STUMPED
April 15, 2018 by Rebecca Forster in category Writing tagged as Craft, fun, help, mystery, psychology, thriller, writing
The other day I came home to find the men I hired to build my patio sitting in my backyard looking at a stump. This was not a normal stump. This was a giant. Paul Bunyan, Big John kind of stump. I sat down with them and I, too, considered the stump.
“George had to get his chain saw for that sucker,” one of them finally said.
“Took two hours to get it out,” another offered.
“I think it broke George’s saw,” the first chimed in.
“Why didn’t you leave it in the ground,” I asked. “You know, pour the cement around it?”
“We thought about it,” the third said. “It wouldn’t have been right.”
They told me that they had managed to cut it up into the piece we were looking at but that it had been twice as big and buried deep in the ground; a remnant of a primordial tree. Their task had been Herculean. They told me that if they poured the cement over the stump, the darn thing could rot and my steps would fall in, and I would be upset with them because they had poured cement over a stump the size of San Francisco.
“It looks petrified,” I said. “How many years do you think it would take to rot?”
The first guy shrugged, “Twenty. Thirty years.”
I shrugged back. I would probably be dead by the time the stump rotted and my stairs fell in. I guess it was the principal of the thing. They would have known the stump was there.
We sat in the hot sun a while longer. Someone suggested carving the stump into the likeness of the contractor. I liked that idea but no one knew how to carve. I thought we could make it into a table. Eventually, we all stopped looking at the stump. The men moved it out of the way and started work again; I went inside to make dinner.
That stump has now been in my backyard for months. I can’t bring myself to get rid of it. But, like all things that are hard to get rid of, it eventually served a purpose. It taught me a few lessons:
1) Everybody has a stump. It might be in your real backyard, your professional backyard or your personal backyard, but it is undoubtedly there.
2) What you do with your stump will tell you a lot about yourself. Either you will dig it up and deal with it, or you will leave it to rot.
3) If you’re stumped and need help there is always someone willing to work hard with you to take care of it as long as you work as hard as they do.
4) You can never go through a stump but don’t panic. You can go around them, over them and sometimes even under them but that takes the longest.
5) Sometimes stumps are not as big as they look and sometimes they are bigger. Size doesn’t matter. Stumped is stumped.
SECRET RELATIONS, book #3 of the Finn O’Brien Thriller series is available now.
Reach me now!
Follow me on:
3 0 Read moreA Writer by Any Other Name…
April 10, 2018 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett, Writing tagged as confidence, Writer, writing
What makes you a writer? Is it the act of picking up a notebook or sitting at the computer and filling a blank page? The desire to put the fantasies in your head on paper? Does it happen when other people read your work? Or when you see your work in print? How about when you’re paid for your writing? Is it a writing degree? What makes you a writer? And are you a writer even if you feel like everything you write…well, it sucks?
I’m pretty sure I’ll never feel like I’m A Writer. I mean who the heck am I to call myself writer? I’m certainly no Anne Rice, or Danielle Steele, but I know that nothing can keep me from writing. I eventually turned nearly every ‘real’ job I had into a writing job.
I was hired as a secretary for the marketing director of a luxury automobile accessory catalog company. Catalog copy crossed my desk every day, eventually I started writing my own copy and putting it on her desk, and before long, I was writing most of the new product copy that was written in house.
Later I worked for a high end furniture store in customer service and began an employee newsletter. Then I worked in human resources for a medical staffing company and wrote an employee handbook, a newsletter and a television infomercial. I worked as a receptionist at an advertising agency where I slowly started writing television commercials instead of answering phones.
And eventually I freelanced for magazines and wrote regular columns in four different publications.
My first fiction released in February! Such an amazing feeling, but I still can’t say that I feel like a Real Writer.
So what does it take? What makes you a Writer? Does it even matter? At this point I’m pretty sure that no matter what else I do in my life, I’ll always write. Maybe when I see my book on the shelves at Barnes and Noble I’ll know I’m a writer, or if I’m lucky enough to make a best sellers list. In the meantime, I’ll just keep writing.
