Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a very successful 2014, but don't wait for success, make it happen!

Blog Tour

I volunteered to participate in a blog tour and answer the four questions below. I was supposed to find three other authors to answer the same questions on January 6th but I could only find one, so I hope you'll pop over to visit her too--next week. Caryl has a new book coming out in early 2014.

 

1. What are you working on right now?

I'm working on a career plan for 2014. These days, publishing is a little like walking down the detergent aisle. There are way too many choices. Should I try for an agent? A traditional publisher or a small press? Those are questions I wrestle with. I heard recently the chances of getting our digital rights back from a traditional publisher are pretty slim. That makes me want to investigate smaller presses and stick with the ebook market.  Then I confuse myself by asking... why should I care about digital rights? Aside from my career plan, I'm working on a couple of romantic suspense novels and a romantic comedy.

 

 

2. How does it differ from other works in its genre?

I don't know that my work differs in any way from what's out there. That's sad, isn't it? If it does differ, readers will have to tell me.

 

 

3. Why do you write what you do?

Do I have a choice? I write what comes to me--romantic comedy, romantic suspense, women's fiction. The other day I got an idea for a time travel. I have the beginning and the ending but no middle. The middle is always the hardest part for me. When ideas pop into my head, I start writing.

 

4. How does your writing process work?
I don't have a tried and true, real-to-me process. Each story dictates how I write it. The Groom Wore Blue Suede Shoes was outlined chapter by chapter. The Last Daughter was the easiest to write. It came to me all at once, pretty complete. I wrote the synopsis first. My short stories were taken from novels that didn't sell or are unfinished. There's no method to my madness.

I wish I could get organized in 2014 and actually learn how to 'churn' out books, novellas and all kinds of stories. All tips welcome.
 

Don't forget to visit Caryl McAdoo on January 6th.  

 

 

From the Slacker ...

It's easy to get out of the habit of blogging. I've really been a slacker, haven't I? In  more ways than one. Hopefully, that will change with the first of the new year. Yes, I'm still alive, and tomorrow I MUST finish up my Christmas shopping--whether I want to or not.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes. Anything here you can relate to?

The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn’t know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly. ~Oswald Chambers

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success--but only if you persist.  ~Isaac Asimo

The more we fear starting a project, the more difficult the project becomes in our mind. This is self-defeating. ~Rob Parnell

Sometimes, when it’s going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a fetish for stationary. The true writer, the born writer, will scribble words on scraps of litter, the back of a bus ticket, on the wall of a cell.   ~David Nicholls

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good. ~William Faulkner

My Christmas stories are featured on  Pamela Thibodeaux's blog on Tuesday. I hope you'll visit and leave a comment.  

Is everyone ready for Christmas?

IWSG: A Blank Mind

 

Today is IWSG day--the first Wednesday of each month. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can follow other IWSG members here  and on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG.

Our purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds.

But unfortunately, I can't think of one thing to say to you: not one word of encouragement or guidance--no words of wisdom whatsoever. I feel like a blackboard with smears of chalky white. All my ideas and plans have been erased leaving nothing but unidentifiable smudges behind. Ever felt that way?

Obviously, I'm in a funk. Maybe you have a word or two for me.

Christmas Short Stories - MINE!

I've always wanted to write a series: short stories or novels. Haven't done it yet. However, I have two Christmas stories available and in my mind, they're a series. I call them my Gift of a Lifetime series. Today I learned my short story, A Child Was Born is FREE. Grab it while you can. If you like it, you might want to read If You Believe only 99 cents. Remember, these are short stories--not novels and not novellas. A Child Was Born is part of an anthology so you'll actually get seven stories FREE.

 

 The links are below. Just click on the red title.

 

IF YOU BELIEVE

Volume 3 in Kathi Macias' 12 Days of Christmas series

 

When Marketing Assistant Bretta Richert helps tie up loose ends for the extravagant Louisiana Wedding Gala held that very night, she's stunned to come face to face with her ex-fiance. Cory is back in town and worse, he's a huge part of the Gala.

