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GIFTS by Jenny Jensen

July 19, 2018 by in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen tagged as ,
Gifts | Jenny Jensen | A Slice of Orange

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GIFTS

Now and again I’ll read a book where the author’s voice is so compelling, their world building so powerful it’s like an alien abduction, a zombie infusion, a body snatching. I’ll catch myself channeling that author—at least for a time. So right now I am firmly in the mad, irreverent, outlandishly silly yet uplifting world of Carpet Diem (Jason Lee Anderson). I’ve been sucked into the Neil Gaiman vortex of crazed angels and demons and us poor mortals made to dance to their warped tune.

 

I live in the Rio Grand river valley. We’re crosshatched with acequias, the irrigation canals that bring river water to the surrounding fields. Every morning I walk my dog early — best to beat the heat — along the canal banks. We take the same route each day because there is whole action packed world there and I like to keep up with events.

 

Come spring the Rio Grande is let to run in the canals and the wildlife — being very smart wildlife — flock to it. The canal banks are covered in the ubiquitous NM dust, which is fine and dry and holds tracks beautifully. There are always signs of skunks, raccoons, pheasants and ducks, the occasional stray dog, muskrats and snakes. The large, imperious bullfrog doesn’t leave any tracks but I sometimes hear his throaty voice and once I saw him sitting above the culvert surveying his grounds. He’s huge and handsome and his head is the most brilliant emerald green. Definitely a King.

 

In May newly wed mallards showed up and made their nest in King’s culvert. I did my best to keep Lizzy from their nesting spot and it mostly worked, but you know how boarder collies are — very bossy and she insists on letting this pair know she knows they’re there. Reg and Sybil Mallard have learned to ignore Miss Lizzy. I knew we’d see ducklings eventually but I began to despair of that when it became clear a while ago that a skunk had chosen that spot for a den. Guess it’s prime real estate but I can’t imagine the Mallard’s laying their eggs next to a skunk, never mind the telltale aroma.

 

This morning I see seven ducklings emerge from the culvert’s edge to waddle self-consciously up onto the road. I grabbed Lizzy’s collar before she could give chase and the sound startled the fuzzy adolescents. They paused for a second, flapping their untried wings like flustered church ladies clasping their pearls, then made a bee line across the road and back down to the water. At my feet I see the tracks of two raccoons circling the trail of a muskrat and the patter of tiny skunk feet weaving in and out among them. The pencil like trail of a snake circles all that frantic motion and the distinct webbed feet of the mallard’s tracks the parameter. Standing back I see the paw prints of an inordinately large dog pacing to and fro. Clearly there was some raucous action last night.

 

I am puzzled. Since when does a bullfrog share territory with a skunk, not to mention a skunk is not a duck’s natural neighbor? Raccoons do not ordinarily do-si-do with muskrats, snakes or skunks and what kind of dog has paws that big? With the voice of that story still singing in my head I suddenly understand. King bullfrog is the enchanted form of that legendary singer no one has sighted for years. The rest is obvious.

 

Reg and Sybil are angels (or demons; it’s sometimes hard to tell in the genre-bending universe of Gaiman-esque world building) sent to protect the King’s divine pearl guitar pic. The skunk is their warrior, the muskrat and snake their scouts, the raccoons are the troops none can sneak past. The big dog (wolf?) is an unscrupulous but soundly thwarted thief. The pic must remain where it is or every impersonator would fail and the legend would die. Some things must remain sacred.

 

Lizzy and I go home, satisfied that all can be made right with the world. It’s like a spell. Every good book gifts the reader a great escape, and some give the gift that keeps on giving — for a while at least.

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READ LIKE A WRITER, EDIT LIKE A SURGEON

June 18, 2018 by in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen tagged as , ,

READ LIKE A WRITER, EDIT LIKE A SURGEON

It isn’t a novel yet. First draft is complete, now the next step – the self edit. Shiver! It’s a herculean chore to turn a critical eye on a manuscript you’ve labored over so long and lovingly, but you know it’s imperative. You’ve got standards; you know you have to meet those standards before you turn your work over to the scrutiny of fresh eyes — editor or beta reader. You’ve lived with your story a long time. You know every character, each plot twist, every setting and every detail of conflict. Now you have to see the whole forest, not just each single tree.

The most common advice is to step away for a bit and let go. A week, a month, however long so the words to are new to you. I agree completely. The longest I’ve let work set is one year. On re-reading the manuscript, face flushing, teeth grinding at the lame ending, I placed it firmly in the back of my file cabinet. And I didn’t look back. I’m either a coward or I used the writer side of my reader’s brain to realize and accept all 92K words as well-intentioned practice. It was a good exercise, something to hone my skills. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

I don’t think there’s a book written that when read with a writer’s eye, doesn’t contain lessons. You have an ear for good writing – you’re a reader after all, so when you self-edit consider what you’ve learned to turn a laser eye on your own work. What is it that made a story grip and hold you? If the book bored you, why? Those stories that delighted you contain elements of craft you want to see in your own work. Those bad books contain pitfalls to avoid.

For me the not so good books hold the most obvious lessons. The tedious information dump, more information than the reader needs to know — makes you wish for some lively dialog to impart the stuff we do need to know. Setting descriptions so detailed you wonder if the book wasn’t produced by a Chamber of Commerce. Scenes, no matter how well written, that add nothing to the story. Dialog tags that tell us what emotions to feel. The dialog itself should do that. Repeated phrases, worm words, and worst of all, unlikeable characters we are meant to root for. I have to be shown a reason to care.

Every full-length novel you’ve loved has a voice pleasing enough to live with for a period of time — some books you just don’t want to end. The sentences flow smoothly, details are salted through out so they support the rise of the story arc. Settings come to life in way that makes place a solid, necessary character. If the plot is confusing at some point that confusion is cleared as the story unfolds – it’s that compelling voice that keeps us reading. There’s no unnecessary fat. The characters grow and develop in the course of their journey and while we might not always like them, we’re intrigued enough we must know what happens.

Read like a writer. Consider what makes a good story good and then use those characteristics like a scalpel when you sit down to your self-edit. Be unmerciful. You’ll thank yourself later.

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Finding Violet

June 10, 2018 by in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett tagged as , , , , , , ,

 

The start of the library I dreamed of as a little girl, doll and all. 

As a little girl I dreamed of having my own library, a room filled from floor to ceiling with books just for me. And to go along with it, of course…unlimited time to read. I suppose that right now I have most of that. As my boys moved out I made one bedroom into a sewing room, and the other into a library filled with books.

Of course, as kids do, my youngest son moved back home last summer to go back to college. He’s sleeping in my library. Rather than pack up all of my books, he moved in another full bookshelf. Now, I worry that my son will be covered in an avalanche of books if we have an earthquake!

So, I have the books, and that doesn’t include what’s on my Kindle, and because my boys are all adults, and I’m no longer working, I have time. I can read all day long if I want. Or I can write.

I’m writing full time, well between loads of laundry, loads of dishes, and feeding my guys. Most of the reading I do is for friends, and while I enjoy working with friends, and it’s important for us to help each other out…I have good friends they reciprocate. There’s nothing like reading a book just to read, just to get lost in a really good story.

But I’m editing a historical novel and writing some novellas, romantic comedies right now, and I’m trying to focus, so there’s been little reading for the pure pleasure of it. I’ve learned so much in the last few years, and editing my historical novel has been exciting, educational and sometimes overwhelming. At one point my editor made notes that I needed to dig deeper to show Violet, my heroine’s growth, I needed to share more with my reader. I thought I knew what she meant, but I wasn’t sure. I poured through my manuscript. I could see places that could use more emotion, partially because Jenny had made notations by many them out, and partially because now that she’d pointed some out, I could see more. I sat at my desk digging into Violet’s soul. I could feel her hurt, her frustration and her fear, but I was having a hard time getting into the page. So, I walked away.

I loaded the washer, unloaded the dishwasher, found other chores that needed done. Eventually, I had to come back to my desk. I played a game of solitaire, then checked in on my friends on facebook. My friend, Author Nikki Prince (who is moving out of state, and I wish her the best, but will miss her terribly) had asked for suggestions for new books to read. Author Beth Yarnall and several others had recommended Sierra Simone’s book, Priest. Now this book may not be for everyone, it’s pretty steamy, and I’d consider it controversial. (Aunt Gloria if you’re reading this, this is not a book suggestion for you!)

So, I downloaded the book to my Kindle…I wasn’t getting much work done anyway.

From the very first words I was hooked. I devoured three hundred and forty-eight pages in one sitting. It had been a long time since I’d done that. I could feel Father Tyler’s compassion, his desire, his struggle with self-restraint, his suffering.

And when I finished the book, I felt renewed, and ready to write. I wanted my readers to feel as though they’d lived Violet’s life when they closed the book and I knew what I needed to do to get more from Violet. I went back to my manuscript, back to page one.

