Links of Interest

INTERVIEW WITH KENSINGTON EDITOR PETER SENFTLEBEN:

http://chiseledinrock.blogspot.com/2012/08/editor-with-kensington-peter-senftleben.html

USING POSSESSIVES ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT STYLEBOOKS:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/the-principles-of-possessives/

A DANGEROUS NEW DRM STATEMENT IN CONTRACTS AND WHY ROYALTY STATEMENTS CAN BE CONTRACT BREAKERS:

http://kriswrites.com/2012/08/15/the-business-rusch-a-tale-of-two-royalty-statements/

SLANG IN FICTION, PARTICULARLY SCIENCE FICTION:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2012/08/slang-and-art-of-authentic-discourse-or.html

POWERFUL PACING:

http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/guest-blogger-jodie-renner-pacing-for-power-part-i/

13 TIPS FOR A BETTER BLOG:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/08/simple-tips-for-a-better-blog/

INNER CONFLICT:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/08/the-inner-struggle-guides-for-using.html

TIPS ON WRITING QUERIES, SYNOPSES, AND SAMPLES FROM AN EDITOR AT PENGUIN:

http://www.inkpunks.com/2012/08/21/query-letters-synopses-and-samples-tips-from-penguin-canada-editor-adrienne-kerr/

COMMON REASONS FOR REJECTION:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2012/08/common-reasons-for-rejections.html

PERCEPTION and the Art of Creating Characters

I’ve always been a sucker for a mystery show involving a brainiac of some sort who helps an FBI agent or police detective solve crimes. NUMBERS, BONES, love them.  So it’s no surprise that I love the new TNT show, PERCEPTION.

Dr. Daniel Pierce is a neuroscientist who is a world-class expert on the brain, and he’s also an obsessive puzzle solver.  He works with a former student, FBI Agent Kate Moretti, when a witness or possible criminal appears to have some form of mental illness or brain damage.  

But the catch is that Pierce is a schizophrenic who is prone to hallucinations and who doesn’t have very good people or coping skills in the real world.  

He can’t tell the difference between an hallucination and a real person so he’s followed around by an assistant who verifies what is real and what isn’t and tries to keep him on an even emotional keel.

When a puzzle in the shape of a crime appears, he is prone to see elements of the puzzle as people hallucinations.  A man on a bike who appears where he shouldn’t is Pierce’s subconscious nudging him about a clue in some photos he saw that had a bike rider in the background.  

When he tries to solve a cypher, his hallucination is a British WWII cryptographer who helps him talk through to a solution.  

In each episode his emotional life and his past are examined by his conversations with the hallucination of a beautiful woman who may have been his lover years before.  

What does this have to do with writing?  The use of the hallucinations is brilliant writing, but it also shows what most writers do as we create the framework for our scenes and novels.  

Most characters aren’t just characters.  They are there to show readers the elements of the story.  

The best friend isn’t just there so the writer can have them talk about things to avoid way too much introspection from the main character.  The best friend is often there because she represents the emotional goal or part of the journey.  She pushes at the heroine’s resistance to change or whatever so the heroine must face her own issues, and the reader can become aware of them.

Another character may the literal embodiment of an opposing viewpoint.  He may represent people who don’t believe in the supernatural while the heroine is trying to face her own ability to see ghosts.  He is busy telling her that ghosts don’t exist and only people with mental illnesses see them so he’s stating many of her own fears about this new ability.

Still another may believe so much in the supernatural that her statements are so ridiculous and extreme that the heroine cringes that she may be as foolish. 

Like Daniel Pierce in PERCEPTION, a good writer must create the story as people who are part of a puzzle the reader must solve in order to see the final and complete picture of the story.

NOTE: If you are a TV STAR TREK fan, keep a close eye on the guest stars.  Many are former TREK actors from the various TREK franchises.  Levar Burton has a recurring role as the head of Pierce’s college department.

Links of Interest

PUTTING EMOTION INTO YOUR CHARACTERS:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-put-more-emotion-into-your.html

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE GETTING FROM SOCIAL NETWORKING AT EACH STAGE OF YOUR CAREER:

http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com/2012/08/social-networking-what-are-you-getting.html

WHEN TO ITALICIZE:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/08/10/to-italicize-or-not-to-italicize-a-rule-of-thumb

SYNOPSIS WRITING 101:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2012/08/synopsis-writing-101.html

ORAL PITCHES 101:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2012/08/pitches-101.html

AGENT CONTRACT CLAUSES AND HOW THEY CAN SCREW AUTHORS:

http://kriswrites.com/2012/08/08/the-business-rusch-the-agent-clause-deal-breakers-2012/

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR WORD COUNT IS WAY TOO LOW:

http://thewritepractice.com/too-short/

GRAMMAR, MODIFIER MISTAKES:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/5-types-of-modifying-mistakes/

UNPREDICTABLE PLOTS:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2009/05/unpredicitablethats-what-you-are.html

THIS YEAR’S WINNERS OF THE BULWER-LYTTON CONTEST FOR THE WORST UNPUBLISHED SENTENCE OF A NOVEL:

http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2012win.html

TEN LINKS TO FAMOUS AUTHORS ON HOW THEY OUTLINE:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2012/08/outlining-ten.html

A COLUMNIST WRITES ABOUT HOW PIRACY IS DESTROYING MUSIC:

http://thetrichordist.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/letter-to-emily-white-at-npr-all-songs-considered/

THE RED FLAGS OF WRITING CONTESTS:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2012/08/guest-blog-post-red-flags-of-writing.html

 INTERVIEW WITH THE PUBLISHER OF BELLEBOOKS:

http://chiseledinrock.blogspot.com/2012/08/debra-dixon-author-and-publisher.html

SOME SERIAL KILLERS BELIEVE THEY WILL GAIN SUPERNATURAL POWERS WITH THEIR MURDERS:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shadow-boxing/201208/serial-killers-and-the-supernatural

EIGHT TIPS FOR PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/08/ideas-for-promoting-your-book/

SHOW VISCERAL REACTIONS FIRST:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2012/08/show-visceral-reactions-first.html

Beware the Bungling Bad Guy

I’ve written a great deal about bad guys and how to create them and use them, but one problem I see from other writers is defining the villain as a super menace then turning him into a bungling idiot so the good guy can keep escaping.

In the novel I just finished, the hired killer after the hero and his friends is billed as a professional killer with a military background who has killed dozens of people leaving no real trace.   In his first appearance, this assassin is in the audience of the man who is supposed to be his first victim in the story.  

The hero is a professional magician who supposedly reads the minds of the audience.  The assassin volunteers to be mind-read then tries and fails to kill the magician with a small pocket knife no self-respecting professional killer would use while a spotlight is on him in front of hundreds of witnesses.  

Later, the assassin has trouble killing an dottering, elderly couple, and the only way he can get to other victims who know he is after them is for them to be too stupid to live.  

Needless to say, this inept bad guy sucked the energy right out of the plot.

Don’t tell the reader that your bad guy is a super menace then have him show himself as worse than an amateur because you need the tension to keep the story moving forward.  Really put yourself in the bad guy’s shoes.  If he has a military background and training as an assassin, let him use it.  

Instead, let him fail through luck on the part of the good guys or a supposed victim’s unexpected skill or knowledge.  

Artificial suspense by telling rather than showing a bad guy’s skills is no suspense at all.

Links of Interest

TRICKS TO BETTER DIALOGUE:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/08/guest-author-tiffany-reisz-forget-he.html

A NONFICTION READING LIST FOR WRITERS USING MYTHS OR MYTH ELEMENTS IN THEIR STORIES:

http://www.lbgale.com/2012/08/01/a-myth-studies-reading-list-for-fantasy-writers/

CONTRACT CLAUSES TO AVOID, THE NON-COMPETITION CLAUSE:

http://kriswrites.com/2012/08/01/the-business-rusch-the-future-and-balance-deal-breakers-2012/

DISCOVERING THE READING LEVEL OF YOUR WRITING, ESPECIALLY GOOD FOR YOUNG ADULT WRITERS:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/whats-the-reading-level-of-your-writing/

MARKETS, NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2012/08/sub-ops-ten.html

NAMING YOUR CHARACTERS:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2012/08/whats-in-name-naming-your.html

CONFUSING WORDS:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/08/confusing-words/

STORYBOARDING TO PLOT A NOVEL:

http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com/2012/08/as-im-plotting-and-researching-my-new.html

MINIMIZING YOUR RISKS OF HAVING ALL YOUR ACCOUNTS HACKED:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/260511/apple_and_amazon_hacks_how_to_minimize_your_risk.html

HOW POINT OF VIEW WORKS, MORE ESOTERIC THAN PRACTICAL ADVICE BUT INTERESTING:

http://elflands2ndcousin.com/2012/08/08/some-thoughts-on-how-pov-works/

CREATING STRONG WRITING:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/twelve-non-negotiable-elements-of-force-in-writing/

GETTING TO THE CORE PERSONALITY OF YOUR CHARACTERS:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2012/08/08/820/

AGENT QUERY LETTERS 101:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2012/08/query-letters-101.html

Marilyn Monroe and Genre Writing

After Marilyn Monroe was dressed for going out and finished with her makeup, she'd study herself in a full length mirror, then turn her back and glance back at herself.  Whatever element of her makeup jumped out at her, she'd make less noticeable.  She'd do this until she had a complete look.

I've always thought this story is an excellent metaphor for writing genre fiction.  Anything like overwriting, fancy words, and moments of being too clever need to be toned down.

That doesn't mean that a viewpoint character can't be clever or use an occasional big word if it fits his personality, but it should be the viewpoint character, not the author.

During the rewriting process, be sure to look for things that stand out too much and remove them so the story is what is important, not your writing.

Links of Interest

FIVE PRACTICAL LINKS FOR WRITERS (MAINLY SOFTWARE):

http://www.genreality.net/5-practical-links-for-writers

REVERSION CLAUSES, A REALLY THOUGHTFUL LOOK AT WHY WRITERS SHOULD AVOID THEM:

http://kriswrites.com/2012/07/25/the-business-rusch-the-end-of-reversion-clauses-deal-breakers-2012/

WHICH TYPE OF OPENING WORKS BEST?

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/07/in-beginning-which-type-of-opening.html

TOP TEN QUERY MISTAKES:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/07/query-mistakes/

THIS FREE WIDGET FOR BLOGS AND WEBSITES ALLOWS READERS TO BUY YOUR BOOK AT MOST ONLINE BOOKSTORES:

http://www.twliterary.com/buybook.html