Bretta has held grudges and nursed hurts for the past five years, but Cory acts as though they've never been apart. Can he explain why he never called or sent one measly post card? Should Bretta forgive and forget? Will she accept his gift of a lifetime?

 

A Child Was Born

When a cowboy bearing gifts crashes a BFF Christmas Retreat, he gets more than he bargained for ... the gift of a lifetime.

 

You can also purchase Hearts Hearths & Holidays in print if you prefer.

IWSG: Reviews--Gotta Love 'em!

IWSG is the brainchild of our awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you want to become a part of this group, check out our website. I should say, check out our beautiful, informative website. Lots to see and learn there! We're also on Facebook now. Exciting!

Today, let's talk about reviews ... or should I say, let's whine about reviews. Actually, I don't want to talk or whine... I want you to explain them to me. Aren't reviews a little like voting? Can a bad review cancel out a good one? Does each review stand alone? No doubt, they all confuse me.

I've really enjoyed the reviews I've received on my novella, The Last Daughter. I have thirty of them. I know it takes time to figure out what to say, so I appreciate everyone (yes, everyone) who took the time to write one.

It thrills me to think thirty people actually read my book ... and I have friends who read it that don't review. Ever notice how weird friends act around you before they read your book? Like ... they're scared it's going to be crummy and they won't know what to say to you. I understand that. I've felt that way too. And then there are friends who buy it, read it ... don't tell you until afterwards. I understand that too. Better to protect friendships. (I knew a guy who sent his friends detailed critiques of their published books. Ouch!)

I guess my biggest complaint about reviews is when someone writes that there are huge gaps in the story, that it didn't make sense. That hurts. Especially when I worked hard to create/construct a story that makes sense. I want to know where those gaps are. 

A couple of people stated The Last Daughter was a horrible story. For one person, that wasn't strong enough. S/he said, "Horrible. Horrible. Horrible." I guess three horribles makes it worse than horrible. Point taken. Stories that have to do with abuse aren't for everyone. Yeah, it gets a little dark but you read worse in the newspaper.

Oddly, these reviews haven't bothered me. Seriously, they haven't, but they have confused me. Were there gaps because of a glitch in the epublishing, the formatting? Couldn't a reader tell if that happened? Or did I seriously screw up some transitions?

One review that had me really confused was the one that said, "I really enjoyed the book which moved along at a nice pace. The one thing I never like in any novel is when the female allows a man to have the upper hand, as this one did with her ex boyfriend. She should never have allowed him back into her life."

Ex boyfriend? What ex-boyfriend?  She didn't have one. Still, I'm glad she liked my story and thought I had good pacing. That's important.

I did get some excellent reviews. Believe it or not, not all of them came from family and friends. Some of the "fun" ones are HERE.

30 Reviews

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

   




Share with me: how do you feel about reviews? Do you learn anything from them? (I'll be paying closer attention to transitions--just in case!) Some of my friends say they never read them. Really?  C'mon, never?

 

Guest Blogging at Long and Short Reviews

I'm guest blogging on Nov. 1st at Long and Short Reviews. http://www.longandshortreviews.com/category/guest-blogs/  There have been a lot of bloggers during the past four days with each post having its own time slot.

I will appear at 10 A.M. Eastern time.  Here's the link to my post but it won't work until that time:  http://wp.me/p2ZcT9-6fY

Leave a comment tomorrow on that post, and I'll toss you in the pot for a prize--a mask and beads just in time for Mardi Gras! Believe me, Mardi Gras can be just as spooky as Halloween.

Do you have Halloween parties? Dress up in creepy costumes? Have you ever attended Mardi Gras? Share something spooky with us.

Bayou Writers Group presents 2013 Bridge To Publication

Next month--Saturday, November 9, 2013--is our Bayou Writers' Group annual conference called Bridge To Publication. It's a small, cheap conference but we always have quality speakers.  Just look at this line-up.

