Eclectic writer

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Friday, October 1, 2021

Friday Sara Stewart is Visiting and Talking About Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #Writer #Travel #Romance

1. What were you before you became an author? I've always been a writer. I started my first novel at 12, however, like many beginnings I never completed them. For the past twenty-one years, I've worked in the business travel industry in various capacities. I've always worked for the same fortune 100 company and have acted as a client manager, a people leader, a consultant, and led sales enablement training. I'm still employed full-time with my company. Did this influence your choices as a writer? Not at all.

2. Are you genre specific or general? I write erotic romance only, predominantly BDSM and billionaire romance. I don’t mean major genres but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal.

3. What is your latest release? On or around August 30th I will publish book 3 in my Portland Lovers Series, Bound by Pride

4. What are you working on now? Book 4 in my series, I'm about halfway done and it will be hot!

5. Does your reading choices influence your choice of a writing career? Yes. I love women's fiction and have a degree in English Literature. I have studied the origins of the romance novel and since I was young my reading choices have all slanted towards romance. As a teen in the summer after work, I'd read a Harlequin Romance a night. However, I didn't decide to start writing again until I found some of my new favorite authors who are self-published. The ability to break out of the mold of traditional publishing and own my characters fully pushed me to write again. I've been wanting complex and strong female leads in romance for a while and just not finding that in traditional publishing.

6. Where can we find you? https://sararstewarts.com/, https://www.facebook.com/SaraRStewartAuthor/, https://twitter.com/SaraRStewart1, https://www.instagram.com/author_sararstewart/, http

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Sunday's Book #Divided Dreams - Book 3 Moon Child #Gemini #Cancer #doctor #nurse practitioner

Andi Sherman is now a nurse practitioner in Pediatrics. She has vowed never to return to Fern Lake. The offer of a partnership in a friend’s practice is tempting. She refuses until she learns Rob has given up the practice of medicine. She believes he will leave town. On the day after her July birthday, she returns and comes upon the accident, finds the dying woman and the baby. When she learns the little girl is her niece and Rob hasn’t left town she is conflicted. She still loves him but she can’t trust him. News from her brother brings a threat.

Will Tammy’s presence in their lives find a way to allow them to love and trust again?

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Friday, March 19, 2021

Today Rue Allyn is visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #USN Petty Officer #Writer #Travel #Romance #Contemporary

What Were You Before

Day 1

What were you before you became an author? Did this influence your choices as a writer?

Allow me to clarify a bit. I have always been a ‘writer.’ So in a sense, I was never anything before that. If we limit the meaning of ‘author’ to ‘professional,’ i.e, I get paid to write, I’ve been many things: Assembly line worker, receptionist, USN Petty Officer, Student of English literature and language (including modern, middle and old English), Instructor, Sales associate. Mom, Housekeeper (not professional),World Traveler, Daughter, Sister, Wife etc. I could go on and produce a very long list.

Did any of this influence my choices as a writer? I think that answer is yes. I’ve used most (not all) of my life experiences in some way to enhance my books whether it be character, plot or setting. The single strongest influence has been my education in the English language. Learning to speak, read and write in Middle and Old gave me a love of the period we call the middle ages. Second to that influence would be my love of travel. My books are set all over the world and in a variety of time periods. In the US alone, my books are set anywhere from Wyoming to Texas to Louisiana, to New York. I have hundreds of settings yet to use, so I’m not planning on quitting the writing business any time soon. 😊

Are you genre specific or general? I don’t mean major genres but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal.

I am solely a romance author. I like reading other genres, but I write romance. My published work includes, Contemporary, Regency, Medieval, and Victorian/Western romance. I have a slightly paranormal series in the works but nothing published in that sub-genre of romance.

What is your latest release? My newest release, Wait for Me, is a novella in the Bluestocking Belles Boxset Storm & Shelter. The collection is available for pre-order at a reduced price [click here] with an official release date of April 13, 2021. Here are the blurbs for both Wait for Me and Storm & Shelter. Wait for Me: Fate trumps nature, and these enemies became good friends then casual lovers. Only doubt and family secrets can keep them from sealing their love with marriage. Esmeralda Crobbin, aka the pirate Irish Red, and Captain, Lord Brandon Gilroy were enemies by nature who first met during a battle at sea. But fate trumps nature when a fierce storm creates a chance encounter and forced proximity. Brandon learns the pirate is a woman of serious honor and responsibility. Esmeralda discovers the captain is more than a uniform stuffed with rules and regulations. Both love the sea with boundless passion, but can they love each other?

