7 Steps to a Better Setting

They walked into the house. It was dark and deserted.

Boring! People walk into dark empty houses every day. Reader puts the book down... Even if they all died, it would probably be from boredom! Though the above is an extreme bad-case scenario of a poor setting--all tell and no show--many new and some experienced writers forget the need to enhance a scene from the very beginning, eager to get to the action. But a truly good writer remembers...

Every opening sentence should tell a story in itself.

And here's my little ol' advice for setting a stimulating scene...

1) Who are they? -- Names or Descriptions of the group are always a better opening than a pronoun, especially for a new scene or chapter.

The twins and their two new friends...

Already more interesting!

2) How do they feel? -- Are they Happy? Hopeful? Anxious? Annoyed? Afraid? Curious? or What? And don't say it, show it with actions and expressions.

The twins and their two new friends crept up the stairs, cringing with every step...

3) What do they Hear? Taste? Feel? Smell? -- Immerse yourself in the scene and use all your senses. But notice, I didn't say "See?" yet. For now, Listen, Sniff, and Reach out!

The twins and their two new friends crept up the stairs, cringing with every squeaky step. Though the cleansing smell of fresh rain lingered in the air, the cool breeze made Kita shiver...

4) Where are they? -- A strange place? Familiar? Off-limits? Hideout? What's going on around them?

The twins and their two new friends crept up the stairs, cringing with every squeaky step. Though the cleansing smell of fresh rain lingered in the air, the cool breeze made Kita shiver. She peered over her shoulder as if sensing a presence behind her but saw only the overgrown bushes and full, leafy trees hiding the distant dirt road...

5) When is it? Is the time period a factor? Or just, what time of day is it?

The twins and their two new friends crept up the stairs, cringing with every squeaky step. Though the cleansing smell of fresh rain lingered in the air, the cool breeze made Kita shiver. She peered over her shoulder as if sensing a presence behind her but saw only the overgrown bushes and full, leafy trees hiding the distant dirt road and spreading long shadows as the sun dozed off.

6) What do they see? Now open the reader's eyes with little details that enhance and move the scene along.

The twins and their two new friends crept up the stairs, cringing with every squeaky step. The paint on the door was chipped, and dead leaves littered the porch. Though the cleansing smell of fresh rain lingered in the air, the cool breeze made Kita shiver. She peered over her shoulder as if sensing a presence behind her but saw only the overgrown bushes and full, leafy trees hiding the distant dirt road and spreading long shadows as the sun dozed off. Kita frowned.

Kan shook his head at his sister...

7) Now that you've hooked the reader, bring it all together. This is what keeps a reader up at night, wondering what happens next!

The twins and their two new friends crept up the stairs, cringing with every squeaky step. The paint on the door was chipped, and dead leaves littered the porch. Though the cleansing smell of fresh rain lingered in the air, the cool breeze made Kita shiver. She peered over her shoulder as if sensing a presence behind her but saw only the overgrown bushes and full, leafy trees hiding the distant dirt road and spreading long shadows as the sun dozed off. Kita frowned.

Kan shook his head at his sister and bounded up the last steps, flinging the door open. Darkness and a musty moan greeted them. They all held their breath. Kita knew the piece was there. It had to be.

I hope you enjoyed this mini lesson on Setting a Scene. Do you have any tips to share?

~ * ~ * ~     ~ * ~ * ~     ~ * ~ * ~

Now, here's my SHOUT OUT of the WEEK!

Sherry Ellis

I was very excited to meet the lovely Sherry Ellis in person - she used to live near me, then she moved. But now she lives near my parents so I still get to see her. She's very supportive and active on the blog scene even though her home life is nuts--in a good way.

This observant Mama spins a wicked funny yarn as the author of precocious MG and picture books, as well as on her blog the Mama Diaries. She's got so many stories to share! Her latest picture book was released earlier this year: DON'T FEED THE ELEPHANT. And her first Middle Grade book comes out Sept 4th: BUBBA AND SQUIRT'S BIG DIG TO CHINA. Pre-Order here. Then she's off to do some school visits, bringing creative teacher resources they can use. She's been a busy Mama!

Keep Writing! and Have a great week!

It starts with a Spark

Welcome to my new format - took me an extra week to work things out, but you know how that goes... I need a plan! So now I have one.

I will be posting writerly stuff each week: advice, woes, joys, and news. I also have a couple of recurring themes, like Compelling Characters and Hot Genres. But my favorite part is my Weekly Shout Out. These are the folks who have helped me along the way and people you should know, if you don't already! And if you'd like to be featured, just let me know.

Now, on to this week's starting post, appropriately:

It starts with a Spark.

"I have a great idea for a book..."
So many people think this. Probably everyone has thought it once or twice in their life, in some form or other. But only a small percentage act on it. And an even smaller amount of those actually finish writing a book. Then there are the very few and proud who get published.

And it all starts with the spark of an idea.

Most of my non-writing friends are impressed that I've written books. For about three seconds, then they move on with their own stories. I get it. We all have a jillion things going on in our lives to worry about and share with others to get through it all. That's why I'm so glad I have connected with other writers! I'd never have made it this far without them.