 

DiAnn Mills - Keynote Speaker: award-winning writer of Christian fiction and writing coach to authors in any genre. First published in 1998, she currently has more than fifty books in print, which combined have sold more than a million and a half copies.  http://www.diannmills.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Jessica Kirland - Agent with Blythe Daniel Agency: She is acquiring and representing adult fiction, young adult fiction, and some non-fiction. She will be taking pitches. http://www.theblythedanielagency.com/jessica-kirckland-joins-as-marketing-literary-agent/

 

Jill Marr - Agent with Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency: Jill is interested in commercial fiction, with an emphasis on mysteries, thrillers and horror, women's commercial fiction and historical fiction. She is also looking for nonfiction by authors who are getting their work published regularly in magazines and who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience. Jill is looking for nonfiction projects in the areas of self-help, inspirational, cookbooks, memoir (she especially loves travel and foodie memoirs), health & nutrition, pop culture, humor and music. She will be taking pitches. http://www.dijkstraagency.com/meet-the-agents.html



Stella Riley - Aquisitions Editor for Soul Mate Publishing - She will be taking pitches. http://www.bayouwritersgroup.blogspot.com/2013/07/more-conference-news.html

 

 

 

 

 

Glen Pitre and Michelle Benoit - Screenwriters. For more information: http://www.bayouwritersgroup.blogspot.com/2013/07/2013-conference-update.html

 

If you want to drive to Lake Charles, LA for this one-day event we'd love to have you. Go to our blog where you can download the registration form.  Did I say cheap? Just look at these prices!

 

FEES:

_________ $35 for BWG Members (Must be received by Nov. 1)
_________ $40 for Non-Members (Must be received by Nov. 1)
_________$50 At the Door on Nov. 9
_________$25 Students— with ID

The Last Daughter - FREE

Just a short quick post to let you all know The Last Daughter, my romantic suspense, is FREE today through Friday. I hope you'll all download it whether you read it or not. Here's the link:

http://tinyurl.com/kzmoxzz

 

If you do read it, please leave an honest review on
Amazon. Flattery will get ME nowhere.

 

Thanks gang!

Blog Talk Radio anyone?

 Today is IWSG day--the first Wednesday of each month. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can follow other IWSG members here  and on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG.

Our purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

The past few weeks have been a whirl wind of activity. Standing face to face and eye to eye and toe to toe with promotion and social media has been a real learning experience. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not good at it. The experts tell us to establish relationships on Facebook and Twitter. To say witty things that get attention and make people laugh. Things that make people want to respond. That's hard. I'm okay with people I know--I can be funny. With friends, my jokes come across as just that--jokes--not rude or hateful sarcasm. How do you distinguish between sounding funny on social media and sounding mean? That has to be an art.

Yesterday I did an interview on Blog Talk Radio promoting my short story, If You Believe, which will release by Helping Hands Press tomorrow, I think. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done. I felt as if I was using words for the very first time. I can't imagine how I sounded--wait! I CAN imagine! I'm a Texan who has lived in Louisiana for the past 30 years. You probably know how I sound now too.  Remind me not to do radio interviews again--and tack TV onto that too. I don't think fast enough for either. I'm not a 'small-talk' person. In fact, I'm incredibly shy. I think it would have been better if I'd been able to look into the face of my interviewer. A friendly face is encouraging. Right?

Anyway... that's where I am. Learning how to promote and talk about my books and stories and ... I don't like it very much.

If you want to hear my blog talk interview, you can go to the link below. My mind went blank a time or two. I'm sure you'll be able to tell. Thank goodness my host was good at covering my silence.

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatisscoop/2013/09/30/jessica-ferguson-author-of-if-you-believe

 

Oh.. but I love Pinterest. Check out my boards. http://www.pinterest.com/jessyferguson/boards/

 

Have you ever been on the radio? Any tips? Share some of your social media secrets.