Storm & Shelter. When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming novellas.

What are you working on now? I am currently working on a series of six more or less novella length stories about The MacKai Brides. These women are the sisters of the hero and highland laird, Baron Raeb MacKai, from my novel Knight Defender. I am in the early stages of series and story development, so it will be awhile before these are ready for release. If you want a glimpse of what these tales might be like, check out my Medieval Mumbles blog posts, starting with the one about The Taming of Iver MacTavish (working title).

Do your reading choices influence your choice of a writing career? I suppose so. Around age 13, I encountered Georgette Heyer’s regency romances and fell in love with the genre.

Where can we find you? I may be found at:

Website~~https://RueAllyn.com

Blog~~ https://www.rueallyn.com/blog/

Facebook~~https://www.facebook.com/RueAllynAuthor

Twitter~~https://twitter.com/RueAllyn

Amazon~~https://www.amazon.com/Rue-Allyn/e/B00AUBF3NI/

Goodreads~~https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5031290.Rue_Allyn

Pinterest~~https://www.pinterest.com/RueAllyn/

Keep up with all the news about Rue Allyn and deals for her books, Sign up for Rue’s News quarterly newsletter here, and receive a free download. Or join her street team Rue’s Crew.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Thursday's Fifth Scene - Murder and Sweet Tea #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Cozy mystery #Katherine Miller #Hudson River

When I reached the house, I found a note from Lars. “Gone golfing. See you at dinner time.”

Being released from the need to socialize with my husband, I filled a large glass with iced peppermint tea and settled in the dark green plush recliner to begin the book. By the second page, the characters and developing plot pulled me into the story.

When I reached the halfway point of the book, Lars returned. He waved his hand in front of my face. “Earth to Kate. Must be an intriguing story.”

“A riveting one.” I placed the novel on the table between our chairs. “Though not my usual reading material, I can’t put it down. The author will be our new neighbor.”

He lifted the book. “So you’ve solved the mystery of the house buyer.” He read aloud the material on the back cover.

“Death follows Nanette Gordon as she fights for control of her father’s import-export company. One of her opponents has marked her for death. Who? Enter Andrew Miliken, Is he friend or foe?”

“Sabrina Gates has penned an exciting and tightly woven story. Touches of her Southern home are woven into the narrative with a deft hand.”

He opened the book. “This sounds good.”

I met his gaze. “You can read the book when I’m done.”

He laughed. “Keep reading. This is a better way to experience murder than finding corpses.”

My laughter echoed his. “Just think we’ll soon meet the author whose imagination created this story.”

“Let’s hope her imagination is all she brings to town.”

My sigh turned into a groan. Finding the dead wasn’t my idea of fun. I rose. “No more murders for me unless they’re in the pages of a book.”

“Good. I won’t have to play Watson to your Sherlock.”

I nodded. “Go take your shower. Then we’ll have dinner.”

“Here or should we go out?”

“I’ll make crab salad. There’s lettuce and tomatoes and there’s a loaf of that dark rye you like.”

“Sounds great.”

As Lars walked away, I went to the kitchen and took the ingredients for dinner from the fridge and placed them on the counter. Once I finished making the salad, I wiped the granite counter. I stared out the window and studied the house on the other side of the privet hedge. When would the new owner arrive? Would I like Sabrina Gates as much as I liked her book?

My Places

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* * *

Friday, October 9, 2020

Friday Amelia Danver is visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #medical student #business owner #romance

1. What were you before you became an author? Did this influence your choices as a writer?

I was a medical student and a business owner. In some ways. Covid-19 pandemic actually helped me jumpstart my writing career.

2. Are you genre specific or general? I don’t mean major genres but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal.

Genre specific. I write erotic romance novels mostly.

3. What is your latest release?

My second novel was released late August, titled Claiming You in Eden (the Brotherhood #1)

4. What are you working on now?

The sequel, Bound to You in Japan (The Brotherhood #2)

5. Does your reading choices influence your choice of a writing career?

Yes and no. I am a diverse reader, but growing up, I read enough romance novels to write one. I started in the romantic fantasy genre but found out it was not my thing.