Now, I haven’t finished my edits, and I don’t know if Editor Jenny will be satisfied with what I’ve done, but I feel Violet’s frustration, her desire, her guilt and her fear. I feel Violet, and I hope that my readers will too.

The point of this is, that I’ve realized I need to read. I need to pick up a book just to hear a new voice, to live someone else’s life, to remember why I want to write.

So, make your suggestions now! What books have changed your writing? What books have left you wrung out, energized or in awe. What should be next on my reading list?

 

 

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My Endless Summer of Reading by Jina Bacarr

May 11, 2018 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , , , , , ,

It’s the reading month of May!

In case you didn’t know it, May is #GetCaughtReadingMonth, so I decided to challenge myself to do “a graphic a day with someone reading a book.”

I’m a third of my way through the month, and I’m hanging in there. So for this month’s blog, I’m going to post some of them for your viewing and reading pleasure.

First, here’s a graphic I really love because it says so much about how lucky we are to choose what we read.

Which brings me to my own version of the Endless Summer

When I was thirteen, I spent my free time in the old library by the beach with its dusty shelves and cracked, wooden floor. It was the summer I discovered boys and surfing.

And the library’s adult section.

Reading everything I could find there. Romance sagas in hardback, mysteries with provocative covers. Adventure stories girls weren’t supposed to read.

Until a lady wagged her finger at me and told me to go back to the kids’ section.

I didn’t.

Even then I knew I wanted to write, and to write what was in my heart, I needed the freedom to discover all kinds of writing.

Enjoy the freedom to choose what you want to read!

By the way, I didn’t listen to her and kept sticking my Irish nose wherever I smelled a good story…

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So for #GetCaughtReadingMonth, here are some of the graphics I’ve posted so far:

 

You can find all the #GetCaughtReadingMonth graphics I’ve done so far and check them out all this month of May on Twitter and my Facebook pages:

And finally, since it’s prom month:

Ever wanted to be Prom Queen?

Kaylee is tired of being bullied by the Duchess in Crystal Girl and sells her soul to get thin

Here’s the story of Kaylee and her promposal . . . from a hottie devil!

CRYSTAL GIRL: Kindle & KU: http://a.co/ipzidx8

 

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Have You Ever…Reread Your Own Book

March 5, 2018 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as , , ,

Have You Ever Reread Your Own Books | Tracy Reed | A Slice of Orange

 

Happy pre-spring.   It’s almost time to shed the winter gear and replace it with light weight fabrics.

A couple of months ago, after I completed my Goodreads reading goal for 2017, I got the urge to read one of my own books as a reader…a fan.  It was never my intention to “edit” it.  But sixty plus pages into reading the print copy, I spotted a typo.  I was all set to ignore it.  But then I spotted another one.  When I finished, I had eight typos. Crap.

I like the story and wanted to continue reading the series.  The second book was worse.  It felt like the typos wouldn’t stop coming.  I couldn’t believe I released a book with so many typos.

This little exercise made me aware of something…not every book is free of mistakes.  As a creative, it’s difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I could have been so careless…unprofessional…and a host of other adjectives I care not to use.

So here’s my question.  Have you ever read your own book for pleasure? Did you enjoy the story as much as when you wrote it?

This wasn’t the first time I’d read one of my books, but it was the first time, I experienced this many typos.  I have no idea how I missed the typos.

Something amazing occurred from this exercise.  I saw my growth as a writer.  Of course I’m going to fix the typos.  But although it’s only been a little over a year since I wrote the books, I was tempted to go back and mature them up.  By that I mean, I could have gone in and changed the writing style to be reflective of my growth as a writer.  But if I did that, it could effect the tone of the book and the series.

Did I enjoy the story when I read it again?  Yes,  I immediately wanted to read the next book in the series, which I did.  I can honestly say, it’s horrible.  Because the story was written when I started writing.  It’s filled with so many mistakes, it’s embarrassing.  Here’s the sad thing, when I wrote it, I thought it was good.  Fast forward and I couldn’t even finish reading it.

It’s been a couple of weeks since I finished reading the books and I am faced with the inevetible…end the series.  Or re-write the book.

What would you do?

Tracy


Tracy Reed | A Slice of Orange A California native, novelist Tracy Reed pushes the boundaries of her Christian foundation with her sometimes racy and often fiery tales.

After years of living in the Big Apple, this self proclaimed New Yorker draws from the city’s imagination, intrigue, and inspiration to cultivate characters and plot lines who breathe life to the words on every page.

Tracy’s passion for beautiful fashion and beautiful men direct her vivid creative power towards not only novels, but short stories, poetry, and podcasts. With something for every attention span.

Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.

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