I. Need. Help.

 

Every Day is a Saturday

Since hubby retired I've lost all track of time. All my summer TV shows have ended. Once Upon A Time starts again next Sunday. Can't wait! Hey, did any of you catch the first episode of Sleepy Hollow? Wow! It grabbed me. I don't remember Irving's Ichabod Crane being so cute. Tonight I'll be enthralled in the second episode. Will  you be watching it?

I watch Duck Dynasty periodically--always good for a laugh and a few life lessons. I know of some Louisiana people that are insulted by them, but really, this bunch could be from anywhere. I'm originally from East Texas and I have family members that look, sound and act just like the Duck Dynasty bunch. Come to think of it, I sound a little like them too.

I'm once again wrapped up in Project Runway--the only reality show I'm dedicated to. Odd since I can barely sew on a button much less create something one could actually wear. My mother almost put me up for adoption during my Home Economics sewing project.

Without my TV shows, I never know if it's a Tuesday, Wednesday or a Thursday. Truthfully, every day feels like a Saturday. Nothing feels real since we left Oklahoma.

 And as you know I haven't blogged.

I suppose all bloggers need a break now and then. Unfortunately, a break can turn into a very long time. I loved my blogging habit. I think I started in 2006 or early 2007. Now, I'm in non-blogging mode. Time to get back on track.

This weekend daughter invited her dad to see the LSU-Auburn game with her. They left around noon and got back to Lafayette around 1:00 A.M.

 While they were doing their thing, I met with a couple of very dear writer friends. When we lived in New Iberia, I'd drive into Lafayette to visit Barbara and Ro. We were all members of the Writer's Guild of Acadiana. That was 27 years ago. After we moved away, the three of us still visited each other, entered contests and went to conferences together. We all eventually got published one after another--books, short stories or poems. Barbara sold ten Silhouette Romances before she quit writing. Ro  published poetry and short pieces and ghost-wrote a nonfiction book. Her novel Hero's Welcome is available now and I can guarantee it's a wonderful read--about the POWs in Louisiana. She studied under Ernest Gaines and her novel--prepublished--won all kinds of awards. I've read it several times but I can still remember my very first reading, and how excited I was that it  was so wonderful. You know how you feel when you get hold of a really good book. I read Hero's Welcome straight through without putting it down.

When hubby, daughter and I moved to Luling, Louisiana, we added another writer friend to our circle: Barbara Colley, author of several romances, a Women's Fiction/saga and the Maid for Murder series set in New Orleans.

I love these friends. I wish we could go back to the way it used to be--meeting every week, keeping each other motivated, encouraging each other. Sad to say nothing stays the same. Believe it or not, I think I'd like it if things were always the same... as long as 'same' was good.

What are you guys doing? Finishing up manuscripts? Blogging daily? Have you sold anything? Let me hear from you.

MEET PAULA MOWERY

 

I was lurking on one of my writer's loops the other day and "saw" Paula Mowery talking about deep point of view. That subject always fascinates me so I asked her to be a guest blogger. Paula is also an acquisitions editor for  Prism Book Group so she knows what she's talking about. You can take a look at her editor bio at www.prismbookgroup.com.
I know you'll enjoy and learn from her post.



DPOV Basics
by Paula Mowery

Through my experience of writing and having books published as well as editing for my acquired authors, I have developed some basic things to look for in terms of deep point of view. POV essentially refers to the character the reader is experiencing the story through at a given time. This perspective can be deepen or honed to allow the reader to connect even more strongly with the POV character. To have the reader feel as though she/he is experiencing what the character is experiencing is what the writer wants to achieve. This is the goal of DPOV.

Here is a mental checklist I use when revising my work or someone else’s:

1. Check for head-hopping. The writer must remain in the same POV

until indicating in some way that they will be changing (insert a wingding or start a new chapter). Please don’t make your reader dizzy by hopping from the thoughts of one character to another. When in a certain POV, write only what that character would do, say, think, observe.

2. Only write what the POV character can sense. The POV character shouldn’t give a physical description of herself/himself. For example: Her cheeks reddened. The POV character can’t see this.
Better: Heat rushed up her neck and into her cheeks.