6. Where can we find you?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GCQR2W6

Author's website: http://ameliadanver.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adanver16

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claimingyouineden/

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Wednesday Divided Dreams #MFRWHooks @BWLAuthor #Contemporary Romance #Gemini #Cancer #Writer #Nurse Practitioner

Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com for some great excerpts. Mine is from Divided Dreams where a doctor turned author and a pediatric nurse practitioner learn they are the guardians for an ingant.

Excerpt:

An ambulance blocked his way. EMTs unloaded a gurney. A third carried an occupied infant seat.

Rob glanced at the swollen face of the woman as the gurney sped past. He stared. Even though her face was bruised he knew her. “Patricia.”

The doors closed. His plans for the day changed. He couldn’t leave until he knew why his sister was here, and why an infant had come with her. He looked toward the drive expecting to see a second ambulance. Had his sister caused another accident? He sucked in a breath and entered the treatment area.

“Dr. Grantlan, can I help you?” a nurse asked.

“The woman who just arrived. She’s my sister. Where is she?”

She pointed to one of the curtained cubicles. Rob drew the cloth aside and viewed the scene. An ED physician issued orders. One nurse slid an IV needle into Patricia’s arm. Another placed a mask and adjusted the flow of oxygen.

Rob gestured to the doctor. “Her name is Patricia Grantlan. What’s her condition?”

The doctor turned. “There’s internal bleeding. Dr. Reed just arrived and we’re taking her to the OR.”

Rob stepped to the gurney. He touched his sister’s hand. “Patricia.”

Her eyelids fluttered open. So did her mouth. The mask muffled her words. He leaned closer.

“Hurts…He did…Take care of…”

A nurse opened the curtain. “They’re ready for her.” She hung a unit of blood and stepped aside.

“Do you want to observe?” the ER doctor asked.

Rob shook his head. “I’ll take care of the paperwork and stay in the ED waiting room to hear the news.”

As they wheeled his sister away Rob strode to the waiting room door. What had Patricia meant by her words? Had someone hurt her? Was she in danger? Who should he care for?

He stopped at the admissions’ desk. “I’m here about the woman who just arrived by ambulance.”

The clerk looked up. “Dr. Grantlan, do you know her? The EMTs had no idea. They found no identification, but they left two suitcases I was about to open.”

“Her name is Patricia Grantlan.” At her startled gasp he continued. “She’s my sister, but I have no idea if she has insurance. I’ll handle the bills.”

She passed a clipboard holding several forms to him. “Fill these out as best as you can.”

Rob retreated to a seat at the rear of the room. He added as much information as he could. After returning the forms the clerk gave him the suitcases. He returned to his seat on one of the plastic chairs facing a television tuned to a cooking show.

A young woman with light brown hair entered. A diaper bag hung from her shoulder. She must be the baby’s mother. Relief rolled like a stream released from a beaver’s dam. Patricia hadn’t caused a fatality. The young woman stopped at the desk.

Who was she? Though curious, knowing wouldn’t halt the thoughts galloping through his head. Something about the way she stood with one hand on her hip drew him and made him think he knew her. Her shorts revealed long tanned legs. Would her face match the rear view?

He groaned. She reminded him of Andi Sherman. Why think of her now? He’d ruined any chance of a future with her. Twelve years ago, he’d followed his father’s demands and told her he didn’t love her. Once more the words spoken in a steel-coated voice slid into his thoughts.

You want to go to college and become a doctor. Though that’s not my choice for you, I’ll accept your decision. Your brother will have the place I reserved for you. Do you want college?

Yes.”

Ditch Andi Sherman. She’s poor white trash. Members of her family are known criminals. Unless you tell her what she is, forget your plans. Forget any inheritance. Your brother will be near your trysting place and will report to me.

He’d followed his father’s orders. Rob still remembered that evening and the tears in her eyes. He swallowed memories of his failure to face his bullying father.

The young woman turned. She studied the rows of waiting people. Her face blanched.

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Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - Revision - Pacing #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Revision #Pacing

There are a number of elements in pacing. One is the pacing for the entire book and the other is pacing within a scene. Pacing for the book depends on the genre you're writing. Most mysteries especially those with suspense in the mix are much faster paced than other story. The pacing of a story in romance can be leisurely or fast, depending on what's happening in the story. The object of pacing is to pull the reader from scene to scene.

