Adventures in Writing

A character like this is certainly interesting, think of Snape in the Harry Potter novels or House in the TV series of the same name, but that character must be surrounded by other characters the reader can connect with immediately.

Would most readers have liked the HP series if it had been from Snape’s viewpoint? HOUSE certainly is bleeding viewers because House himself is totally out of control with the focus shifted away from the likable characters like Wilson and House’s staff.

A better example is CRIMINAL MINDS and its spinoff CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR. Both series have identical formats with different characters, but it’s how the characters have been presented that has made the original a success, and the spinoff a one-season cancelled failure.

I normally avoid serial killer programs and books, but the characters in CM got me interested enough that I kept watching because the likable characters made the grimness and brutality manageable, but with CM: SB that's not the case.

For the most part, the characters are grim, prickly, and emotionally and physically unattractive so I didn't make it through two programs before I stopped watching.

You have to have both types of characters so that character who grows on you isn't the only character the reader can root for.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Links of Interest

USING GOOGLE STREET VIEW TO CREATE SETTINGS:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2011/05/googling-street-view.html

THE MORAL DILEMMA AS A CHARACTER TOOL:

http://www.thecompulsivereader.com/2011/05/guest-blog-from-janice-hardy.html

SURVIVING IN THE NEW WORLD OF PUBLISHING, PART TWO: Yet more from Kristine Rusch on how to survive the increasingly predatory world of traditional publishing. Another must read for all writers.

http://kriswrites.com/2011/05/25/the-business-rusch-publishers-surviving-the-transition-part-2/

WHEN YOUR CHARACTER CHANGES FOR THE BETTER: The before and after scenes.

http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/2011/05/has-your-protagonist-changed-his-ways.html

YET EVEN MORE LINKS: Elizabeth Craig’s incredible weekly listing of writing posts.

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/05/twitterific_29.html

ENGLISH USAGE: This site is for serious questions about etymology, etc., and not about standard grammar, but it would be a valuable resource for historical writers who need to date a word usage that isn’t clarified in the OED.

http://meta.english.stackexchange.com/questions

AMERICAN MEDICAL LIBRARY ONLINE: Contains books from 1610 to 1920.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/americas/index.html

PARANORMAL BLOG: Authors of paranormal and fantasy fiction as well as experts on the paranormal blog here.

http://disquietingvisions.com/

THE NONFICTION BOOK PROPOSAL:

http://behlerblog.com/2011/05/30/book-proposals-for-nonfiction/

USING SETTING TO “UPMARKET” YOUR BOOK:

http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/2011/05/guest-post-making-commercial-novel-more.html

ON THE PRICING OF EBOOKS:

http://www.genreality.net/the-pricing-of-ebooks-and-perceived-value

STORY VERSUS CRAFT:

http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2011/06/story-vs-craft.html

Monday, May 30, 2011

Disney and Copyright

Media pirates and the anti-copyright intelligentsia consider The Walt Disney Company one of the poster children for evil corporate media because they are trying to hold on to their copyright for as long as possible. These folks believe that all of Disney’s archives of old films and cartoons should go into public domain as fast as possible.

I’ve been thinking about this position and what it would mean for consumers.

Right now, Disney brings out its classic archives to resell every time the media changes. When VCR tapes began to be replaced by DVDs, Disney opened its archives of films like Snow White and Fantasia to put them on DVDs. But instead of just slapping them onto the new media, they used the very latest technology to make the colors brighter, the images sharper, and the music better suited to current electronic systems.

Every time one of the old films is brought out, it gets a makeover like this which costs lots of money and man hours.

If these films went into public domain, Disney would no longer have a reason to update them. The films online would be bad copies of faded copies, and as the online technology changes, those bad copies would have to be translated, yet again, and the quality of the picture and sound would degrade even further.

Parents would have to worry that online versions of the film had been edited by someone who didn’t approve of certain elements of the film, or that some sicko has inserted adult material into it.