3. Get rid of telling words and just say it. Even in a POV character’s internal thoughts, she/he wouldn’t think the words thought, felt.
For example: She thought he might be tired. He supposed she needed time to herself.
Better: He might be tired. She needed time to herself.

4. Show in order of occurrence.
For example: She shuddered after the knock at the door and wondered at answering.
Better: A knock on the door jolted her. She shuddered. Was it safe to answer?

5. How would the POV character really be thinking? Would the character use internal questions?
For example: He wondered if he should open the door.
Better: Should he open the door?

6. Show emotion; don’t name it.
For example: She was mad.
Better: She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

DPOV is a skill in progress. Keep working to give the reader that close-up experience with your POV character.

Some resources that have helped me personally are The Emotion Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi and Rivet Your Readers With Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson.

Paula Mowery is a pastor’s wife and former homeschool mom. She has always been an avid reader of Christian fiction. She began writing in the area of nonfiction creating three Bible studies which were self-published. However, she crafted fiction stories which she shared with friends and family. When one of her readers encouraged her to pursue publication, she joined American Christian Fiction Writers, learning more about the world of fiction. Her debut work of fiction is a novella published by Harbourlight, a division of Pelican Book Group – THE BLESSING SEER. She is also an acquiring editor for Prism Book Group.

Learn more about Paula at her blog – www.paulamowery.blogspot.com and you can connect with her on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Read more of her writing in her monthly columns on www.christianonlinemagazine.com.

Her new book releases Sept. 13th and is called Be The Blessing.

 

IWSG: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

JOIN HERE

Today (Wednesday) is IWSG day and it’s the two year anniversary! Founder Alex Cavanaugh has a really big announcement today, something that will take this group to the next level so you might want to skip on over there to learn what it is. IWSG is over three hundred strong. I haven't been a member for the entire two years, but I've loved and benefited from the months I've been involved. Thanks, Alex, for having a giving heart and a heart for all writers.

If you'd like to sign up for the Insecure Writer's Support Group so you can learn from and encourage others, just click on Join Here beneath the IWSG badge. But read my post first!

I collect writer's groups like I collect newspaper clippings, books, magazines and the other treasures that clutter my house. Just can't seem to pass up an interesting something. I still think about the hour glass sand timer I spotted in Target in Yukon, OK, and didn't purchase. It was an interesting something. I still want it. I keep wondering how many pages I could type in three or five minutes. Yeah, I have a timer ... but not an hour glass timer.

Guess you've pegged me as a procrastinating hoarder. Yep, that's me. I love, love, love collecting all sorts of little treasures ... and groups... and classes. And they take up my time.

Recently I've joined the new Women's Fiction Writers Association. I've learned a lot from their discussions on the temporary yahoo site. I have two WF novels in need of revision and the WFWA group will be teaching a course later this month on what to do with the middle of the book. That's usually my downfall--the middle. So in 2014, I want to devote some time to these two books and their middles.

I also belong to Romance Writers of America and several of the RWA chapters; Sisters In Crime and its chapter called Guppies, and some unknown free sites that I hardly visit anymore. At the end of the year, I plan to weed out a lot of these groups. They distract me.

I've always been distracted in my writing--only focusing and concentrating when I absolutely have a deadline. If I don't have a deadline, I may outline a novel one day then start playing around with short stories for Woman's World the next day, instead of starting chapter one of the novel I outlined the day before.

So...am I A.D.D. or something? Or just unfocused? Or lazy? Why can't I focus on mysteries or romance or women's fiction? We all know successful writers don't hop, skip and jump from one genre to another, never mastering any of them.

Tell me, do you have trouble focusing? What do you do to keep yourself on track? What carrot do you dangle? Has the Internet done this to us? Or do I just need professional help? Am I a sicko?

Please share your tips for staying on track because "like sands of the hour glass, these are the days of our lives."

Book Release - TODAY!