The pacing in scenes depends on what type of scene you're writing. The pace of an action scene is usually fast while the pacing on scenes that are mainly descriptive can move at a slower pace. Also the pacing in a scene can depend on the characters. Some characters call for moving slow, others for fast rapid scenes. Scenes with a majority of dialogue tend to be faster paced. So make sure your pacing is on target for a scene.

I belong to a critique group where there are some writers who write beautifully but they tend to bog down the reader in details so the pacing drags. The others like me are so eager to get the story down, they dash ahead and must be told to remember important things.

So when you're doing that final revision, look at the following things. The opening takes forever and is bogged down by putting in things that could be included later in dialogue, either external or internal. Those vital action scenes are either too slow or too fast. Usually the latter seems to be the problem. Look at your balance between showing and telling. Sometimes telling can put a few facts in like bullets where showing could take pages and pages.

So read your stories that final time and make sure the pacing fits what is happening in the scene and the entire book.

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Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - Revision Show or Tell #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Revising #Show #Tell #amwriting

A good story has both show and tell used to make the story complete. Just what is meant by those terms. Telling is descriptions of people, places and things. If a story were all scenes that were mostly action and dialogue the story would move too rapidly and not give the reader a place to look at more than what's happening. Showing is expressed in scenes and interactive between two or more people. Having too much of one or the other makes the book fall flat. Knowing which to use is important.

Telling - descriptions, internal dialogue or knowing what a character is thinking, what happens between scenes showing how people get from one scene to the next. Now there can be problems here. The description of a place, person or thing can go on for paragraph after paragraph and bore the reader. Too much of the story could be shown through internal dialogue. Or one instead of showing the scene cops out and just uses telling.

Showing is action and interaction. Show is what happens between two characters. Tell would be John and Mary had a fight. She left in tears. That tells. Show would play out the scene is full. But there can be a problem with show. One fight scene between two characters might be effective but five or six gets the reader no where.

Finding a balance between show and tell is hard to obtain but once you realize what each brings to the story, you will manage to do both in your story.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip Revision - Beginnings #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Writing #Beginnings

When beginning a story, one must start at the beginning and also when revising this is a good place to begin. You want these opening lines to draw the reader in to read what you have written. There are some things to look at.

When I began writing I often started the book and finished the rough draft and went back to revise. One thing I had trouble with was finding the right place to begin. I often had to restart the beginning, sometimes in a different place or from a different character's eyes. Another problem I had was starting with descriptions of the character or the setting and forgetting about what would draw a reader inside. One bit of advice I heard from a writer years ago was to begin either when a change is about to happen to a character, in the middle of the change or moments after the change has occurred. Of course in the opening, you do need to give the reader a senseof what the story will be about and the genre you're reaching for.

The length of the opening matters. Too much description of places or people make the reader scratch their heads. Or to open with a huge cast of characters all talking about something can confuse the reader. Whose story are you telling? Another kind of beginning starts with the character waking up. This can be fine but going through every moment of him or her getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, dressing and you get the picture can bore the reader.

Overdoing the opening. Writing and re-writing the opening scene of a story can suddenly amke this too long and too detailed. I once had a writer friend who came to critique group and read the same opening every day for nearly a year. The opening had gone from a few pages to about fifty. Didn't leave a lot of room for the rest of the story.

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip How to Know If and When You're Finished #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Ending #writing

Before looking at other ways to revise your story, this bit is about knowing when you're finished. I'm sure we all know the tinkers who take the manuscript and tinker with the story forever. I once had a friend who revised the same first chapter for five years. She never finished the book and I don't think she's still writing. I had another friend who only looked to make sure the spelling and grammar were right in her mss. She revised no further and just sent the mss out to editors. Unfortunately most of the time, the stories came back with that "This story doesn't suit our needs at the moment." So how do you know when you're finished and what do you do.

For me the moment comes when I thing If I look at this material one more time I'm going to throw up. It's time to send it off.

Now after the rough draft, I've done the Plot draft, the Setting Draft, the Character draft and the language draft. By this time I am thoroughly sick of the story.

There's another tell in my life. At night, I start dreaming of the next story and suddenly the plot begins to gel. Time to get rid of the old and on to the new.

There are ways to do this. One is to submit to a publisher. If you have one who will look at all you write, you're in luck. Then there are friends who can read the story andhelp you decide if it's done. Now that can be a problem and you must remember friends should only be reading to see if they enjoy the story. There are also other kind of readers for your story. Often they give great feedback and then occasionally, they want to rewrite your book so that it becomes not yours but theirs. This can happen with editors, too.

But after you write The End, put the story aside for a few days or weeks and then look at it again. Then send it on its way. Of course after the book is published, you can think of other ways you could have made it better. Too late. Save that knowledge for your next.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip Drafts and Revision #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Refision #Drafts

I am a draft writer, doing maybe five to eight drafts of a book. There are some reasons this works for me.
!. I want to get the whole story down as fast as I can.
2. I want to have the time later to look at each segment of the story and make it shine.

Let's look at some of the advantages of this kind of story reading. Having the rough draft gives you a place to start. For me at least while the basic story remains the same, there are changes made in subsequent drafts of the stories.

Some of the advantages of draft writing and revision can be psychological in nature. "It's only a draft and putting down the ideas is all right. The story can make sense later.

Keeping the excitement and energy that went into that rough draft on subsequent drafts is a must if you're going ot choose this way.

Doing drafts is a great way to discover where the story is headed. In one of the subsequent drafts there can be that aha moment and the draft moves ahead.

The rough draft allows you to see where you've been and where you are going in the story.

The rough draft allows for experimentation and adventures in the writing of the story.

The time between drafts allows for thought, further development and changes.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip Revision and You #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Revision ways #amwriting

Revision comes in many ways but learning what works best for you is important. I really enjoy revision but for me it's really a rewriting of the story. Not from scratch but reading each scene and scrawling notes all over the pages and then sitting down and making a clean copy of what I really meant to say. Those first words that come in the heat of getting the story down are often inadequate.

I've many writer friends and we've talked about how we revise. I have a friend who before a new word hits the page sits down and makes all the changes in the previous day's work. Until she has that scene perfect, she can't move on. Another reads her entire mss aloud and marks where changes need to be made. I find this works great for dialogue, but that's my choice.

The one thing to remember is even after the book is published and you're looking over a copy, you will find places you want to change.

In revision, you're looking for the right way to say what you've already said. How do you revise. Let me know.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - The Right Details #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Details #am writing

When the story starts, often the details are over-looked to get the story down. The characters, their dreams, their motives and their backstory all come into play. What about the details?

Where does one find the details and how does one choose the right ones? This is a matter of the writer's choice but sometimes these details are played again and again until the reader doesn't care. The details important to a story can be found in the descriptive passages. Where does the character live, work or play? What does the character look like in a physical way or even in an emotional way?
This is where detail comes in.

When you know your character, you can select the details important to them. These details are often based on where they live and their kind of work. Connecting a detail to a character is important. Mary is a morose person. She will see the clouds in the bright blue sky. Polly is a happy person. Her details of a scene, a place or a person will be different from Mary's impressions. So connect the detail you decide to use in your story and show them through a character or characters eyes.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - What about Cliches #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Writing #Cliches

We love to use them. Those words are familiar and so we write them down. The problem is the cliche might say just what we want to say but those words ahve performed the same action for stories and stories. Look at the adorable baby. The moon resembled a huge wheel of cheese. There are a million cliches and they're used by writers again and again. Often a new cliche creeps into the language and suddenly it's seen in every story. One I've seen recently was "He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear." Some form of this was in everu romance I read for months.

Cliches just aren't used for showing pictures but also of showing a person. The tough bully. The tramp with a heart of told. I'm sure you know many.

When writing getting rid of cliches is a task that takes time. These darn things creep into every bit of the story. From settings, to actions, to people cliches are found. You may not get rid of them all but it's a good thing to try.

And remember if you're clever enough, you might just give the world a new cliche.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip Time to Write #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Writing #Time

ck to John Gardner next week. On Saturday on the internet we had a meeting of our chapter. One thing that interested me was how many of the people weren't writing. I really thought a lot about this. I can understand one member's problem with writing. Sometimes life throws curve balls and writing is hard. But the people who bothered me were the onew who weren't writing and I thought of some strategies they could use.

One of our members has a really good one. She has chosen a day when she writes and this has become a great habit. If it's Saturday, she writes. Not sure what other people have set but setting aside a time when write is what you do and nothing else is a good habit to establish. How can you call yourself a writer if you don't write.