Tari
5 1 Read more
Dear Extra Squeeze Team, How Do I Know When to Stop Writing?
March 31, 2018 by The Extra Squeeze in category The Extra Squeeze by The Extra Squeeze Team tagged as editing, first drafts, writing
Dear Extra Squeeze Team, How Do I Know When to Stop Writing?
Rebecca Forster
USA Today Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Witness series and the new Finn O’Brien series.
This is an interesting question because it implies that the problem is with the end of a book. If that is the case, then I have never had a problem knowing when to stop writing. Before I begin I know the end. I even know the last sentence I want to type. But when it comes to overwriting, there’s more to the story (okay, pun intended)
In the thirty plus years I have been a working novelist I still overwrite the middle of the manuscript. I intrude on my own work with asides, philosophy, research information, angst and whatever else comes into my mind in the throes of creation.
Thanks to a wise editor (our own Jenny Jensen) I have learned to recognize this problem and deal with it as follows:
1) Don’t worry about it during the first draft.
2) On your first self-edit identify and cut what you believe to be extraneous information and place this in a file in case you wish to reinsert it later.
3) Read again. Keep cutting or reinsert information with an objective eye.
4) Send to your editor who – intimately knowing the author’s propensity to overwrite the middle – will identify anything that slows the story, creates questions or bores the reader.
Overwriting is not just a function of the end of the book but of the book itself. A story always has a beginning, middle and a resolution. Do not start writing before you know what that resolution is because it gives you a point on your literary horizon. That is where you must stop. The problem for me is that getting to that point is sometimes messy. Instead of writing that straight line from A-B, I zig-zag and overwrite.
P.S. In the years since I adopted the cut and save file I have never once gone back and used anything, but it sure makes me feel better to know it exists.
[tweetshare tweet=”Dear Extra Squeeze Team, How Do I Know When to Stop Writing?” username=”A_Slice of Orange”]
Jenny Jensen
Developmental editor who has worked for twenty plus years with new and established authors of both fiction and non-fiction, traditional and indie.
When the story is told. The rest is editing.
The goal is to tell the story that lives in your head. Keep writing until you get it all out and down on paper (or pixels). Length doesn’t matter at this point; it’s the story that counts. Once you type ‘The End’ and find yourself with 40,000 words you may have a novella. If the tally is between 80 and 90,000 it meets the average length for a novel in most genres. When the word count tips to 120,000 + you may have an epic (Sci Fi and Fantasy are often longer) or the need to lose 20 – 40,000 words. You’re now at the stage of the brutal self-edit.
There are no rules for how long a novel should be, but readers do have some expectations. Given those expectations of length the choice is yours as to which literary format you want. Regardless of bulk all successful fiction shares one characteristic: good structure with clean flow. A successful novel has a beginning where the characters and the problems are introduced, a middle where the characters evolve and the problems are dealt with, and an end with confrontation and resolution. That path is smooth and enjoyable for the reader because the flow is good – it carries the reader along seamlessly.
Overwriting is usually the cause of a too long word count and the cause of disjointed story flow. It’s all right – we all do it. You had to get it all down on the page. Now it’s time for some honest self-editing.
Dialog tags are a common cause of overwriting.
“Don’t,” she said with a fierce glint flashing in her eyes. Eleven words that flow so much better as three: “Don’t,” she hissed.
Too many words dampen the impact.
Do you have descriptive passages meant for mood and setting that are so elaborate they distract from the action? Cut, tighten and move the story along. Do you find you’ve written back-stories and sidebars meant to enlarge on character or setting but are actually an unnecessary detour? If you’ve got your heroine on a dark country road when her tire blows and then she falls into memories of a frightening slumber party from her past you’ve broken the flow of the tension for something that doesn’t add to the story. Delete it. (Oh I know, it’s hard to kill your children but you can always copy it into a file marked for future use.)
Read your work with an editor’s eyes. Every word, every scene must help carry the story along; it must add to the plot, build the tension, build on a character. Make certain your words all carry the necessary function for the story to flow so smoothly that the reader can’t look away. If you don’t get an editor, get a strong beta reader to help you peel away the extraneous dross. Once that’s been done correctly, what you have is the best your story can be.