Today my book is up on Amazon. I didn't schedule any blog tours, and in fact, I haven't even announced it on Facebook yet. I have trouble promoting myself. Maybe I should pretend this book belongs to someone else. I can always sing someone else's praises.

If you haven't read Alex Cavanaugh's guest post on maintaining momentum, scroll down to the previous post and read it. My problem is ... I don't have a lot of momentum to maintain!

So I'm telling my followers here ... if you purchase The Last Daughter, I hope you'll review it on Amazon, tweet about it, talk about it on GoodReads. Even if you don't like it, I hope you'll review it. It's the silence that's the killer--not the bad reviews.

This is an exciting day. Very different from holding a print book in my hands, but fun just the same. Celebrate with me.

MEET ALEX J. CAVANAUGH

Alex Cavanaugh is one of my writing heroes. He is founder of the Insecure Writers Support Group, and almost every blog I visit, I see an encouraging comment from him. He does a great job of promoting others too. During the month of September, Alex starts a challenging blog tour promoting his new book, and he'll participate in his first twitter party. Get dates and details HERE. Alex knows his blog subject well; he maintains momentum!

Maintaining Author Momentum

by Alex J. Cavanaugh

 

Building an author platform takes time. Looking back, I now understand why my publisher wanted me online a year before the release of my first book. It took me a while to network, make friends, and build momentum.

 

Most authors grasp the efforts required before and during a book release. They do blog tours, appearances, interviews, giveaways, and start planning the next book. When the dust settles, they retreat back into the writing cave and out of the spotlight.

 

Call me clueless, but I missed that last part!

 

I slowed down while writing and ventured online just a little bit less, but I never ground to a halt. Hey, it took me a year to build that momentum! If I lost it, I’d have to do it all over again. I was determined that wouldn’t happen. (I’m ambitiously lazy.)

 

Now some writers maintain momentum by producing a lot of books in a short amount of time. I’m a slow writer though, so I knew that plan wouldn’t work for me. I had to keep promoting, which meant maintaining my online presence.

 

Of course, I don’t like promoting my own books, so did other things instead. I just kept building my blog and Twitter following, co-hosted the A to Z Challenge, participated in blogfests, and started the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. After all, I wasn’t online just to promote my book – I was there to support and encourage others.

 

Did it work? Well, eleven months after its release, my first book hit the Amazon Best Seller chart.

 

I also wrote my next book during that time, and when it was released, it also hit the Best Seller charts. Both books eventually soared to the top of the Amazon UK charts as well. And while I’m blessed with a publisher who promotes my work, even they said my online activity had a huge impact on sales.

 

Maintaining momentum is important. So is consistency. Together it’s like a heartbeat, one that keeps your platform alive.

 

I know every author is different, but if I’d pulled back and vanished, my chances of success would’ve also vanished. No Amazon Best Sellers. No Insecure Writer’s Support Group. No blog growth or opportunity to really make a difference in this community. And it would’ve been a great loss.

 

Guess there’s something to be said about being clueless!

 

Alex J. Cavanaugh

http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/AlexJCavanaugh

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4287922.Alex_J_Cavanaugh

 

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The author of the Amazon bestsellers, CassaStar and CassaFire, his third book, CassaStorm, will be released September 17, 2013.

 

MEET ANNA CASTLE

I first met Anna Castle in my Sisters In Crime/Guppy writing group and couldn't resist asking her to prepare a guest blog for me. She's an interesting person, as you'll find out when you read this post. Anna recently retired from managing a digital archive at the University of Texas at Austin. Writing is now her full time job. Isn't Anna Castle a great name? We'll be seeing on it her book covers soon! Visit her website to learn more about her books.

The Joy of Research

by Anna Castle

The Internet is great for overviews, generating ideas and picking out clothes or cars for contemporary characters, but it can only get you so far. The library is indispensable for a writer of historical fiction like me. But the most fun can be had by getting out there and looking at the world in which your story is set.