Considering all this, I’ve decided that having a free public domain version of Fantasia is far too expensive for those of us who want future generations to enjoy a classic Disney film.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Links of Interest

THE FORMULA FOR A GOOD BOOK:

http://rhythempoets.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/a-formula-for-a-good-romance-or-suspense-or-mystery-or-just-about-any-darn-good-book/

FIGURING OUT YOUR GENRE:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/05/where-does-my-book-fit-figuring-out.html

DEFINING THE COZY MYSTERY:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/05/noteworthy-links-cozy-mystery-and-other.html

SURVIVING IN THE NEW WORLD OF PUBLISHING: Yet more from Kristine Rusch on how to survive the increasingly predatory world of traditional publishing. Another must read for all writers.

http://kriswrites.com/2011/05/18/the-business-rusch-surviving-the-transition-part-one/

USING CRIMINAL PROFILERS IN FICTION:

http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/guest-blogger-the-relevance-of-realistic-criminal-profiling-in-writing/

INFO DUMPS THAT WORK:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-earn-your-info-dump.html

REISSUING YOUR BACKLIST YOURSELF:

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2011/05/18/is-there-gold-in-your-backlist-self-publish-and-find-out/

WRITING THE AUTHOR BIO FOR VARIOUS PLACES:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/05/who-we-arethe-all-important-bio.html

FORENSICS: Figuring out the age of a blood stain.

http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/how-old-is-that-blood-stain/

ACTION SCENES:

http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/2011/05/kung-fu-panda-guide-to-writing-action.html

THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS:

http://scribocin.blogspot.com/2011/05/damsel-in-distress.html

KEEPING THE READER WORRIED:

http://lynnettelabelle.com/chatterbox-chitchat/cheat-sheet-how-to-keep-readers-worried/

SUSPENSE VERSUS JUST BEING ANNOYING BY HIDING INFORMATION:

http://www.genreality.net/hiding-the-football

ANOTHER LINK LIST:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/05/twitterific_22.html

A REFRESHING LOOK AT THE BASICS WE NEED TO WRITE A STORY:

http://beyondthemargins.com/2011/05/squirrel-boy-and-moth-girl-learning-through-teaching-writing

NARRATIVE DISTANCE: An excellent article with examples of different variations on narrative distance.

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/05/how-far-is-too-far-far-narrative.html

MARKET NEWS: Fantasy short story antho about the sea. Must have gay man has hero.

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=213218608704488

Monday, May 23, 2011

Authors and Wills

When my mom died a few months ago, one of her final caring gifts to the family was a huge folder filled with absolutely everything we would need to go forward with her cremation, funeral service, and the probating and closing of her estate.

She had even written a rough draft of her obituary and the hymns and Bible verses she wanted at her service so we knew we were giving her the send off she wanted.

Most of us with families already have our wills in order, but, as a writer, do you have a plan for your books after you die?

Have you included instructions about your writing in your will? Or have you filled out an addenda to your will containing details about your writing?

Some things you may want to consider are

What do you want to happen to your books and "name" after you die.

Do you want others to write books using your name?

Do you want someone to finish whatever books you didn't finish?

Do you want books you wrote years ago to be pulled out and sold?

Do you want your notes and drafts sold or given to a university or a collector?

Do you want someone to maintain your promotions (website, etc.) while your books are in print?

Do you want a special executor just for your writing? Most established authors name their literary agent or literary lawyer as special executor to their writing estate because writing is so specialized that people not in the business haven't a clue.

Here's a really excellent blog on the subject by Neil Gaiman which includes a PDF form that writers can use to explain their wishes on their works.

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2006/10/important-and-pass-it-on.html

If you already have a will, I’d use this form as an addenda to your will since it revokes previous wills. As he said, talk to your lawyer.

And while you are doing all this, remember what my mom did for us and build a large folder that includes copies of all your publishing contracts, website contracts, passwords, and all the other things you need to manage your professional career. And keep your files in order, too, to save your family from having to sort through the useless junk to find the important things.