For me, I set a goal of 1000 words a day. Not all of this thousand is new words but much is. Now there are days when the words come easy and I will continue to work on that scene. I've done as many as four to five thousand words on a good day but that doesn't take away the goal for the next day. There are also days when life has interrupted and those thousand words are finished at midnith but they're done.

So my advice is if you want to be a writer, set yourself goals. Find a day or a time when no matter what you sit down and write. This will become a habit and you will feel the need to keep the habit. Set a goal of words. If you wrote just one page a day, think of how many pages you would have in 365 days. More than a book. Do the math. So my advice is to find a day or a time and a goal and you'll find you're not just calling yourself a writer. You will be one.

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Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip _Story Needed #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Writing #Words #People #Story

There is a third element needed to write novels. Again, I'm inspired by John Gardner.

With Words and a love of them, constantly turning them around, you can become a poet. Creating pictures in short expositions of turning words and their meaning.

With People, you can master short stories for they are an incident in a life. They can become character stories giving pictures of a single moment in a person's life.

But to write a novel, you need a story. For a story must have a reason to keep the reader turning pages. There must be a progression shown. How does a character move from that initial incident is important. To keep repeating the same argument over and over does not a story make. Each incident needs to lead forward heading to some kind of conclusion.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip inspired by John Gardner - People #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #John Gardner #Writing #People

Once again, I'm taking my inspiration from this post from On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner. When I first read this book many years ago, I underlines passages that spoke of things I knew I must hone to become a writer. There are many passages.

Novels must have characters. Learning how to make characters come to life is vital. One of these is to become a people watcher. That's something I did as a child. I just enjoyed watching people and even interacting with strangers. Observine people when I was a nurse gave me the chance to see people at their best and their worst, at times when life seemed too much. Watching different people react to a similar situation showed me ways people expressed emotions. This later flowed into my writing. Not just a characters physical presence is important. I've been accused of not describing my characters bodies with enough detail. What ahs always mattered to me is their reactions and actions to a situation.

So to become a novelist, a love of language is important but so are the people in the story. Watch people and put what you see in the bank for a later use. You might even be accused of spying on these people. I have been, even when I was a child.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - Observations from John Gardner #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Verbal sensitivity

While preparing to move into my former study no longer needed as a bedroom, I came across a book I'd read many years ago and delved into the contents. "On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner" had given me much to think about. I began to read the book again.

Verbal Sensitivity was one thing spoken about. A love for words and making them build pictures for others is important to anyone wanting to write. I began with short stories and learned how to make a few words do the job of many. I dabbled in poetry using words in different ways to bring about meanings. When I turned to writing longer stories, I realized my fascination with words would help. I enjoy looking up words in an Entomology book I have and seeing how they arose. But I also liked to use a word a bit different from it's meaning. In our critique group, there was a woman who also liked language but she was a stickler for precision of language. She always had fits when I used a word in a manner she didn't think was proper.

Along with verbal sensitivity, to write novels having a sense of sentence rhythm is valuable. Short sentences, long sentences are needed to create a dream. That's what a novel really is, a world shown through the imagination of the writer. The dream contains characters, setting, action and atmosphere, all created by words.

So work to attain a verbal sensitivity to make your fiction ring.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - Research Books or Internet #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Research #Books #Internet

Research for your stories can be fun or tedious. I was looking at my bookshelves and found I have non-fiction books on a lot of strange subjecte. Take snakes. I don't like snakes but I have used them in stories probably for their creep or danger features. For some reason I wanted to know how they looked so I could add to the description. I also found books on many cultures like the Celts, India and other places. There are many on Egypt. The Egyptian ones have found their way into a trilogy. The other cultures have found their way into my fantasy and paranormal stories. I really love having the books to look up and some of them I have read cover to cover. But sometimes the books on my shelved don't have what I want. I do have books on medicine and nursing but they don't cover the very modern techniques or treatments. What then.

I turn to the internet. I've recently been researching childhood leukemia for a book. I will admit, I don't understand all that's written. But neither would my readers. I'll admit when I want a quick research answer, I do go on line and look rather than plot through a book looking for the illusive fact.

How about you? Do you completely depend on one type of source for your research or do you browse around from book to internet?

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