My to-be-published-someday-soon Francis Bacon mystery series is set in Elizabethan England. I can't travel back in time and London has changed a tad since 1585, but many wonderful old buildings have been preserved. Museums are full of intriguing furniture, tools and other things my characters might have used. Places like Kentwell Hall (http://www.kentwell.co.uk/) host Tudor-themed events where costumed re-enactors engage in traditional tasks. I found a character at Kentwell.

I do a lot of walking, a major pastime in the UK. The cities may have changed, but parts of the landscape would still be familiar to my characters. I love the English countryside and trust me, it is all kinds of different from Texas, where I live. They have rain: lots of it. They have these soft, cool breezes drifting out from under dark thickets. In Texas, thickets are full of snakes and rarely cool or soft. Descriptions from my favorite British authors make more sense now that I've walked where they walked when they were writing. Christopher Marlowe might have walked up this very road on his way from Canterbury to Cambridge. How cool is that?

One of the characters in my current WIP, set in Victorian London, finds herself obliged to burglarize some Mayfair houses and country estates. (Her intentions are honorable, I assure you!) My problem was getting her and her crew in and out with the goods undetected. Crime fiction lends a whole new perspective to touring the stately home!

I study these houses like a villain, not an architect. If it weren't for those burglar bars (surely modern), could my gal get in these windows? Then how far is it to the library? Which rooms will she pass on the way? Do they have gas lamps on the landings?

To make the most of my trips, I do a lot of planning; online, of course. I look for houses in my period of interest on sites like the invaluable National Trust (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/). Wikipedia has lists of museums in most major cities with links to their websites, where you can get hours of operation and directions via many forms of transport. The Brits have lots of online resources for ramblers: favorite walks, long and short, all over the country. Everybody everywhere has lots of travel info these days. I know where my characters are from and how they spend their days, so I try to go where they would go and see whatever I can see. I hope these experiences enrich my books. And hey: nice work if you can get it!

 

Anna Castle is writing two mystery series. The Francis Bacon series is set in Elizabethan England. The first book, Murder by Misrule, will be published one way or another in 2014. The Lost Hat, Texas series is set in the present, in the hill country west of Austin, where Anna lives. Black and White and Dead All Over is under revision. Find out more at www.annacastle.com.

 

Grieving Elmore Leonard

 

October 11, 1925 - August 20, 2013

 

Elmore Leonard said something years ago that stuck with me: When something sounds like writing, I rewrite it. 

 

I think that's great advice for all of us--no matter what we write.

 

You can find a number of articles talking about Mr. Leonard and his writing during this time, or you can visit his website. Since I never met him, there's nothing I can add except this:

 

Awhile back, I entered a mystery writing contest and asked for a critique. One of my judges wrote the following, and it's the best compliment I've ever received on my writing.

 

Voice/Writing style:

Judge 1: There's definitely a passion in your writing about the topic. I believe you genuinely are enthusiastic about the characters, and that shines through.You have a streamlined writing style very similar to Elmore Leonard, and it's excellent. Work on pacing and plot, and your style will carry you far.

 

Rest in Peace, Mr. Leonard.

We'll miss you.

And you won't be forgotten.



Dreading the Read-Through? Me too!

Here's the banner advertising The Twelve Days of Christmas. Things are moving so fast with the production of this book, these stories, I'm nervous. My deadline is Sept. 1 and the release of my single story is Oct. 1. I just finished it today... well, the first draft. Tomorrow I'll read it in its entirety to see if it makes sense. If it doesn't .. panic time!

I don't know how writers deal with multiple deadlines. Or multiple deadlines with multiple publishers. Juggling stories and dates, characters, plotlines and settings ... oh my! I don't care how many white boards or excel sheets they have--it has to be mind-boggling and nerve wracking! What if a story won't come? What if an author finds a major, MAJOR plot hole that changes/prevents what she'd originally planned, promised in the original pitch?

Can you tell I'm dreading reading my 8000 word story, expecting the worst? I've made my list of things I know I'll have to add and flesh out. That'll up the word count some. I'll read a hard copy with pen in hand. After I do the final revision, I'll send it to a reader/freelance editor who'll do her part.

