My HerO

Welcome to the A to Z challenge - Outstanding!

A to Z Writing advice:
Outlining – Are you a pantster or a plotter? I need organization. I must outline! Nothing fancy, just a sentence or two for scenes or events. Then I rough draft in a notebook, and, finally I sit at the computer and type it up - adding more with each phase and each round of edits. But I have to start with that initial outline. I must be able to see the connections and then I can go back and add twists, tempting hints, foreshadowing, or red herrings, right?! What's your process?

Visiting BROKEN BRANCH FALLS (MG Fantasy):

Ogres - big, not-too-bright, proud of their ugliness humanoids with gray skin and yellowy eyes - the jocks at school.
Ona - Gabe's love interest, an uncommonly bright, unogre-like ogress

And for laughs:
Reasons Men are Happier People... 

O is for Optional
Men can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
Men can wear NO shirt to a water park.

No Pain, No Gain

Welcome to the A to Z challenge - Never say Never!

A to Z Writing advice:
Names – one of my favorite things to brainstorm! Names of people and posts are fun to create. Names of places I'm not as good at. I try to use character names that don't start with the same letter, unless they are related, to help the reader distinguish between them. Sometimes I use names of people I know, other times I just come up with what suits the character's personality. And when I need an ethnic name I turn to the internet. How do you come up with names?

Visiting BROKEN BRANCH FALLS (MG Fantasy):

Nuts - these are found a lot in BBF, some bigger than others, and some used as weapons!

And for laughs:
An alphabetical list of Reasons Men are Happier People... 

N is for Natural
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

NO! That's NOT all!
You know what? We need an award! You've made it half-way thru the A to Z challenge, so you deserve it! Take the badge, post it, and pass it on!

Mind over Matter

Welcome to the A to Z challenge - Mucho!

A to Z Writing advice:
Marketing – writing the WIP is easy, it's the rest that's hard - editing, querying, synopsis and blurb writing. But once you get published (and you will!) marketing is the worst and hardest! But we must do it. Here's my advice so far:

• social media will give you a good start, but you have to keep plugging after that, too. Have a webpage, facebook page, goodreads profile, etc. Make it easy for readers and potential fans to find you and like you! No more hiding!
• Go to bookfairs, book conferences, book festivals, etc - readers will come!
• Put your book on sale - when sales are stale, put it on sale! I plan to put mine on sale again this summer when the new one comes out.
• Keep writing - I can't say this from experience, yet, but I hear this is the best way to get noticed - get more books out there!! They stimulate sales of previous books because if they like one, they will want more from you!

Visiting BROKEN BRANCH FALLS - Teenage fantasy creatures in high school break the rules, causing chaos. Gabe the goblin leads a quest to find the Book of Ages, hoping it can help save BROKEN BRANCH FALLS:

Make a Wish Falls - these falls are gorgeous and treacherous and mysterious...
Merfolk - mermaids and mermen, you know! And in broken branch falls, their tears can heal and they age slowly.
Mud Pits - where the ogres live, of course, and their houses are mud adobes

And for laughs:
An alphabetical list of Reasons Men are Happier People... 

M is for Marriage
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.