#Insecure Writers Support Group - 10 Quick Tips to get that book written.

First Wednesday of the month already! Time for the IWSG again! Thanks Alex J Cavanaugh for starting this group. 

Fellow emerging writers, here's some advice I picked up from Elizabeth Sims in the Writer's Digest recently. It encouraged me, so I will pass it on. Of course, I've put my own spin on it...

10 QUICK TIPS TO GET THAT BOOK WRITTEN:

1. PAINT A TWO-STROKE SCENE

- Make one stroke visual - SHOW something.

- Make the second stroke evoke one of the other four SENSES: a sound, smell, taste, feel...

You want examples?

The rooftop was studded with chimneys. A cold wind whipped in from the harbour.

She got pregnant that same muggy night. The cracked vinyl of the Buick's back seat left claw marks on her shoulders, and she remembered the dark smell of the plowed field next to the open road.

Your turn....

2. NAIL A CHARACTER IN TWO MOVES

- Give each character a distinctive physical trait. Some memorable traits include:

* Huge hands

* A graceful gait

* A painful stoop

* Fiery red hair

* Thick bi-focals

Your turn...have fun...

- Give each character a distinctive psychological trait.

* Extremely competitive

* Annoyingly calm in all situations

* Willing to be a martyr

* Insecure about not having a university degree

* Secretive about his/her wealth

Your turn...let your imagination run riot...

Alternate showing the two traits you choose the first few times we meet the characters. Doing so will create a mental anchor for your readers.

3. FICTIONALIZE A REAL PERSON BEYOND RECOGNITION IN TWO STEPS

I first heard this advice at a Writing Course. It makes characterisation easier and more real, I was told.

- Change the person's sex.

- Make the fictional character much more physically attractive than the real person is. Then let loose and make the character as despicable as you wish.

4. PLUG A PLOT GAP WITH ONE OR TWO TRICKS

- Ignore the gap completely and hope no one notices. Even successful authors do this all the time. In Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, he admitted even he didn't know who killed the chauffeur. 

- Acknowledge the hole then instantly keep going. Successful fiction is studded with sentences like...

* I don't know why I'm telling you this, but...

* She didn't know how she did it, but she managed to scale that vertical steel wall and run to the car.

Have some fun with this. Will save you time and energy plugging up gaps...

5. SHIFT A MOOD WITH TWO QUICK STROKES

Mood is really about emotion, both in characters and readers. 

Check out Muriel Spark's sentence from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie:

The evening paper rattle-snaked its way through the letter box and there was suddenly a six-o'clock feeling in the house.

- So how do you shift the mood in two steps?

Using quick writing tips mean more time for this...
Photo taken using Instagram

* First, present ONE detail. Spark used the evening paper coming in. You could use a little event like that, too, or you could use something that is physically felt by a character.

* Then, simply announce the mood change, as Spark did. The word suddenly is your friend here. 

More examples...

^ I heard the first bird sing from the morning darkness, and suddenly I felt that everything would be all right.

^ As soon as he reached the embankment, the hairs on his arms stood up. Even before looking down, he realized, Yes, death is here.

To be continued...

And I must share that today is the first day of the Brisbane Writer's Festival. Always good to celebrate books, authors and readers. The school groups were out in force...

• We like our posts relatively short for IWSG, so I will continue the final 5 tips next IWSG post. Have creative fun with these tips. I hope they help you in your WIP.

Go here to read more IWSG entries...

The Query - 3 Tips for that query...You have 10 seconds to catch the editor's eye! Make each second count.

Are you going to be noticed?

I subscribe to a Travel Writer's website as along with writing novels and flash fiction, I write travel articles about the places I've been (and as my followers know, I've been to plenty...). 

I learned about the 'pitch' when I studied Journalism years ago, and yes, in freelance journalism it's all about 'pitching the story' to editors, much like your story pitch for that wonderful novel you've written. I was recently sent this little article on the 'query' for travel articles and it works fine for querying that agent or editor for your novel...

I've recently submitted a manuscript to a publisher. I'm quite confident my ms is a good one, but I wonder whether the query letter I sent along with the ms will be good enough to catch the editor's eye. Oh, those queries...do we sink and swim by them?

Over to The Right Way to Travel...

"This week, we’re talking about techniques to help you sell your travel articles faster and easier.

And, today, I’d like to focus on the query letter – the letter you send to editors pitching your story to their publication.

Many writers treat their query letter as an after-thought, once the “hard work” of writing their story is over. But this is a huge mistake. Your query, you see, is the advertisement for your story.And, however good your article might be, if it’s not accompanied by a compelling query, it’s unlikely to ever meet an editor’s eye.

To make matters harder, Denver Post Travel Editor Kyle Wagner says you have just 10 seconds (or less) to win over an editor with your pitch.

So, how do you get your editor at “Hello?”

Here are three suggestions from Kyle:

** 1. It’s all about the subject line and/or the first sentence.

A truthful editor will admit that they devote about 10 seconds to every query. That means you have the subject line and maybe one or two sentences into your query to get some attention. If you can’t woo the editor then, your romance is over before it’s begun.

** 2. Use your writing skills.

I’m amazed at how many writers think it’s OK to put 100% effort into their stories but only 40% into the query. Make sure the editor will want to read the story by dazzling them just as much by your query prose. Spelling counts. Use the same active verbs and strong adjectives as you do in your story.

** 3. Just because it’s e-mail doesn’t mean I'm your drinking buddy.

Don’t use the editor’s first name, don’t start off with your credentials or the famous people you know, and don’t act in a familiar, informal way as if you and the editor were at a bar together last night. Address it like a professional letter.

Be sure to keep these tips in mind next time you’re composing your query."



The Right Way to Travel - 2012 American Writers & Artists Inc

• Do you agree with this 'query' advice?
• Do you have any 'query' tips to share?

Romantic Friday Writers - Challenge No 43 - The Romantic Picnic.

The RomanticFridayWriters bi-monthly challenge this week is 'The Romantic Picnic.  I'm writing a sequel to my previous Challenge, I Need a Change, with the setting in a romantic paradise, based on a real island in Fiji. If you didn't catch my story you can read it here. The challenges are open to all writers of prose or poetry.

Here are the guidelines for this challenge:

The "Romantic Picnic."  

- Who initiates the picnic; is this a first date or dedication to the continuing relationship? 

- Is there an agenda to the picnic: marriage proposal, pregnancy announcement, promotion or new job assignment? 

 - is the picnic all about the continuing romantic relationship: one lover affirming their devotion to the other, or a mutually shared, opportune moment of togetherness?  

***Any genre, any POV; just remember to include a romantic element and a picnic, in 400 words or less.***

Back to the Island

Inya spread the mat on the lush grass, watching how the palm tree shadows painted pictures with the midday light. Squinting into the sun, he remembered a day just like this, six months ago. Their last picnic.

Joy spiked his heart just thinking of her. From the night she’d tripped over his fishing line, to the day she’d left on the boat, they’d been inseparable. What a week that’d been! She’d promised to come back, but he’d been afraid to hope.  

She was here! He’d seen her boat come in. Afraid to meet it, he’d decided to wait for her to find him. That’d mean she really wanted him. She was good at tracking him down. 

Wherever he was, she’d find him.

He opened the hotel picnic basket. The hotel staff loved Sally. Said she was perfect for him. They’d given him all these goodies and a bottle of chilled champagne.

He lifted the plates out of their plastic bindings and set them out side by side. Then he reached for the cutlery and napkins. Pretty fancy!

Before getting out the delicious-looking sandwiches and papaya salad, he picked some gorgeous red ginger flowers from a nearby bush. He filled a plastic tumbler with fresh water and set them in the middle of the mat. 

He checked the sun. She should be here any minute. Just thinking about her made him hot. He threw off his tee shirt and dived into the water. Ah, cool! He was so nervous he was as stiff as a board. He started to swim out to the islands in long, lazy strokes, luxuriating in the glorious feeling of soft water flowing around him. He rolled onto his back and looked at the cloudless blue sky.

‘Inya!’

Sally’s here!

Splashing madly like a kid learning to swim, he looked towards the shore. There she was, running into the water, throwing off her clothes as she ran. 

In a few strokes they were all arms and legs and gulping water, gabbling nonsense. He pulled her close and kissed her, and kissed her...

‘I love you Inya.’

‘I love you Sally. I’m never letting you off this island without me again.’

‘I’m never leaving without you.’

‘Hungry?’

‘Starving. Do I detect a picnic under a tree?’

‘You do.’

‘How romantic. Do you have kava?’

‘Nah. The hotel sent champagne.’

‘I’m more of a kava girl.’

‘I know. Just wait till tonight.’

WORD COUNT: 404

FCA

UPCOMING RFW CHALLENGES:

Challenge #44 -  Sept 7 -  I Should Have Kissed You  FW/RunnerUp

Challenge #45 -  Sept 21 -Oh How I Hate My Beautiful Friend
Challenge #46 -  Oct 5   -  Birthday Madness 
Challenge #47 -  Oct 19 -  Halloween – House of Horrors.  FW/RunnerUp

Like to read more RFW posts on The Romantic Picnic. Go to RomanticFridayWriters for the list...

get the InLinkz code

 

#RomanticFridayWriters - Challenge No 43 - Friday August 24 - The Romantic Picnic - Do join us for a feast!

 Our bure for the night in  Navala
Village

Hello there!

I'm back from my 6-week holiday in Fiji. It was awesome. More on that later...

I don't often do a post completely devoted to the lovely group of writers, RomanticFridayWriters, but this week we're doing a promo, hoping to get more writers involved. For those of you who don't know who we are, we are a group of 50+ members, prose writers and poets, who write to fortnightly/bi-monthly challenges.Considering it is an ongoing blogfest we feel we do well to average about 15 postings each prompt, but of course we'd like to see more.

Francine Howarth

Donna Hole

RomanticFridayWriters was the brainchild of yours truly, ably assisted by author Francine Howarth in the early days. Francine continues to write for us, but my current co-host is Donna Hole, who has added another perspective, especially regarding critique, to RFW.


The aim of RomanticFridayWriters is to provide a safe, supportive writing environment to practise our writing and to receive as much feedback or critique as we desire. Often published author members find an excerpt from their current WIP that fits the prompt and use it as an opportunity to gauge reader's likes and dislikes regarding their current story. 

Francine created this postcard for RFW feedback requests

All of us believe we have found a place to work on our craft. Keeping to the 400 word limit is certainly good practise for editing out superfluous words. When a story's really itching to be told in more words, writers often continue the story in another prompt, like a serial. Commenters often offer suggestions on how a story could continue. A good way to gauge if your story is striking a chord with readers. (I use reader reactions to see which stories to submit to magazines.) Another member's serialised story was so gripping she has been urged to turn it into a novella, with an author member offering to assist in its production.

In between prompts, we host Guest Authors who inspire us in our craft. Currently we are hosting RFW members who are regaling us with their authorial successes - Madeleine Maddocks, Kiru Taye and Joy Campbell. Go here to read their stories.

Our prompts are very wide ranging with the hosts taking turns in dreaming up challenges. We are not all hearts, flowers, chocolates and hotness, we are writers who are all about telling the story. There is often only a small romantic element in our stories and more often than not, no HEA, but that is entirely up to the individual writer. 

Overall, we have serious fun!

Each Wednesday after the previous Friday challenge, there is a Wrap Up Post, where each entry receives a short critique. Writers return for the lively discussion. See  an example here...

Challenges are always posted ahead so writers can think about the upcoming challenges. There is a Challenges Page at RomanticFridayWriters website which offers further guidelines and suggestions for each prompt, but only two at a time so we don't get confused.

For special challenges which often offer a 600 word limit, and occasionally a 1,000 word limit, we offer a prize for Featured Writer and Runner Up. The prize is a badge to post on the winner's blog which is an accolade to the writer for work well done. We don't write for specific prizes other than the praise of our fellow writers. 

So this Friday's prompt is The Romantic Picnic. It is Donna Hole's prompt, and I quote her from our Challenges Page:

The "Romantic Picnic."  

- Who initiates the picnic; is this a first date or dedication to the continuing relationship? 

- Is there an agenda to the picnic: marriage proposal, pregnancy announcement, promotion or new job assignment? 

 - is the picnic all about the continuing romantic relationship: one lover affirming their devotion to the other, or a mutually shared, opportune moment of togetherness?  

***Any genre, any POV; just remember to include a romantic element and a picnic, in 400 words or less.***

This should be fun! 

I hope you can join us. A Linky goes up at RFW on Thursday morning AEST. Read the Submission process, then fire away! We'd love you to join us - prose or poetry...Any questions, ask me in the comments...

UPCOMING RFW CHALLENGES:

Challenge #43 - Aug 24 -  The Romantic Picnic

Challenge #44 -  Sept 7 -  I Should Have Kissed You  FW/RunnerUp

Challenge #45 -  Sept 21 -Oh How I Hate My Beautiful Friend
Challenge #46 -  Oct 5   -  Birthday Madness 
Challenge #47 -  Oct 19 -  Halloween – House of Horrors.  FW/RunnerUp

My entry for the 'What if...?' Blogfest - Plot Twist

WHAT IF? Fairytale Madness BlogFest!

(Runs August 13 - 17)          

Have you noticed that by changing one detail; one event, one character trait, one thought... you can completely alter the rest of the story?

For this bloghop we are exploring "What If...?"

Not only do we want it to be fun, but it will hopefully be a fun writing exercise and make for some great reading during the hop!

To enter: 
Think of your favorite "well known" fairytale and ask "What If…!"

       Post your story anytime between August 13th to 17th. 

·         Flash Fiction – 300 WORD MAX. (You don't have to tell the whole story in three hundred words. Pick what works to illustrate your point.)

I've chosen the Plot Twist category. What if Cinderella's Prince was a vampire seeking a partner...of course, Cindy fits the bill...

Cinderella and the Prince of Darkness

‘Cindy, don’t go!’

‘I’m 18! I’ll please myself!’

‘Why wear all black to the Prince of Darkness ball? You look like a Gothic princess,’ said Philomena and Persephone.

‘That’s the idea, idiots.’

‘Cindy, this rave will be dangerous. There’ll be party drugs.’

‘Oh pfft! You hate me. Years of humiliation, staying home while you partied. God, it’s my time.’

The step-sisters were horrified. Where was Cindy’s long blond hair, her vintage dresses? Who was this stranger in silken net and all-black accessories?

‘Here’s your shoes Cindy.’

‘Never ever touch my shoes.'

‘What’s Mum going to say?’

‘She wants me dead. No problem. Thanks to her when he sees my hands the Prince’ll think I’m some lackey.’

‘Come home before midnight!’

‘Or I'll turn into a pumpkin? Idiots. The party’ll be pumpin'.’

‘But Mum…’

‘Pfft! I answer to my mum.’

‘But your mum’s…’

‘…dead.’

On the subway Cindy hung from the strap and stroked her cross, thinking about the little white dove that’d left her a message at her mother’s graveside:

 ‘Come to the Prince of Darkness party! Best-dressed prize! A private session with the Prince!’ 

She’d wept with bitter joy…

Cindy entered through the large black doors into the cave-like room. Everyone was astonished at her beauty. The Prince himself, who’d been checking out the girls, flew down the stairs and took her hand.

‘Why, Prince, are you dancing with me? All the girls are dying to dance with you. It’s in their eyes.’

‘Their eyes are dead. Yours are alive.’

‘Hmm. I desire your kiss of death.’

‘You want to be with me forever after?’

‘Yes. Mortal life is overrated.’

In his private rooms, the Prince removed Cindy’s razor-sharp stiletto.

He kissed her, then pricked her with her stiletto heel. His cries echoed through the building - ‘Ah, my Princess has come!’

I hope you enjoyed my twisted fairy tale. To read more, check out the list...

And here's a snap of my penultimate day in Fiji...

Cassava and Coconut Pie at Lautoka Market...yummy!

UPCOMING RFW CHALLENGES:

Challenge #44 -  Sept 7 -  I Should Have Kissed You  FW/RunnerUp

Challenge #45 -  Sept 21 -Oh How I Hate My Beautiful Friend
Challenge #46 -  Oct 5   -  Birthday Madness 
Challenge #47 -  Oct 19 -  Halloween – House of Horrors.  FW/RunnerUp

Check out RomanticFridayWriters Challenge Page for more details...