We all felt that spark. We acted on it and wrote a book! We edit and polish and labor over it, worrying if we are good enough to be called an author. And some of us are even published. We aren't in competition with each other - we all support one another and cheer each other on. We all know what it takes to be in the publishing industry. It's like baseball - a game of OVERCOMING FAILURE. We don't give up. WE WRITE ON!

And this helps me introduce my first
SHOUT OUT OF THE WEEK:

Michael DiGesu!

Michael and I have been blogging buddies for many years. And Julie Flanders and I even got to meet him in person! He's had many ups and downs in writing and in life, but he's a perfect example of how to OVERCOME! He doesn't let life keep him down. And recently, he WON 1st Place in the monthly WEP Writing Challenge!

Congrats, Michael! And keep writing!

#writerslife Links and Survey Results - What are you looking for?

No fools on April 1 this year. It came and went without any teasing or jests. I was a little disappointed. But that's okay, I'm on spring break and enjoying my extra time off! Yippee!

I don't have any complaints this month for IWSG, so I thought I'd share some Useful Links & Advice for Writers in whatever stage of writing you might be in...

Stage One - Writing
**Believe it or not, this is the easiest stage! Here are some helpful links to get you through...

• Beta readers/CPs - I have some regulars, but I usually ask someone new with each book to get a fresh perspective
• Writer's Digest - awesome site for writing advice and writer chat rooms to ask writerly questions. It also takes you through all the next phases, with new agent articles and book event info
• Absolute Write - a total site for writers to communicate, bounce ideas off each other, and play writerly games - I had to give it up because I was having too much fun playing the games and not writing!
• The A to Z Blog Challenge - I made so many contacts through this challenge, going on right now! It's changed format to keep up with the times, but if you can get involved, it'll open your horizons!
• And of course, there's the IWSG! Beyond the monthly blog postings, the website offers many great articles full of writerly advice.

Stage Two - Finding an agent/publisher

• Query Shark - Janet Reid is the queen of queries and she tears them to shreds to help you get to the core of your query. Read and Learn!
• MS Wishlist - a continuous feed of agents and what they are seeking, right now!
• #PITMAD and more - twitter pitch contests held throughout the year with agents reading your blurbs! Hosted by Brenda Drake 
• Writing Contests - google and enter! smaller publications on your resume is a great start 
• Writing Conferences - google and GO! You can usually set up appointments to pitch to an agent which  is worth the experience even if you don't get a bite.

Stage Three - Marketing your book

• L. Diane Wolfe - this woman has tons of experience and great advice for marketing your book and more - check her out!
• Jane Friedman - I've been following Ms. Friedman since I started writing. She's got links, advice, news, and all the latest trends in the industry. Highly recommend checking her out.
• Book Events - google and GO! Get out there and sell. You have to start somewhere! (I've got lots of advice on book events)

Now for my #writerslife survey results

What's a good/constructive/funny comment you've received from a CP/Beta Reader or Editor?
It was tough to remember some, but here are a few that stuck out!

"n,lxdjfjgkzmgxdfbbbbbxkbzx... Oh! Sorry. Baby butt." - love this one!

It's a rough draft. Don't worry. You'll make it better. 

You're just sick! Meant in a nice way, I'm sure!

You just made me cry! two people said this =)

And here's one of mine - Hahahaha I always enjoy his brand of insanity in these books!

Lastly, I posted my quarterly newsletter this week with details about upcoming publications, my event schedule - where I've been, where I'm going (besides crazy) - and what I'm working on!

Subscribe to Tara Tyler's Newsletter 

2017 = Shine Forth

Happy Septendecdischili!
And Happy First IWSG of the New Year!

Fellow writers,
This year I invite you to join me as I challenge myself to reach more readers. I have tried several avenues and attempted many ventures, but I know I could do better. I put together a small list of things for us to try or improve upon...

• A Newsletter - I have a quarterly one that links to my Newsy Blog, but I need to improve it. I have a hard time with it because it's all about me and I really hate to sound like I'm bragging - it's pure fear and adrenaline, but I try to make it sound positive...
• Offer giveaways
• Keep it short and informative
• Don't send it too often
• Always have a signup sheet at events
• The Blog/Author page - I'm still deciding what I want to do. I definitely need to neaten it up and make it more professional-looking...
• Book Events - I love doing these, but I need to be more pro-active and reach out to schools and organizations...
• Marketing - the dreaded.
• More creative videos - let's get viral! See my Cradle Rock guest post at L. Diane Wolf's on Monday (1/9) for some ideas on author videos!
• Pay for ads on social media - sometimes a little will get you a lot
• Better giveaway campaigns - with a group? with cooler prizes? hmm...
• Shiny New Ideas
• With recent feedback, I'll be revising my Pop Travel screenplay - I'm determined!
• I'm also outlining a new story - taking a break from my two series once they both have three books. Yes, I can see it within my reach.

Let's break barriers! Let's move mountains! Let's finish what we start!

I will take any and all advice you guys have. Join in the fun in planning and dreaming!

Lastly, I have a few stops left for my CRADLE ROCK Release Party!

1/4	Ken Rahmoeller	Dragons
1/9	L. Diane Wolfe	Marketing Tips - Live & Online
1/16	C Lee McKenzie	Grownup Stereotypes
1/11	M. J. Fifield	Crazy Road Trip
1/25	Crystal Collier	Poetry & Songs in Stories - Writerly Wed

I'm also happy to announce the winners from my Cradle Rock Release Party December Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#Writerslife - When #Writers Write & A preview of MOTLEY EDUCATION

Thanks to everyone who responded to my Writing Time Survey! The data was very interesting, but not surprising. I was so happy with the feedback, I made some charts!

Numbers are fun to interpret in graphs - hope you enjoyed some statistics of writing!

And here's one awesome writer who's finished a mysterious MG paranormal book and is ready to share the very cool, creepy cover! SA LARSEN!

Motley Education (Book One: The URD Saga)
by S.A. Larsen
Release Date: October 10, 2016

Forget having a lively after school social life, Ebony Charmed is fighting to keep the entire Afterlife alive.

Ebony’s less-than-average spirit tracking abilities are ruining more than sixth grade at Motley Junior High: School for the Psychically & Celestially gifted. Her parents argue so much her dad moved out. And, even though he’s scared of his own shadow and insists on bringing his slimy, legless lizard everywhere they go, Ebony wouldn’t survive without her best friend, Fleishman. 

When Ebony’s Deadly Creatures & Relics’ project goes missing, she learns her missing project is one of the keys to saving the spirit world. Now Ebony and Fleishman must battle beasts from Norse Mythology to retrieve her project before spirits are lost, the Well of Urd dries up, and Ebony loses all hope of reuniting her family. But someone lies in wait, and he has other plans...including creating a new world of spirits without them in it.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Motley Education has been aligned with Core Standards for grades 4-7. A guide will be available on the author’s website to download for FREE after the book’s release date.

S.A. LARSEN is the author of Motley Education, the first book in a middle grade fantasy-adventure series. Her work has appeared in numerous local publications and young adult anthologies Gears of Brass and Under A Brass Moon by Curiosity Quills Press. Look for her debut young adult novel, Marked Beauty, set for release in 2017. Find her in the land of lobsters, snowy winters, and the occasional Eh’ya with her husband of over twenty years, four children, a playful pooch, and two kittens.

Follow her on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram and connect with her on her Website & Blog.

Enter her Rafflecopter Giveaway !

Five lucky winners will each receive a signed bookmark and assorted swag! Contest runs from 09/15/16 to 09/23/16. Winners will be chosen my random.com.

~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~
Lastly, a huge thank you to all my Cradle Rock cover helpers 

Here are the blog post hosts in cased you missed them:

Patricia Lynne - 9/2 - the End of the World as we Know it

Julie Flanders - 9/2 - Beast Bios: Goblins 

Heather R. Holden - 9/2 - Novellas: Pros and Cons

Cathrina Constantine - 9/5 - Trends in Fantasy
Christine Rains - 9/12 - What's Hot (and What's Next)

Coming up this week! Ken Rahmoeller (ChemistKen) - 9/21 - Fantasy Then and Now

I'm still planning my RELEASE BLOG TOUR - if you'd like to join us
 and enter yourself for the chance to win a $25 GC in the process.
I'll be open to volunteers until October! (Then I start writing the posts)
Here's the FORM.

A Month of #marketingstrategies

Welcome to this month's IWSG post - writers supporting writers every 1st Wed of the month! The question for August is:

What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

My first piece of writing (and calling it a piece is very appropriate) went through many changes before I abandoned it in a file. It was called One Last Night when I started it. Now it's Jacks & Jills & Jezebels. It's about a group of girls who go bar-hopping in the 90s for a bachelorette party. There's lots of fun, excitement, and of course chick-lit drama. I even started a second story about the wedding and the bad behavior of the bridesmaids...

I had to give it up because it required way too much work, bad writing, no clear theme or direction, just a big mess! I would basically have to start over. Plus, it was based loosely on my twenty-something friends and experiences, but probably too closely for comfort. Not to mention, Chick-lit was on the way OUT!

But it was great reminiscing and growing and learning how to really write, which led me into the writing world and then on to get my first book published.

My IWSG worry this month and steadily this year is Should I keep going? Is my publisher going to drop me if my successive books don't sell well?

But I have to keep going. I have goals to reach and make new ones all the time. So that's why I keep coming up with new ways to market. Plus, I'm going to keep searching for an agent who can hopefully help me navigate the deeper publishing waters. I really just want to stay afloat!

My IWSG advice for today is GO FOR IT! If you have the drive, even if you change gears, keep steering for the goal!

And now, here's my BIG NEWS!

I'm counting down to the release of CRADLE ROCK! And I'm ready to start recruiting VOLUNTEERS. I really appreciate the interest some of you have already shown and will be sending some ARCs this week. Now, to get more organized I have a nice neat

FORM 

You guys are the BEASTLY BEST!! (and if you know me, you know I like to reciprocate and reward my helpers!) And I also have some fun, exciting, creative new ways to pump up the promos - check it out!

The rest of this month, I'll be talking about these and other OFF-the- beaten-like-a-dead-horse-PATH Marketing Strategies. It should be interesting (and possibly embarrassing). You don't want to miss it!



And one more thing - The Thing That Turned Me anthology is set to release Friday!! So many wonderful authors participate in showing how one moment can change a characters life.
Add it to your Goodreads list today!



Happy August! Have a great week! and Thanks for stopping by!

Tis the Season for Wishes

Are you keeping up with everything this season?

You'd think after so many Christmases I'd have this stuff down. But no, it always seems to creep up on me. But part of that is because I refuse to start doing most of my Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving. I rebel against trampling my November holiday! And I'm happy to say I finally got my decorations up this weekend - can you believe I was the last one on the block!

I also had a very festive event this weekend. The Hamilton Christmas Gift Show - it was a blast! I got to meet some very sweet people and I sold a bunch of books. But my favorite part was meeting a new fan. A girl from one of the other booths bought BBF for her twelve-year-old brother on Friday. Then on Saturday the boy and his dad came to the event and stopped by to tell me how much he was enjoying the book. And before we packed up, they came back and bought Pop Travel too! It was awesome! Such a warm fuzzy feeling!! I just wish I'd remembered to take some pics...

Now here's some more exciting news and A Writer's Wish List by Tyrean Martinson!

The Battle 

May Be Lost

Because of a Family Secret.

With distracting attention from a prince and her mentors both in harm's way, will Clara be able to trust her team with her family secret as they race to fight the Dark Sisterhood on their terms?

CHAMPION'S DESTINY is the third book in The Champion Trilogy by Tyrean Martinson, a Christian Fantasy series with a strong female heroine and an epic cast of allies and villains.

Clara’s destiny is more complicated than she imagined.

NOW AVAILABLE for PRE-ORDER

Kindle - Smashwords 

Author Links:

Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Amazon - Pinterest

And here is

A Writer’s Wish(ful Thinking) List by Tyrean Martinson

I wish:

1. My friends and family network would have all I need for proofreaders, every time I need proofreaders.
2. These teachers, semi-professional editors, and extremely dedicated family fans were readily available - but it doesn’t work when they are all busy, sick, or overwhelmed with other projects.
3. My proofreading family and friends will work for gift cards, dinner, and a bottle of wine. Again, this worked the first few times around, but won’t work always, in all circumstances.
4. My book would be so perfectly awesome after three content edits and a simple proofread that it wouldn’t need any more changes. You can laugh with me, now. I don’t think I’ve ever received this wish.
5. One of my proofreaders would find any timeline issues between books 1, 2, and 3. SCORE! An unexpected proofreader - my dad who reads three to four books a week – found a timeline error. It didn’t feel like a score at the time. I mean, it was late in the game. I expected to have my book out soon. He found a timeline error that no one else saw. So, I delayed my release date to give my book a thorough run-through one more time.
6. My book will be fun and meaningful to read. The referee is still out on this last wishful thinking wish, but I can still hope.

I think we're all with you on these, Tyrean! Beta readers, Critique Partners and Proofreaders are the best people in the world! Congrats to Tyrean - I hope her series reaches many young readers because I know they will love it!


What would you add to your publishing Wish List?

The Decline of blogging and Ways to perk it up!

Short is the new long. Quip or quit! Has the blogging ship sailed?

Nick Wilford talked about the Future of Blogging earlier this month and inspired me to write a long comment, and then even more - to write this post!

After blogging for six years, I have definitely noticed the disappearance of many blogger friends. Have you? Well, I have a theory or two why...

They got a book deal! - Like many writers, I started my blog to learn about writing, post my thoughts on the process, and get feedback - while giving the same in return. I met tons of blog friends and am continuing to meet more - some even in real life. But once you get published, the time you didn't have before completely disappears. Marketing and promoting invade your life besides trying to write the next one to keep yourself alive with your readers who are hungry for more. I cut back substantially - from almost every day to once a week. And I will keep with it until I don't feel it's productive anymore. But with many of my blog friends still active, it's still worth it. And as my title suggests, I always have something to say!

They ran out of time - Life will do that. Things change. And many times, blogging is the first thing to go. I know how thin we can stretch ourselves, and sometimes we have to make a choice, and blogging can be a luxury of time we can't afford.

They ran our of things to say - It's just not a priority anymore. When people post about not knowing what to post about, it's a good sign they're on their way to other things. And that's okay!

If you have to let it go, or just slow down or take a break from it - know that this blogging community will still be here. There are rocks that seem immovable (Like Alex J the Rockstar Ninja Warrior and L Diane the photographer and marketing genius, and so many more).

I have to make time for it because I want to keep in touch with my writer friends - we know what each other is going through. I'm so glad I started when I did - I've gotten so much from it and am still learning. And I hope others might still get something out of my articles, too.

In fact, here are some suggestions for a new blogging strategy to keep blogs alive and relevant:

• Catchy, quippy titles - if you want to reach more people, you have to grab them with an enticing title. Give them lists, make them laugh, inform! Then,
• Promote it on the quickie sites - Any social media will do. Use a cute blurb and/or picture... cute enough to make people click on it to read further! Make it easier by connecting your blog to Twitter or Facebook. It's amazing how many people are vying for each other's attention and the ways we can do it!
• Be interesting - Blogging is only as good as what you put into it. If you want more, you must expand and reach out, padawan!

NAMASTE! (It felt right)

dare to plot

Today's Friday 4 U is writerly. The topic:

Outlining!

I think I am a plotter because I tend to ramble and take tangents and digress...Plotting keeps me in line. I have to plot or I will lose my way.

I recently commented on a post asking for outlining advice and thought it would be good to share and hear thoughts on it! This is my process...

Once a story idea hits and I have a general idea of it and the MC, I make notes, choose a beginning and an end, add characters, and develop back story for reference. Now I'm ready for the outline!

It's rough, no specifics, just bullet point ideas of scenes, things that could happen, choices, calamities, someone needs to die or leave suddenly at some point, a fight or break up, a tryst, etc. After I have a bunch of scenes, then I arrange them like a puzzle for a more solid outline - refer to this here, add an inference there, give a clue somewhere - and add connecting pieces as needed. Even then, when I start writing, new ideas can change my story's direction. Nothing is written in stone anymore! And pens are great for scribbling!

Even though we are all in different stages of the process, to stay alive, we must keep writing!

• published? keep writing!
• querying? keep writing!
• waiting for CPs? keep writing!

I am just about done with another round of edits and ready to send it to CPs. As I wait for editing crits, I will start outlining a second book to POP TRAVEL - I've been playing with the plot and came up with a name for it, SIMULATION. This also is my Celebrate the Small Things update!

For another angle on outlining, Dr Faerie Godmother, Rena recently hosted Elizabeth Seckman who talks about her process!

So what is your process? Do you outline? And where are you in your writing? Any shiny new ideas waiting to become stories? Do tell!

Have a nice MLK weekend!

Writing a book - constantly learning

For this Friday 4 U, I'm sharing a Writing a Book entry:

Reference books are great for advice and examples and motivation. I am so excited to have my library of writing craft books grow! Now when I have questions, I have more places to turn and learn! Here is what I've got (thanks mostly to contests!):

• HOOKED by Les Edgerton,
• THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE by William Strunk Jr & EB White, and
• THE WRITER'S DIGEST GUIDE TO QUERY LETTERS by Wendy Burt-Thomas

and on my ipad I have picked up a few freebies:

• 70 Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes by Bob Mayer
• Deep Secrets of Successful Blogging by Chitika (30 experts)
• Ghost Writers in the Sky by Roland Yeomans
• Book Marketing Guide by Mark Coker

I need to get the Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

I also love when I get to sub for an English class. I have to share what I learned this week...Inspirations from a High School Language Arts class:

• THE LIVELY ART OF WRITING by Lucile Vaughn Payne - I found a class set of this awesome book which gives great pointers for writing papers, but also how to grab a reader and make your writing stand out. Here are two of the sections I particularly connected with in my current phase of editing:
• "Picture Frame Paragraphs" - we should visualize how we would paint a scene and describe it with vivid words and details, show not tell (heard that before?) In the first sentence of a paragraph it's okay to tell as long as the rest of the paragraph describes the scene, making the reader feel it and keeping their interest.
• "Making the Subject Perform" - have the subject, whether human or not, do something, make sound or movement into action verbs. action brings the reader a more direct experience.

Always looking for ways to improve my writing. Especially when receiving a rejection or two...

keeping in shape w/Shallee

I think exercise helps to deal with the stress of rejection as well. I haven't submitted in a while so no rejections here lately, but I read some IWSG posts of others getting a few. Rejections are like burrs, they prick at first, but then you pick em off, throw em away, and move on!

As for my exercise update this week, I slacked off a little and only exercised a couple of times. But I'm going to go vacuum my basement so I am counting that as a calorie burner!

What craft books do you recommend? And did you get your butt out of the chair to exercise this week?

Whatever you're working on have an inspirational weekend!

Writing a book - my defective 8 ball

So many of you have gotten requests from your query letters and even representation! I'm very happy for you, but I wonder what I am doing wrong. It's like my magic Eight Ball only has negative responses! "not at this time" "ask again later" "sources point to no" "quit now"

And so I take this opportunity to use the Magic Eight Ball MeMe bestowed by the awesome YA writer, Jaycee DeLorenzo!

Post a paragraph or excerpt from a current WIP, or maybe a query you just can't nail, and ask your blog readers to be your Magic 8 Balls.  Hopefully, they'll be willing to give you some advice  - something more fulfilling than a "yes" or "no."

In short, here are the rules:

1. Post the button and link to http://blog.jayceedelorenzo.com.
2.  Share an excerpt from your current WIP, perhaps something you're struggling with, are stuck on, or just can't "get right."
3.  Ask a question about your excerpt.  It can be something easy such as "What do you think?" or something more in-depth, such as "Can you suggest a better way to word such-and-such," or "How can I make the emotions in this scene more realistic?"
4.  Tag 8 people. 

I am asking for help with my query. I have carefully researched agents and gotten lots of helpful advice from several of you and reworked it, but I guess something is still missing. Or maybe there just isn't a big enough market for my book. Well, here you go...

Since pop travel teleportation overtook flying, people are excited about going places again, unaware that some unlucky travelers have turned to dust.

Jameson Cooper is the exception. He avoids pop travel, blaming it for the loss of his wife and successful career. If not for his brother, he’d be wallowing in a gutter downtown.

Searching for a glitch in pop travel at the Atlanta Travelport for a paranoid client, Cooper discovers a video of a disintegrating traveler. As people around him drop dead in "accidents" and he is attacked by a thug, Cooper wants to pass off the video. But when his brother shows symptoms similar to the victims and Cooper is warned to quit the case or his brother will be zapped, he sucks it up, determined to put a stop to it all.

With webcams everywhere and the Q-net filtered by the government, Cooper must bypass conventional avenues to confront the Creator of pop travel, young genius Hasan Rakhi, and convince him to admit the truth to the world. No problem. All Cooper has to do is face his pop anxiety to crash a party at Hasan’s plantation compound and use his old lawyer powers of persuasion. What he doesn’t account for is being helplessly distracted by Southern Comfort in a purple dress, Geri Harper (an Agent sent to retrieve the drive and protect Hasan). Since Cooper can’t shake her, Geri tags along and they sneak in to persuade Hasan who surprises them by asking for help to escape his luxurious corporate prison. Cooper and his new accomplices concoct a plan as they lead a chase across the world to reveal and end pop travel’s deadly flaw before they disappear.

POP TRAVEL, a thriller, is complete at 81,000 words. 

Thanks for reading my query! And here are some lovely writers I'm sending this meme to!

Candilynn Fite
Jemi Fraser
J. A. Bennett
M Pax
M. S. Hatch
Emily R. King
Hope Roberson
Sheena-kay Graham

Will they do it? "Wait and see."

Writing a Book - Absolutely Fabulous

source

Ever see that show? Stinking hilarious!

Well, my fabulous friend, Jaycee passed the Fabulous award on to me and I am applying the questions to writing a book...

Five fabulous writing moments:
1. Finishing my first book
2. My first publications, a poem, a children's magazine article, and this fall a short story!
3. Finishing my second book
4. Having someone other than my family read my work - betas and CPs!
5. Going to my first conference, very fabulous!

Five things I love about writing!
1. Getting the spark of an idea for a story
2. Making the outline
3. Cracking myself up with how funny some of my lines are, ha ha
4. Finishing a round of edits
5. Feedback!


Five things I hate about writing...
1. editing
2. writing queries/synopsis
3. rejections
4. not knowing if I should continue
5. the time I can't spend on it

I present this ribbon to these fabulous bloggers to do with as they see fit!
Kyra Lenon                 Kim Karras                 Stephen Tremp
                 Brinda Berry                   VikLit

Give and Take Thursday

Do you struggle with showing the reader how a character reacts? Does your crit partner tell you that you need to show more? Have you heard enough about showing yet?

Well, listen to this...
After all these years of history, you;d think men and women could get along better. But I am here to say that men and women are still completely different and want different things. For the most part...

Men show.
Women tell.

Now, women show too. There is love in everything we do, right? Except maybe dusting. I hate dusting. Sorry, back to topic. Women are expressers of feelings. We like to talk. Talk about our day, talk with our friends, talk about our kids, talk, talk, talk. For women, getting out the words is cathartic and most of the time all we need is a listening ear. And a "you go girl!"

Men show. They take pride in showing their stuff. See my house? See my woman? See what I can do? No need to talk, just do. If there's a problem, they fix it. When men get together, action is happening. Simple. And a punch in the arm.

So, how does this apply to writing?
When you think about it, we are telling a story. Using words is telling. Once upon a time there was an MC, this happened, then this happened, the MC solved the problem and everyone was happy. But as a writer, we are trying to do more than just tell, we want to show the movie we see in our heads. We want the reader to enter our imaginary world.

Writing a book is a beautiful marriage of showing and telling. Using the right words to express action and emotion.

Here is an example...

Just telling:
Steve walked to the corner market and was surprised by the long line.

Just action:
Steve had his hands in his pockets and was mad he had to go to the corner market. Not watching where he was going, he almost ran into a lady standing in a surprisingly long line outside.

Spicing up the telling and showing with a touch of feeling:
With his hands in his pockets, Steve kicked the dirt on his way to the corner market. Why do I always have to run these stupid errands? Lifting his head, he stopped short just before bumping into a lady and took a few steps back to gawk at the long line extending into the parking lot.

Here is how I try to spice things up. When a character says or does something:

• how do they feel about it? you can use a thesaurus and find many lovely terms for feelings, but wait!
• now ask, how do they look when they feel that way?
• and if you can't picture it, act it out! how would you react? Get a mirror. Describe what you see.
• give a character a quirk - always rubs his chin while he thinks, tugs on her ear when she lies, etc
• and dialog is an easy way to show how a character reacts or feels, use it!

If you have more advice, please share! Any links? I'll take 'em and post 'em! It's give and take Thursday.

PS - I analogized marriage because today is my hub & my 15th anniversary. Love you, honey!

Writing a book - takes character

Think of your favorite character from a movie, book, or TV. The first ones I thought of were: Sherlock Holmes, Han Solo, Jane Eyre, Katniss, and Tyrion Lannister.

Now think of some famous celebrities or singers or politicians. First ones that came to my mind were - Goldie Hawn, Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga, and Nixon.

These characters all have something in common. They are all memorable!

Now think of the MC of your book. Is she average? Is he boring? Is she predictable? What makes her stand out? Are readers going to remember him? They don't have to be super, just different! Make your characters memorable. Make them stand out. Make the reader care about your MC or hate him or root for him.

Lynda had a great post about how to do this last week. Check it out =)

And my post has a second meaning for us authors. To be successful, I want to be read. And that means I need to stand out. My writing needs to be noticed, different, eye catching! So I will keep working at it until my voice is heard! How bout you!

To give you a boost into the weekend, I give you the famous Pen Monkey, Chuck Wendig at Terrible Minds, infamous for his bare all, tell all, lay it all out there advice for writers. I really enjoyed this latest list "25 Reasons it's the best time to be a storyteller!" (he also puts out a weekly writing challenge on Fridays, check out today's prompt!)

Keep writing! And have a great weekend!

Writing a book - Analogy 1

Old MacAuthor had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on that farm he had a book, E-I-E-I-O
with a NANO here, and a NANO there,
here a NANO, there a NANO, everywhere a NANO, NANO...

Wait, now I sound like Mork from Ork! Ha!

But seriously! How many Nanos are going on right now? Bunowrimo, Junowrimo, Camp Nanowrimo...? June is crazy with new novel writing!

It's like spring is in the air! And love is all around. Love of a new, shiny idea for a book. Just like a fresh romance, writing down magical words and developing characters and backgrounds and worlds can be so exciting! Ah those first dates! Even when you finish that first draft and begin editing your words, and seeing your mistakes, letting your guard down that changes need to be made, it gets difficult and trying at times, but you stick with it, take the time, put forth the effort - if you want the relationship to last. I love my book so I will persevere!

get it here!

Hope you all are doing well with the new novel writing or whatever phase of the relationship you are in! I am still looking for that spark of a connection to choose which book I'm going to dive into in August. I'd love to hear about your new beau, or current love - what are you working on?

And PS! Here's the BREAKTHROUGH BUZZ!

Author Stephen Tremp  is making his super exciting book, BREAKTHROUGH available to download for free Monday and Tuesday, June 18 – 19th. For these two days, anyone and everyone can go to Amazon and download a copy of Breakthrough for no charge!
(I already bought mine!)

Writing a book - when dreams come true

Hello you crazy writers and readers!

Busy working on those wonderful stories? Polishing and chopping and laughing and crying? Me too. I got some great suggestions from Miss Snark's latest in house crit session. Real head-palms! Duh! That's why it's good to take things out of context sometimes and get total strangers to give their forthright opinion. I love it! They also pumped me up with positive comments. So glad I got in! If you don't follow Miss Snark, you should because there is always something helpful to look forward to.

But I shamelessly digress, my point is not any of that. Today I have a little list of things to do when I get published! Do you have a reward for yourself for making it? If you get stuck or unmotivated, you should definitely make a list. So here is my wish list of things to do when my dreams come true and I get published:

1. go to New York - I do not want to go, this will be a must do thing - plus I will make it a point to visit my New York blogger friends!
2. go to Paris - why not? a published author should go there at least once in her life
3. go to an opera - it seems like a swanky thing a published author should do
4. take helicopter lessons - always wanted to and if when I get published, I will need to take a break from writing

Not to mention, what better ways than these will help with research for future books. And these things could be moved to my empty nest list, if necessary. Whichever comes first.

Tell me something you want to do when you are published! 

And have an outstanding Memorial Day weekend! Salute a soldier, hug a marine, show thanks!

Writing a book - the windup

and the pitch...

(my little guy, last spring)

"I know you represent romance, but I have a sci fi novel you're going to love!"

STEEEE-RIKE ONE!

"What's the name of our agency again?"

STEEEE-RIKE TWO!

"Is it hot in here?"

STEEEE-RIKE THREE! You're out! Next!

Though that's good for baseball, it's terrible for a writer looking to woo an agent.

I have 2 pitch appointments coming up in 2 weeks! Aah! And I'm a terrible procrastinator. My busy life helps with that. But I have done some research on pitching. So far, this is my prep list of what I need:

• an outfit! I love picking out clothes. I don't love that my clothes are getting tighter on me!
• a great opening hook (maybe I should put that first?)
• a script - must practice what to say in the limited time I am blessed with in the presence of the anointed ones - an agent and an editor! note cards are a must!
• know something about the people I will be presenting to
• pages! but what? synopsis? chapters 1-? and how many copies? I know so many will want some! (ha!)
• relax, be confident, be positive, be gracious
• follow up with a thank you for your time note

I got these guidelines from:

• J.B. George, editor at Secret Cravings and my second interview host!
• Rachelle Gardner, agent with tons of advice to offer
• via Janet Reid, Hey there's a dead guy in the room - mystery writers' site

And now I have some questions for my writer friends! You guys!