Robin Blakely
PR/Business Development coach for writers and artists; CEO, Creative Center of America; member, Forbes Coaches Council.
When to stop writing—is that just when completing one book or…forever?!
With one book, I don’t think it’s a problem for most writers because they tend to construct their books out of order, and the end is often completed long before the middle. For me it is, anyway! From there, it is just a case of connecting the dots and making sure there aren’t any incomplete subplots or character resolutions. If your book is overshooting 300,000 words and you’re not writing epic fantasy, however, then it’s probably time to stop!
Ever wonder what industry professionals think about the issues that can really impact our careers? Each month The Extra Squeeze features a fresh topic related to books and publishing.
Amazon mover and shaker Rebecca Forster and her handpicked team of book professionals offer frank responses from the POV of each of their specialties — Writing, Editing, PR/Biz Development, and Cover Design.
Do you have a writing or publishing question?
Send them to the Extra Squeeze Team!
Now & Then: An Author Looks Back
March 15, 2018 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Way by Maureen Child, Writing tagged as author, Craft, history, inspiration, writing
I am updating my early romances and contemporary women’s fiction novels with the intention of re-releasing them. I am excited because these books were my training ground. In these pages I can hear the first tentative sounds of my distinct ‘author’s voice’. I see that I instinctively had a good grasp of what makes a story work (don’t all voracious readers have that instinct?). There is one more thing I see in these books that is hard to embrace: my major author ‘dork’. I have no other word for my early writing stumbles. Some of them were mistakes of publishing fashion and others were born from an untrained sense of drama.
Since hindsight is a wonderful thing, I thought I’d share my top three ‘author dork’ mistakes.
1) Hysterical dialogue: This is not an industry term so don’t use it with an editor. Sill, I think it perfectly describes my use of long sentences, harsh words, and huge banks of exclamation points to get across a character’s anger, distress, fear and passion.
Solution: In my later work, I learned that proper scene set-up, thoughtful exposition, and spare and realistic dialogue give me a lot more dramatic punch.
2) Fad over fashion: Within the first few pages of Seasons (a book I really love) my heroine appears in Laura Ashley dress. If you’re old enough to know who Laura Ashley is, you’re cringing at the image. If you’re not old enough to know then I have made you stumble as you try to figure it out. I have no doubt I will also run across references to big shoulder pads and power suits.
Solution: I now describe clothing generally – jeans, slacks, blazer, leather jacket – to allow the reader to fill in the detail blanks. I use color to underscore character. I never use a designer name or a fad because this dates a book. The only exception is when I need the fad to assist in a plot point. For instance, a label in a corpse’s clothing might call out a specific designer.
3) Overwriting: When I first started writing there seemed to be an accepted rule of thumb that a chapter was twenty pages, that women’s fiction and romance were not worthy unless the author lingered over love scenes and dialogue was drawn out. If there is purpose to long stretches of prose or dialogue then go for it, but if during the edit the author can’t remember what happened in the last three pages of a book then the reader won’t remember either.
Solution: Tell the story. Do not write to word length. Either the story is solid and will move along at a good clip or it won’t, either it will be 100,000 words or it won’t. The readers won’t stick with you.
The good news is that I am happy with these early books and will not fundamentally change them. I will, however, make them better by applying what I know now to what I wrote then. If only we could do the same thing with our high school yearbook pictures the world would be perfect!
Happy writing.
Don’t forget to check out my latest release, Secret Relations, book 3 in the Finn O’Brien Thriller Series.
Here’s where you can find me!
Website: http://rebeccaforster.com
Facebook:
Personal: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccaforster
Author page: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaForster4/
Twitter: @Rebecca_Forster
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccaforster1211/
Subscribe to my newsletter and get my 2-book starter library:
Different Forms of Storytelling by Denise M. Colby
March 12, 2018 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Storytelling. Motivation, writing
…Are Not All That Different
I started writing this post with a simple topic given how busy I am, yet it quickly turned into a deep-thought, look inside my heart observation.
