
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends
(Book 2)voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Novels for teens, young adults and
adults young at heart
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)
Monday, July 15, 2019
My Dream Vacation
With July and August come vacation season. For those parents
working full-times jobs, these months offer the perfect time to get away from
it all. The destinations vary: either trips to visit out-of-town family
members, to a resort, or for the fortunate, an exotic locale. However, none of
these match the imagination when it comes to a once-in-a-lifetime destination,
the dream vacation.
So what is my dream vacation? Let me take the word “dream”
literally. A couple of months back I had one of those vivid dreams that seem to
last all night long, one that made me feel as if the waking world is the dream
and no the other way around.
I boarded a jet from an unknown airport for a flight that
lasted almost an entire day. The destination? A tiny island in the middle of a
vast ocean; a place was so isolated that only a handful of people lived on it.
The island was remarkable. Cocooned by a light fog and a hushed
isolation, it floated high in the southern seas, as if anchored in the mute white
atmosphere. Surrounded by cold green waters, no trees grew on it. Besides a few
humans, only penguin-like animals populated it. It was too distant to receive any
type of radio or television signals.
But rather than dark, the island was a happy place. Despite a
paucity of adults, the island was inhabited by many happy children who
climbed its rocks and played on its beaches. Enormous whales floated about in the
waters, constantly rising from the depths and snorting huge plumes of water.
It took me several minutes to get my bearings when I woke
up, the dream being so life-like. I wandered through my quotidian duties that
day but the dream did not leave me. When curiosity could no longer be contained,
I checked a world map on the computer, searching for remote islands that may
resemble the one in my dream.
Several possibilities emerged but were quickly dismissed. The
Galapagos felt remote enough, but iguanas and giant tortoises did not appear in
my dream. Several islands of the South Pacific – Bora Bora and Tonga -- appeared
on the screen as possibilities, but my dream island was far from a tropical
paradise.
I finally entered “the most remote island in the world” in
Google search. The answer popped up immediately: Tristan da Cunha, an
eight-mile-wide island in the middle of the South Atlantic, whose closest
mainland city, Cape Town, South Africa, lay 1,743 miles away. I couldn’t say with
certainty that it matched the one in my dreams, but similarities existed. The
island, dominated by a rocky volcano, is devoid of trees. Low-lying mists
create a secluded, hazy setting. Rockhopper penguins nest on its shores.
Tristan Da Cunha |
I would love to visit Tristan da Cunha. Is it the island of
my dreams? Obviously, I can’t tell but I did gather one more scrap of evidence.
It seems that whales and dolphins swim the seas around it. Certainly, it’s a
place for a dream vacation.
Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "Karma Nation."
He is published by Books We Love.
www.bookswelove.com
Sunday, July 14, 2019
The earth laughs in flowers (quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson) ...by Sheila Claydon
Click here for my books at Books We Love
It was the first secular funeral I had attended so I didn't know what to expect. What I got was a day of joy. The music, which was special to the family and the deceased, was joyful, as were the very personal speeches. Nobody wore black. Instead the women were in bright dresses and the men relaxed and tieless, in shirtsleeves. The sun was warm, birds sang and it wasn't at all difficult to imagine the deceased nodding his approval, his wonderful smile wide as he saw all his family and friends together, laughing as they remembered.
And the lovely display of yellow and red family flowers, glowing like a pile of jewels on top of the coffin, made me think of the language of flowers. Red roses for passion, red tulips for true love, lilies and poppies for sympathy in death, pink roses and hydrangea for gratitude, iris for faith and hope, lily-of-the-valley for sweetness and purity, they carry so much symbolism. Cultures differ so much too. What might be right for one country can be wrong for another. And it's not just countries, it can even be local. In some places in the UK it is thought to be unlucky to bring bluebells into a house, whereas it is fine in other areas. Tree blossom is a no no too, as is giving anyone a single daffodil. They must always be given in bunches. Flower lore is endless, as is the pleasure flowers bring.
My mother was a florist, so I grew up with flowers, and although by the time I was a teenager we lived in an apartment, the balcony was still full of flowers from spring through to winter, and her enthusiasm has not only rubbed off onto me, it increases with every year. Nothing gives me more pleasure than walking around my own garden checking every new shoot, or deadheading blooms past their prime so that others can replace them. And I love the difference the seasons bring. In the early spring everything is either primrose yellow or white, then comes the blue and purple season followed by shades of pink from the palest rose to the deepest cerise. Later the yellows return, but now mixed with orange and scarlet, then it's the evergreens and a tracery of bare branches as winter takes over...not for long though. In January the first snowdrops appear, as do the hellebores, better known as Christmas roses, and then the pink camellias start to bud.
Loving flowers as I do is one of the reasons I wrote Bouquet of Thorns. To me, it was like going back in time to when my mother was alive and I sometimes used to help her when she had to build displays or decorate an hotel. One of my fondest and most exciting memories is helping carry boxes and pots of flowers aboard the ocean liners that used to dock in the port city of Southampton where I was born. It was long before the days of the modern cruise ship and ocean voyages took weeks instead of days. It was a real event for many travellers and those with wealthy friends were sent off with huge bouquets. Once my job was done I was sent down to the galley where chefs would pile a plate high with food, and then later sent me home with boxes of chocolates or a special desert which I had to sneak out.
Now, so many years older, I have been a passenger on cruise liners to many parts of the world, but none of them, however grand, have had that old fashioned elegance and grandeur of the ships of my distant past. Happy memories, whether they are of people or of events are so precious, and if they are garlanded with the memory of flowers, then they are even more so.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Connections by Eileen Charbonneau
find my books at: Eileen's page at BWL
Connections
Life
is all about connections, isn’t it? Family, friends, co-workers,
fellow volunteers. It’s said that writing is a lonely profession, but
it can be one of deep and lasting connections. With readers, of
course. There are creative readers just as there are creative writers.
They bring themselves to the experience and find untold (and unrealized
by me!) beauty in my stories.
I’ve
belonged to many writers’ groups. I’m about to embark on another, born
out of one of my writing classes. As with every path new and untrod, I’m
a little trepidatious. Some of my past critique groups have worked out
better than others. But all have been helpful.
Some of my favorite writers--yes, sometimes we even dress up and dine together,
like here at the fabulous Chez Josephine in New York City
Each
participant of a writers’ group knows it will be her turn during the
course of the session. That usually does wonders for social skills--
like finding something nice or encouraging before getting to the bits
that need work.
People
in writers’ groups have different tastes in reading. I love a critique
partner who reads from several genres and is aware of the conventions of
each. I enjoy reading romance, so when I observe that a heroine is of
the too-stupid-to-live variety that readers of the genre complain about,
or a hero is cruel to women. children, or animals (a no-no within the
conventions of the genre), I try to point these things out. But I make
sure I let a fellow writer know if I’m not familiar with the genre I’m
remarking on, so she can take my ignorance into consideration! But good
writing is good writing, so I feel we all can help each other.
some of the members of our new writers group
Are
you thinking of joining a writers' group? Best of luck in making all
your stories stronger! My most important advice goes for all your
social connections: don’t stay in any group that does not leave you
feeling energized and eager to move your work (or life!) forward after
each session together.
Friday, July 12, 2019
Holiday Reading
Click this link for book and purchase information
When I travel, I like to read books set in the place I'm visiting. Before my trip to Malta this April, I took out an e-book from my local library, The Information Officer by Mark Mills. It helped me appreciate many of the sights I saw in this island nation in the Mediterranean Sea.
The novel takes place in the summer of 1942, when Malta was a British colony. Its strategic location 50 miles south of Italy made Malta a target for Hitler in WWII. During the novel, the Maltese are enduring daily bombings by Axis planes launched from Sicily.
In the Malta at War Museum, my husband Will and I put on hardhats to explore an air raid shelter built during the siege. A character in The Information Officer commented that the Maltese had become creatures who lived half their lives underground. The tunnels included hospital and birth rooms for those who needed those services after the air raid whistle blew.
The siege effectively ended in November 1942, after the Allies sent Malta 163 Spitfires for its defense. King George VI awarded the George Cross for bravery to the citizens of Malta. Each April, Malta commemorates the deaths of the 7,000 soldiers and civilians who died during the siege. Other countries, including Canada, still send flowers.
The novel also mentioned other aspects of Malta, which we encountered on our visit. The Dingli cliffs, the island's highest point, were used for signals during the war.
Maltese balconies, a characteristic style of architecture, appear on houses across the island.
And our hero, Max, took a short recreational break on Malta's smaller, more rural island of Gozo, as Will and I did with the mass of local tourists on Good Friday.
If you're travelling this year, check out Books We Love's selection of novels set in lands around the world. BWL authors offer a variety of historical and contemporary stories set in the United States, Europe, Australia, every region of Canada and more.
When I travel, I like to read books set in the place I'm visiting. Before my trip to Malta this April, I took out an e-book from my local library, The Information Officer by Mark Mills. It helped me appreciate many of the sights I saw in this island nation in the Mediterranean Sea.
The novel takes place in the summer of 1942, when Malta was a British colony. Its strategic location 50 miles south of Italy made Malta a target for Hitler in WWII. During the novel, the Maltese are enduring daily bombings by Axis planes launched from Sicily.
Malta at War museum displays a Maltese citizen's daily rations for a fifteen day period during the siege.
|
Birth room in the air raid shelter |
The siege effectively ended in November 1942, after the Allies sent Malta 163 Spitfires for its defense. King George VI awarded the George Cross for bravery to the citizens of Malta. Each April, Malta commemorates the deaths of the 7,000 soldiers and civilians who died during the siege. Other countries, including Canada, still send flowers.
The novel also mentioned other aspects of Malta, which we encountered on our visit. The Dingli cliffs, the island's highest point, were used for signals during the war.
Hiking on the Dingli Cliffs |
Many residents paint their Maltese balconies bright colours |
And our hero, Max, took a short recreational break on Malta's smaller, more rural island of Gozo, as Will and I did with the mass of local tourists on Good Friday.
Sipping a cappuccino in the main square of Victoria (Ir-Rabat), the capital of Gozo |
If you're travelling this year, check out Books We Love's selection of novels set in lands around the world. BWL authors offer a variety of historical and contemporary stories set in the United States, Europe, Australia, every region of Canada and more.
Labels:
#amwritingfiction,
#Gozo,
#Malta,
#Valletta,
#writingcommunity,
#writinglife
I am the author of two mystery novels, Deadly Fall and Ten Days in Summer, both set in Calgary, AB, and featuring insurance adjuster sleuth Paula Savard. My short stories have won contests and appeared in magazines and anthologies, most recently in Writing Menopause, Long Lunch/Quick Reads and AB Negative. I belong to the Alexandra Writers Centre Society, Crime Writers of Canada and the Writers Guild of Alberta and serve on the board of When Words Collide Festival for Readers and Writers. A native of Montreal, I live in Calgary, where I love hiking in our nearby Rocky Mountains.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
All Hail the A.P. S. by Karla Stover
Wonderful Great Britain, whose residents are not afraid to create an Apostrophe Protection Society, (APS) whereas, we in the United States have the Kardashians. I ask you: Where's the fairness?
John Richards, a man described as a "sub-editor" created the APS in 2001 "with the specific aim of preserving the correct use of this currently much abused punctuation mark in all forms of text written in the English language." The society's website includes examples such as, "Dont't Drink And Drive," "Ladies's," and "A Good Pun is it's Own Reward." When faced with abuse, "Richards says he has a standard, polite letter that explains the basic rules for apostrophe use. He sends it to supporters to forward on to offending businesses and other organisations." However, according to the website "Everything2.com," others "take a more militant approach. Apparently, one man carries around a roll of tape and an envelope filled with several different sizes of apostrophes; whenever he spots an offending sign—say, one offering "Mens Haircuts" or "Smiths Butchery," he simply sticks one on. And at least one English teacher always has a red marker for whenever he encounters a superfluous apostrophe—whether it's on a student's paper or a flyer on a train—he takes a moment to" make a correction.
According to "The English Project," the APS has had up to 2,000,000 members. Sadly, the website goes on to say that "Despite the Apostrophe Protection Society’s campaigning, a man named Robert Burchfieldt has been campaigning for this punctuation mark's banishment, and Civil authorities are beginning to do just that. The Guardian reports ‘Apostrophe Catastrophes’ all over Britain." Esteemed businesses such as Harrods, Currys, Selfridges, and Barclays Bank have been accused of Corporate Abuse and are being asked to return what Lynne Truss, author of Eat, Shoots & Leaves, calls Santa's Little Helpers. Indeed, Ms. Truss once stood outside a cinema with an apostrophe on a stick to show how easy it would have been to correct the movie title, Two Weeks Notice.
In 1991, Marc Abrahams, editor and co-founder of the Annals of Improbable Research created the Ig Nobels, to recognize discoveries "that cannot, or should not, be reproduced. Examples range from a discovery that the presence of humans tends to sexually arouse ostriches, to the statement that black holes fulfill all the technical requirements for being the location of Hell, and to research on the 'five-second-rule', a tongue-in-cheek belief that food dropped on the floor will not become contaminated if it is picked up within five seconds. In 2002, John Richards joined the ranks of winners for his efforts "to protect, promote, and defend the differences between the plural and the possessive."
Last week I read that the APS had been officially shut down but now I can't find the article so I emailed John Richards. I'm happy to report it's still active. I am also happy that the title of my book, Wynters Way didn't need an apostrophe because Wynters Way is the name of a house similar to Daphne Du Maurier's Manderley. Good company to be in.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Prospecting and Collecting by Barbara Baldwin
You can find my books at Books We Love
Prospecting doesn’t always mean
looking for gold. It can include looking for things that interest you, such as
things you collect on your adventures. Are you a collector? Do you look for
unique, strange, useful or ornamental things?
I collect rocks. Nothing really
huge, you understand, but certainly unique. Can you see the bird rock in this
picture of my collection? There is also one at the bottom with a white band
that goes completely around it. I call this my infinity rock. Notice the
fossils imbedded in yet another one?
I
visited Bar Harbor, Maine several years ago where the coast and shore lines are
very rocky so it’s a great place to collect rocks. That’s where I found out
about heart stones, of which there are two in my rock bowl. Heart stones have been formed by the forces of nature
into universal symbols of love. They’re not precious like diamonds or
rubies, but are still unique. A walk on the beach with any stones at all will
usually turn up one or two heart-shaped stones. (Keep in mind, as you can see
in the two I have, they may not be symmetrical; they may have cracks and
blemishes and be lopsided and imperfect, but they can be the best find on the
beach.)
When I left Maine, I was trying to put my
carry-on in the overhead compartment and a nice gentleman offered to help. As
he lifted it overhead, he asked, “What do you have in here, rocks?”
Well, actually… J
I also collect sea glass and bits of
pottery found along the shore. Sea glass doesn’t seem to tumble around the gulf
coast, but I’ve found pieces all along the Atlantic Ocean and my daughter even
found some in Ireland. These broken bottles and other glass are technically
ocean trash, but over time, the ocean has broken it up, tumbled it around and
spit it out as beautiful frosted pieces, often made into jewelry and used in
other pieces of art.
Prospecting and collecting doesn’t
always mean having physical objects to display in a jar, bowl or on a shelf. As
a writer, I am continually prospecting for new story ideas, names for my
characters and interesting sites for my settings. Ellie, in “Prospecting for
Love”, was in similar circumstances as she was taking photographs in the ghost
town of Peavine, Nevada, for a magazine photo essay. Unfortunately for her, she was abducted by two
ghosts and taken back in time to when Peavine was a thriving mining town.
This
time travel romance has plenty of humor as Ellie is a thoroughly 21st
century woman and finds it hard to cope without electricity and a microwave.
Reviews give it 5 stars – “Twists, turns, memorable characters and a ‘can’t put
down’ story are the trademarks that make Ms. Baldwin’s stories so wonderful.
Each character is so well drawn you feel like you know them.” (Love Romances
and More)
Take
a fun adventure into the past with “Prospecting for Love.”
Barbara
Baldwin
http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin
|
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Every now and then we run across a
great article … and we print it out and keep it. Writing is writing – and whether you are
writing YA, suspense or historical – good writing is the bottom line.
I’m ‘paying forward’ Aaron Shepard’s article on ‘What
Makes a Good Story?’ Rita
What Makes a Good Story?
Tips for Young Authors - By Aaron Shepard
Copyright © 1998 Aaron Shepard. May be freely copied and
shared for any noncommercial purpose as long as no text is altered or omitted.
Good writers
often break rules—but they know they’re doing it! Here are some good rules to
know.
Theme
A theme is something important the story tries to tell
us—something that might help us in our own lives. Not every story has a theme,
but it’s best if it does.
Don’t get too preachy. Let the theme grow out of the
story, so readers feel they’ve learned it for themselves. You shouldn’t have to
say what the moral is.
Plot
Plot is most often about a conflict or struggle that the
main character goes through. The conflict can be with another character, or
with the way things are, or with something inside the character, like needs or
feelings.
The main character should win or lose at least partly on
their own, and not just be rescued by someone or something else. Most often,
the character learns or grows as they try to solve their problem. What the
character learns is the theme.
The conflict should get more and more tense or exciting.
The tension should reach a high point or “climax” near the end of the story,
then ease off.
The basic steps of a plot are: conflict begins, things go
right, things go WRONG, final victory (or defeat), and wrap-up. The right-wrong
steps can repeat.
A novel can have several conflicts, but a short story
should have only one.
Story Structure
At the beginning, jump right into the action. At the end,
wind up the story quickly.
Decide about writing the story either in “first person”
or in “third person.” Third-person pronouns are “he,” “she,” and “it”—so
writing in third person means telling a story as if it’s all about other
people. The first-person pronoun is “I”—so writing in first person means telling
a story as if it happened to you.
Even if you write in third person, try to tell the story
through the eyes of just one character—most likely the main character.
Don’t tell anything that the character wouldn’t know. This is called “point of
view.” If you must tell something else, create a whole separate section
with the point of view of another character.
Decide about writing either in “present tense” or in
“past tense.” Writing in past tense means writing as if the story already
happened. That is how most stories are written. Writing in present tense means
writing as if the story is happening right now. Stick to one tense or the
other!
Characters
Before you start writing, know your characters well.
Your main character should be someone readers can feel something
in common with, or at least care about.
You don’t have to describe a character completely. It’s
enough to say one or two things about how a character looks or moves or speaks.
A main character should have at least one flaw or
weakness. Perfect characters are not very interesting. They’re also harder to
feel something in common with or care about. And they don’t have anything to
learn. In the same way, there should be at least one thing good about a “bad
guy.”
Setting
Set your story in a place and time that will be
interesting or familiar.
Style and Tone
Use language that feels right for your story.
Wherever you can, use actions and speech to let readers
know what’s happening. Show, don’t tell.
Give speech in direct quotes like “Go away!” instead of
indirect quotes like “She told him to go away.”
You don’t have to write fancy to write well. It almost
never hurts to use simple words and simple sentences. That way, your writing is
easy to read and understand.
Always use the best possible word—the one that is closest
to your meaning, sounds best, and creates the clearest image. If you can’t
think of the right one, use a thesaurus.
Carefully check each word, phrase,
sentence, and paragraph. Is it the best you can write? Is it in the right
place? Do you need it at all? If not, take it out!
I would say writing is my passion . . . I see a story in just about every situation. I love Native American history and all the lessons it has to offer.
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