1. Have you done a pitch?
2. How'd it go?
3. Any advice for this little critter?

PS - Get over to Falling 4 Fiction TODAY if you're looking for a Beta/CP! They're playing spin the bottle at a mixer!

Writing a Book - word association

What's the first thing you think of when I say Fantasy? I thought of dragons. I love them!

Now, say you've written an awesome book and it's a fun romantic story. You query an agent and call it a contemporary romance. The agent sees the genre and ... what?

DO YOU THINK SOME AGENTS AUTOMATICALLY SLUSH A QUERY BASED ON THE GENRE?

I'm not saying all, but I bet when I send my Sci Fi Thriller, some agents/readers might auto-slush it, thinking, "I'm not looking for sci fi." But my book doesn't fall in the traditional sci fi, it's more of an adventure. I say it's like a combination of "Romancing the Stone" and "I, Robot" - a romantic comedy/adventure set in the future with laser teleportation! How do I put a genre on that? I know there are mixed genres and sub genres, but in the bookstore/online categories I'm guessing mine would go in sci fi, so that's where I pigeon hole it in the query. The same is true when people buy books - some people have a preconceived notion about genres and won't look in those sections.

So let's play a game...
Here are a few genres. You say the first thing that comes to mind. I will too. It'll be fun!

Romance

Literary

Women's

Fantasy

YA

Sci Fi

Horror

Commercial

Thriller

Chick Lit

Here are my associations:
Romance - kissy kissy mush
Literary - high brow
Women's - serious (or plus size)
Fantasy - dragons!
YA - melodramatic
Sci Fi - Space! (and being a writer, space opera)
Horror - blood and guts
Commercial - couldn't think of a genre
Thriller - exciting
Chick Lit - meaningless fun

Looking forward to your associations! What do you think? Do agents (and their pre readers) get so many queries these days that they skim to find the genre and toss away the story? And are there sections of the bookstore you don't bother looking in?

Thanks for playing and have a wonderful MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND! May you not have to lift a finger at least this one day of the year!

Writing a Book - Feedback

Last session I talked about the invaluability of CPs. Feedback is crucial to a successful book. What about other forms of feedback?

Betas. I consider betas equal to CPs, especially if they are writers. But friend and relative betas can go either way. Some will give awesome, productive words of advice, constructive critism, and praise, of course. But I have found that sometimes they don't say anything. Either they didn't read it, didn't like it, or don't know what to say. When my 17 year old niece read a few chapters and honestly said she liked it - that was an awesome feeling! Teenagers are the most readable, they can't hide their attitude.

Source

Reviews. Oooo. Extremes are good here because they get noticed, average reviews don't sell books. Again, the friends and relatives usually give the best ratings. Then there's those who just can't give a positive review. But I'd say most reviews are honest opinions. Honest is what we need. We have to accept that not everyone is going to like our stuff and not everyone is nice. Easy to say, hard to hear when it happens.

Comments. Who doesn't love comments! We encourage, give kudos, and pass on advice. As for feedback, comments are sweet, but how helpful are they? Like when we put up pieces of our work? The thing about comments, we all want to be positive and nice. We want to be liked, we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so we keep negative opinions to ourselves.

I want honesty. Tell it like it is, but say it with kindness. Constructive criticism. On the blogs I hold back from negativity and can be guilty of over-praising sometimes, because I like to be nice, too. Is that bad? What do you think? Can we be honest? Really! Don't sugar coat it!

Writing a Book - Crit Partnership

Hey! Happy March!

First a big heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie from Auntie Tara to Manda Pepper and Nicki Elson for their great short stories! This month's prompt will make you howl for a good cause. Tune in Tuesday!


I'm glad things have settled down somewhat, even though the next Campaign challenge is around the corner. After all those February fests, I finally get to post about writing! Not that I didn't have a great time!

So, I have come to that phase of writing where I have edited my MS several times and my brain is tired of reading it. I know this story inside, outside, upside down (thank you Dr. Suess!) I must take a break from it and let someone else advise me on what it needs, or doesn't need. I have found a sweet CP willing to do it and I'm excited to read her MS as well - give and take!

Many of you have done this before and even if you haven't, you will soon! So I have a few questions for you, like:

1. How many crit partners have you had? How many is a good number?
2. Do you crit the same genre you write?
3. What do you look for when critting? Are you a line by line or a broader, general critter?
4. What is most helpful to you?

Whatever stage you are in on your WIP, I hope you are writing like mad! Because April and the A to Z challenge will be upon us like Tom on Jerry (pic source) - then Jerry will outsmart Tom and Aunt Jemima will scold him for wrecking the kitchen... What was I saying?

Oh well. Write on! and have a great weekend!