Since December, I’ve been choreographing and assistant directing Beauty & the Beast, Jr at my son’s school. All fifty-five (55) 5th-8th graders and one-hundred twenty-six K-4th graders. Yep, you read that correctly —181 kids.
This is my sixth show. I love to create an overall vision in my head, work with each piece one by one, then put them all together at the end to entertain and tell a beautiful story. Sharing the experience of live theater with these kids is so much fun. And it’s been a blessing to do this over these years with all three of my sons when they have been at school here (my youngest is cast as Cogsworth this year).
I work with three other wonderful women and a whole slew of volunteers to be able to pull this off. Lots of layers. Lots of details. Staging, sets, costumes, make-up, shoes, and so much more. All parts of the whole in the musical theater form of storytelling. Much like writing a book.
My very first blog post on A Slice of Orange, was on this three years ago. About how each piece matches setting, POV, dialogue and more. I talked about my confidence growing year over year each time I do one of these shows and that it’s the same with my writing.
In my mind, both forms tell a story to an audience. And thus I should approach both the same.
But as I was writing these words, another thought intruded.
I’m not alone in creating this wonderful masterpiece of a show. I have help.
As I’ve taught the kids their steps and where they stand or move, the drama director talks with them about their acting and the music director works on their singing. I am one of many to pull this off and I have no problem showing what I’ve created to the team, asking for feedback and together figuring out what should change.
Why then, is it so difficult for me to ask for help with my writing?
It should be the same thing. I do not need to work alone to create my manuscript. There are people who are willing and able to help me. I can learn and grow from working with others, especially if I’m sharing my words with people who are stronger in the areas I am not.
As I sit and ponder this a while, I realize words are very personal to me. I’m a journal writer and I love to write what I’m thinking or feeling. Thoughts and feelings are not wrong – they are real. Before I write something, I listen to my heart, what I feel, what I believe and then put words on a page.
However there are patterns and formulas and specific skills to writing a novel and all those elements need to be in there as well. The longer I’ve been working on this, the more my brain understands the rules, patterns, and formulas for fiction writing. To put in the specific elements in order for it to become a viable readable story. That it’s not about my thoughts and feelings.
My brain seems to understand it, but my heart still takes what I write very personal.
Deep down, my stubborn pride wants to do all of this by myself. To try to put it in perfect order before I share it with someone.
Why do I do this?
I don’t have an answer to that yet. But maybe I can try to understand a little better.
I have been choreographing and dancing longer than I’ve been writing fiction. And I believe I’m more of a natural with it, than I am with the writing.
But, I want to be a natural writer. Just sit down and write it all out. But when I think about it, I’ve been studying dance all my life.
And I understand the nitty, gritty details that makes a good dance number.
I’m still learning the nitty, gritty details that go into writing a fictional story.
Also, I have put hours into dissecting the music and characters and how they move and the timing before I taught the kids anything. And when something didn’t work I have gone back and reworked it.
Am I putting that same type of focus and time into my writing?
Do I study my manuscript word for word to make sure it is the best it can be?
See, I told you I was doing some deep soul-searching. I love to write like this. It actually comes easier to me than writing a made-up story. So, maybe if I accept this about myself, I’ll have an easier time being open to learning and sharing my writing—all to make the stories in my head and heart be able to come to fruition. Which is ultimately the goal. Not for my writing to be perfect, but for my stories to be published, presented, performed…I think you get the picture.
Do you have something you struggle with in your writing?
Is it difficult for you to share your words with others?
I would love to hear from you. (And If I don’t respond right away, it’s because I’m backstage working a show this week.)
Denise
2 0 Read more
Featured Books
FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales
So cuddle up with your favorite pet-real or imaginary. No matter. You'll find just the right story to share.
More info →
MCBRIDE’S GEM
Hawk McBride and Randi Ronin could never have expected their chance encounter would be the beginning of the rest of their lives.
More info →
MISS MATCH
What happens when the matchmaker inadvertently gets matched while matching someone else?
More info → 