When you do a final read-through of a project, how do you approach it? What do you look for? Do you have a weakness when it comes to writing short fiction--with characterization, plotting, conflict? 
Or maybe I should ask ... when you read a short story, what ruins it for you, what will make you quit reading? Share!

MEET SANDRA ORCHARD

When Sandra Orchard wrote this post, she had no idea she was writing to, and about, me. I'm one of those writers who has trouble determining my main character's goal. If she'd asked me what Cory's goal is, I'd have said, to get the girl. Or I may have asked ... when? before he meets Bretta or after? Before he realizes his life is about to change, or after it changes? Okay, I tend to complicate things--as you see, so Sandra's use of the word urgent really helps. To read an excerpt of her books Fatal Inheritance and Deadly Devotion just click the titles.

WHAT’S YOUR HERO’S GOAL?

by Sandra Orchard

Your novel’s main character needs a goal.

You know this, right?

But do you really understand what it means?

At a writer's conference I recently attended, I asked every single writer who had an appointment with me this question: What is your hero's goal for the story?

Only one out of eight gave me a satisfactory answer. Most had a lot to say about what the hero or heroine would learn through the story, especially spiritually, since we're talking Christian fiction, but very few of the writers I talked to had nailed down a concrete, visible, urgent story goal for their main character.

If you're writing commercial fiction, and want to be published, your hero needs a goal.

A concrete goal.

New writers often get confused by the lingo. Writing teachers talk about long-term and short-term goals, internal goals and external goals, needs and wants, not to mention scene goals.

I find that most Christian writers don't have a problem with the character's long-term goal, which often tends to be abstract. It's what the character wants (or needs) out of life in general.

Where writers run into trouble is in identifying what is often called the "short-term goal". I prefer to call it the character's story goal, to differentiate it from the very short-term changing goals the character has in each scene.

The character's story goal not only needs to be concrete, it needs to be achievable within the time constraints of the story. The story is over when your main character reaches his/her goal or fails to reach it.

Now, if you're thinking, I write romance…the hero's goal is to win the girl, think again.

Okay, occasionally, winning the girl is the singular story goal, but it's not enough for the goal to simply be concrete and achievable.

It needs to be urgent.

If the hero could wait until next month or next year to pursue his goal or solve the problem then there's no urgency to propel the story forward.

We suspense writers like to call this urgency the ticking bomb. If the hero doesn't reach the goal by a certain time, boom.

In my newest release, Fatal Inheritance, my heroine's goal is to hang onto the century farmhouse she's inherited from her recently deceased grandparents.

Her sister and brother-in-law are fighting the will. Land developers are vying for the land. One of them, or maybe someone else, wants her out of the house so desperately, he or she goes to great lengths to scare Becki Graw into leaving.

As for urgency…

Since the house is in a rural community, that isn't a commutable distance from where Becki worked, she quit her job. She planned to live on her savings until she found a job nearby. However, she hadn't counted on necessary house repair expenses, nor on the suppressed economy in the area that makes finding a job near impossible.

Added to that, her sister's threat to break the will cannot be ignored. She is determined to make it happen yesterday.

Then when Becki cannot be persuaded to go quietly into the night, the threats mount and her choices morph to give up the house or die. Which of course, adds urgency to the cop-next-door's goal to catch the person behind the threats.

When choosing a goal for your main character, be sure his or her motivation is strong. He or she must have something significant enough at stake to keep pushing forward when it would be easier to just quit. But that’s a lesson for another day.

Any questions? 

 

Bio:

Sandra Orchard is a multi-award-winning Canadian author of inspirational romantic suspense/mysteries. Her summer releases include: Fatal Inheritance (Aug, Love Inspired Suspense) and Deadly Devotion (June, Revell). She is an active member in American Christian Fiction Writers, The Word Guild, and Romance Writers of America. To find out more about her novels, or read interesting bonus features, please visit www.sandraorchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard