Oct 27

Invention

Okay, as we’re getting ready for NaNoWriMo (it’s just days away, folks!), it seems timely to talk about invention for a minute.

What is invention, after all?

Let’s blow the dust off an old Latin text by Horace (from the Ars Poetica):

Either follow tradition or invent what is self-consistent. … If it is an untried theme you entrust to the stage, and if you boldly fashion a fresh character, have it kept to the end even as it came forth at the first, and have it self-consistent. (Horace, Ars Poetica, 119-127, trans. H. Rushton Fairclough)

Let’s consider first why Horace suggests to his readers that they “follow tradition.”  That’s not invention! you say.  For us blessed moderns, we scoff at this notion of invention.  But let’s take a closer look.

We have to recognize that for the classical Latin poets as well as for poets of the Middle Ages, invention largely meant revisiting and refreshing old stories.  Think of the blind bard in the tavern, who spins his lays and amplifies and alters as he travels from town to town.  And think of the bards who succeed him, taking his tales, adding their own spice and flavor.  That, for Horace and the medieval poets, is the very heart of invention.  As Geoffrey Chaucer would put it, it’s tilling old fields and growing new corn.  It’s re-imagining.

And, given that Those Who Know tell us that there are really only like 7 plots in the entire known universe of language and literature, there really may be something to what Horace has to say.

Let’s take an example.

Lady meets Gentleman at a party.  Lady likes Gentleman, but Gentleman scorns her for being a country bumpkin.  Gentleman’s BFF likes Lady’s Sister.  Gentleman thinks Sister isn’t giving BFF the time of day and tells him to find a new love.  Lady is totally enraged, so when Gentleman discovers that, lo and behold, he loves Lady, she rejects him with scorn.  Gentleman sets out to win Lady’s heart by kindnesses, even helping to save Lady’s other sister Floozy from a disgraceful situation.  In the end, Lady is won over and marries Gentleman, Sister marries BFF, and Floozy and Dude move away…far away…much to the relief of all.

It’s Pride and Prejudice, right?

Ye-es…but it doesn’t have to be.  We could take this skeleton of a situation and bones of a plot and write any number of riffs on it.  What if we set the story in the year 2050?  What if we set it in 1920s Boston?  What if the well-beloved forms of Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane, and Bingley (not to mention Lydia and Wickham) were replaced with fully modern individuals with similar character traits but different situations and struggles?  In making these changes, do we not have the makings of a new story, which has all the more depth and interest because it hearkens back to the story that gave it its beginning?

It’s a legitimate form of invention, this “following tradition” business.  Don’t sneeze at it too hastily…you may cheat yourself out of a fantastic treasure trove of inspiration.

But what about Horace’s other directive, the one to those who choose to blaze their own literary trail?  He charges said trail-blazers with the responsibility of self-consistency.  What does that mean, exactly?

It does not mean that your character cannot have an arc.

Characters who don’t change, adapt, and overcome in relation to their circumstances are paper dolls.  You can change their outfits, but they still have that stupid grin on their flat face no matter what.

Ugh.  No.

It does mean that the arc your character follows needs to be consistent with his nature, personality, and traits with which you endow him at the story’s outset.  It needs to make sense.  J. Leigh alluded to this in her marvelous post on Wrangling Runaway Stories.  To use her example, you can’t have Bob, heretofore an ordinary soul, suddenly have the ability to wield MIGHTY MAGICKS in face of almost certain destruction.  (BTW, if you haven’t read that post, go do it right now and then come back.  It’s hilarious…and very instructive!)  Bob needs to find a way out of the conflict that is consistent with his established character.

Bottom line?  Plot and character are absolutely intertwined.  Underestimate their intimate connection at your own peril!  This also means that whatever character elements you establish on page 1 had better either still be there on page THE END or change in a believable way.  This is what Horace means by self-consistency.

So, where does this brief consideration of invention leave us as we contemplate our NaNoWriMo paths?

Story material is all around you.  You can make a story from scratch, or you can reimagine a favorite story or myth in a totally new way, making it all your own.  Either way, you’re on your way to NaNoWriMo success!

Happy inventing!

Oct 20

Preparing for NaNoWriMo

Ahhh, it’s that time of year again.

The leaves are beginning to turn, the night air is crisp, stews and hot cocoa are back on the menu, and writers everywhere are gearing up for the plunge we affectionately call NaNoWriMo.

Here at SisterMuses, J. Leigh and I are both preparing for what promises to be a totally awesome NaNoWriMo, and we hope you’ll join us as we blog about the trials and joys of pounding out a novel in a month.  Whether you are a fellow writer or just want to chuckle at us from the sidelines, please sign up to follow us and leave your comments!  There will be some fun giveaways and other exciting stuff coming your way!

So, now that you are signed up and ready to go, let’s get on to the topic of today’s post, which is on preparing for NaNoWriMo.  Over the next couple of weeks, we will have more detailed posts on planning, plotting, and scheduling your NaNoWriMo project.  This general overview is meant to inspire you to start thinking through these things and considering how you will accomplish your NaNoWriMo goals.

Step 1: Get yourself registered!  

No, not just for the SisterMuses blog.  Head over to NaNoWriMo’s official site and register.  Now you’re ready to track your progress and enjoy the company of fellow crazy passionate writers (see Step 5)!

Step 2: Figure out what you’re writing.

For this year’s NaNoWriMo, J. Leigh is working on a fabulous new book called Ethereal.  I’m working on The Lords of Askalon, the sequel to Silesia: The Outwordler.  Our choices were fairly obvious.  Well, except for J. Leigh’s.  (J. Leigh!  Where did that come from?  So exciting!).  Anyway.  If you are new to the whole novel writing thing, or if you haven’t worked on a new project in a while, this is a great time to contemplate the inner chambers of your imagination.  Dust those cobwebs out of the corners.  Open a window and let in the sunshine!

What genre would you like to work in?  Who is your main character?  What’s the conflict?  Do you need to do some research (if you’re writing historical fiction of any kind, you’d better be nodding your head right now!)?

This is probably the hardest part of the process, unless you already have a seedling project in mind.  Mapping out a project takes time. That’s why we’re starting now, when there are still a couple of weeks before the starting pistol fires.

Step 3: Get a basic plot outline together.

If you’re going to write a novel in a month — NaNoWriMo’s official word count is 50,000 (approx. 200 pages) — then you really do need a plan, even if you’re not really a planner.  Your outline doesn’t have to be extensive, but it should include major plot points and perhaps a subplot or two.  If you start visualizing scenes as you work on your outline, then write them out and keep them!  If nothing else, they get your mind onto the right story track and prime those creative juices.

You should also try to pin down your main characters.  Get their physical characteristics straight, figure out who they were before the world of the story happened to them.  A story that moves well through plot points but has dismally shallow characters might get you to the word count, but is that really your only goal here?  (Maybe it is…the thrill of writing 50K words might just be too much to resist).  But for those of you who, like J. Leigh and I, are using NaNoWriMo to improve your craft and make serious progress on some projects, then take your preparatory work seriously.

Step 4: Check your schedule.

50K words doesn’t happen overnight.  Okay.  50K coherent words doesn’t happen overnight.  In order to meet this goal, you’ll need to be deliberate about your writing time.  Take a look at your schedule and find a way to block out some consistent writing time — maybe 20-30 minutes a day.  Figure out what kind of progress you need to make in each writing session, and realize that not every session will be uniform in productivity.  You might sit down one day and write 10 pages before you blink.  Other days, the evil cursor might blink at you from the blank page…for your entire allotted time.  It happens.

Step 5: Find a writing buddy or join the NaNoWriMo community forums.

Having a writing buddy is very encouraging.  I love working with J. Leigh, and we have a great time sharing our ideas, helping each other solve plot problems, or listening with sympathy when characters don’t do what they’re told.  For something as intense as NaNoWriMo, it helps to have encouragement from another writer who is doing the same thing.  And who knows?  You might network with some pretty fantastic fellow authors and build a working relationship that extends beyond this coming month of madness.

There you have it!  A roadmap to November 1, 2011.

Are you ready?

We are!

(P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe!!!)

Sep 27

Perseverance

If you read most author blogs, there’s one theme in common across the board: successful writers are the ones who stick with it, no matter how tough or discouraging things get.  We all laugh in amazement when we hear how many rejections Author X received before publishing The Blockbuster of the Century or how many years Author Y toiled over the manuscript of A Great Literary Work.  Wow, we think to ourselves. That’s perseverance for you!

Exactly.

Word-wielding is a writer’s chief skill; perseverance is his chief virtue.  It’s so tempting to pitch the keyboard through the window when the plot tangles itself in knots, when your ninety-ninth rejection comes to your inbox, or when your words seem to disappear into The Void.  Writing does have its seasons.  And for some of us, spring will be a long time coming.  That doesn’t mean we should give up.  In fact, if you were born a writer, you won’t be able to give up.   Writing is in your blood, and no matter how cold a reception the world gives your work, the words keep coming anyway.

But let’s face it.  We do tend to measure success by book sales.  And when a big fat goose egg greets you every time you check your sales report for the month, it can get mighty discouraging.  How do you offer yourself encouragement?  Better yet, how do you strive harder to achieve success (measured in units sold)?

This is a quandary that I am currently working through myself.  After the initial wave of euphoria that came with seeing my novel in print, things settled into a rhythm of…nothingness.  Goose eggs as far as the eye can reach.  Frustration replaced euphoria.  And I turned my back upon my little book and said, “Do whatever you will.  But don’t expect me to help.”

Well, clearly, that wasn’t the right response either.  So I’m back on the upswing now, ready to lend a hand to my floundering brainchild.  I got on the phone to set up a few book signings.  I started looking for book fair venues to offer my book to the public.  I offered an alluring discount on my ebook.

If you’re in the same situation, take a few minutes to consider some things:

  1. What’s your target audience?
  2. What’s the best way to engage your target audience?
  3. What’s the most efficient use of your resources (time and money) in engaging your audience?  Where will your time and/or dollars spent go the farthest and reap the most return?
  4. What is your goal?  1000 copies sold?  10,000 copies? A million?  Get a number in your head.  When I worked in direct sales, we talked a lot about goal-setting.  Make a poster or a screen-saver that reminds you of your vision for success.  You may not get all the way to your goal, but you’ll get a lot farther than if you had no goals at all.  Selling 700 copies is a heck of a lot better than selling 10.  Right?
  5. Don’t sell yourself short.  Believe you can reach the goal you set for yourself.  Get out of your own way!

There are a million and one quippy sayings for this, all to the effect of “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  Don’t let frustration get you down.  Figure out where you want to go, and find a way to get there.

It’s all you.

Aug 11

The Essential Checklist for the Self-Published Author

It’s an unfortunate thing that there’s a stigma associated with self-publishing.  I don’t think most people look at a self-employed plumber and say, with a shake of their heads, “Gosh.  I guess he must not be good enough to cut it at a big plumbing company.”  Most of us, I think, are happy to support these brave, self-employed souls and others like them because a) they give you great service/products, b) they give you great value, and c) they’re living the American dream, man!!!!

Okay.  So what about self-published authors?

We’re definitely living the American dream.

Yeah.

Great quality products?  Not so much, sometimes.

Great value?  Well, if you’ve just shelled out $14.95 for a book riddled with typos and grammar that would make a seven-year-old schoolboy blush, that’s not value.  Not even remotely.

If you are an author and are ready to take full control of your writing career by taking the self-publishing plunge, do us all a favor — your fellow authors and readers alike — and make sure you work through the following list before you bless the world with your work.

Run spellcheck.   (No, this is not a joke.) 

I recently had the privilege of judging for a self-published writer’s contest, and I was absolutely stunned by what I saw.  Not only had some of these authors shelled out for the entry fee, but they actually have their work out there.  In the marketplace.  Circulating in the sea of commerce…or at least floating with the aid of buoys.  Please, for the love of all that is holy, run spellcheck on your book before you waste your time and money and your readers’ time and money.

Get an editor.  (This isn’t a joke either.) 

If you are well-versed in things grammatical and know your stuff, at least get a friend to beta-read for you.  It’s really invaluable.  You just can’t catch every inconsistency or flub.  A literary (or at least literate) friend with a fresh pair of eyes will help you spot them.

If you aren’t well-versed in comma usage, or the use of capital letters, or when to use an exclamation point, then please (please) hire a professional editor to help you.  I promise, it’s worth it.  If you care about what you’re putting out there with your name on it, it’s worth it to make sure your product is top notch.

Editors can help you with content as well.  Make sure you have someone who will tell you if your characters are flat, your plot redundant or boring, or your universe stale.  Take your book to a critique group and ask them to help you improve your story.  Be humble and accept criticism.  It will make you a better writer and help you produce a better product for your customers (your readers).

Writing is a craft.  It takes work.  It takes practice.  It requires study.  Anyone can type words on paper; not everyone can write.  If you want to be a writer, take some classes, belong to a writer’s group (even if it’s an online one), attend writers’ conferences, or just make a point to study your craft!  Take your work seriously and readers will take you seriously.

Double-check your formatting (interior and exterior).

Make good use of your proof copy.  Give it an honest read.  Look for stuff like funky spacing, blank pages, or floating chapter glyphs that appear mysteriously in the middle of your text.  Looking at the page — whether it’s on an e-reader or in hard copy — is part of the experience of reading.  Give your reader text that’s easy on the eyes, and they will love you for it.

Similarly, have a cover that conveys your story.  Covers sell books, so be sure you give yours the attention it deserves.

Have a marketing plan.

This would be necessary even if you scored a book contract from a publisher.  You need to know how to get your book into the hands of your readers.  Start contemplating venues for book signings early on in the process.  Start tweeting.  Get a Facebook page.  Work on building a fan base.  Think outside the box.  Be creative!

Marketing, for many authors, is like Edward Rochester’s crazy first wife, locked away and never looked at or let out if it can be helped.  Face the monster.  It’s just part of the writing process.

What’s that?

Oh, I see.

You thought writing was an easy career.  Effortless, as it were.

It’s not.  It’s a lot of work.  Beautifully rewarding work…but work.

Spellcheck and proofread your book.

Yes, I said that already.  It’s that important.

Self-publishing and the ebook revolution are changing the face of publishing as we know it.  Let’s follow the example of the savvy self-employed craftsman: put out a good quality product, make it a good value, and chase down that American dream!

Jul 19

Storytime

Well, S.K. is on vacation so you’re stuck with another blog post from me.  (Hope you’re enjoying the beach, S.K.  Without me.  Yep…enjoying mojitos on the beach, with the waving palm trees and parrots……without me….).  (I’m only slightly jealous.  Slightly.)

Anyway.  Angsting aside, I just read a fabulous blog post by Jane Friedman called Why Take the Time to Read Your Work Out Loud?  As the title suggests, she talks about how important it is for writers to read their works aloud as part of the editing/polishing process.  Most of the comments that I read concur with her argument…as did I.

I completely agree with what Jane Friedman and her commenters said about reading aloud.  Kind of like changing the font and the page layout, reading out loud makes you see the text of the story in a different way.  I think maybe your brain receives the information differently when it is heard rather than read.  I can read the same chapter twenty times, skimming it over in my word processor, but when I start reading it aloud, all of a sudden I hear the poetry of the text (for lack of a better word).  How it flows, how the sounds fall, how the sentences roll off the tongue…or get stuck on it like a piece of dog fur.  Like the others noted, I get a sense of where I get bored, or where the descriptions don’t work, or the dialogue sounds clunky or repetitive…or even those places where I accidentally wrote in inconsistencies (“Wait, she’s sitting down, but a paragraph ago she was standing up….”).  It’s also great for catching typos that I would otherwise unconsciously ignore.

But the post and comments got me thinking about something else.

Continue reading

Jul 05

Wrangling Runaway Stories

J. Leigh would like to officially apologize for not blogging in ages.  J. Leigh has been very busy.

J. Leigh will now stop referring to herself in the third person.

Funny how so often my ideas for blog posts are spawned by the various and sundry issues I face while trying to write.  So right now, I’m struggling with what I imagine is a common predicament for writers — stories that just won’t behave.

As I embarked on the sequel to Down a Lost Road, I decided to be a responsible writer and start with a plot outline.  Then I got carried away and actually started a chapter outline.  So there I was, doing a fairly reasonable job following my outlines, when all of a sudden my characters went and got themselves into trouble.  Seriously, I don’t know how they did it.  One minute, they were traipsing along the outlined path, and then, just like that, everything went wrong.

It totally wasn’t my fault, but I wrote them into a corner.  Literally.

So now what?

Let me make up a fictitious example of a runaway story, so I don’t go giving away exciting spoilers about Subverter.

Let’s say you have a character, Bob.  Bob is a rather ordinary soul who is summoned to undertake an extraordinary adventure to SAVE THE WORLD (might as well be cliche, right?).  So Bob goes on a QUEST.  On his way he meets two MIGHTY WARRIORS named Bill and Ted (heh. O.o).  They have a nice chat about SAVING THE WORLD, then Bob goes on his way.  Two cities later, he runs into the SUPREME EVIL BADDY‘s henchman, Vator and Soron.  In your plot outlining, this was the point where Bob secretly spies on Vator and Soron, discovering the true extent of their EVIL SCHEMES, then escaping unnoticed to warn the Impressive Duke of Aussom of the threat.

But unfortunately, as your fingers move over the keyboard, strange new words start flowing onto the screen.  Bob falls from his perch above Vator and Soron, landing right in the midst of their EVIL SCHEMING.  After a moment of shock, when Bob might have gotten away, Vator wields MIGHTY MAGICKS and delivers a devastating wound on poor Bob, while Soron LAUGHS MANIACALLY from the background.  Vator is weakened by his mighty spell, and Soron is laughing so hard his evil eyes are blinded by tears, so Bob seizes the opportunity to claw his way into a DINGY CELLAR.  There he locks himself in as he quavers on the edge of unconsciousness.

Continue reading

Jun 28

Build Your Own Writers’ Conference

There’s a reason why many companies have yearly seminars.  It gives employees a chance to fire up their enthusiasm for their company and its products or services.  It offers them a chance to unplug from the ordinary and have some fun while networking with others in their field.  And it gives them the chance to learn about industry trends or acquire and refine a new skillset.

This, in a nutshell, is what makes a good writers’ conference: relax, fire up, network, learn.

But let’s face it.  In this tough economy, digging around in your car and between your couch cushions for enough spare change to pay for a writers’ conference is far from most people’s minds.  That change is supposed to pay for gas, after all.  It’s very possible that you might get a guilt trip for being honest about your expense-to-income ratio: “You should invest in your career.  That $500 + airfare + hotel + rental car is an investment in your future!”  Ummm, yeah.

We all want to invest in our career as writers.  We all want to “make it” — defined as whatever your own personal goals for your writing happen to be.  But for many of us, attending a writers’ conference, much as we would love to do it, is just out of the question.

Solution?  Design your own writers’ conference!

Let’s look at a few of the amazing resources right in your own backyard, sorted according to our four aims listed above.

RELAX

One of the major draws of going away to a writers’ conference is just that: going away.  Unplugging from the daily grind.  The good news: you don’t have to travel a great distance to “get away” for a little while.  Scope out the state parks in your area.  If you live somewhere where the weather is pleasant this time of year (not Texas), take a notebook and a pen or your laptop and a picnic lunch and strike out into the wilderness for an afternoon.  If you live somewhere that is unpleasant outside at this time of year (Texas), then perhaps there is a great indoor location that would work for you.  Even a fine coffee shop or wine bar would be excellent.  It doesn’t need to be an all-day, sit-in-the-lobby-of-a-hotel-you-aren’t-staying-at affair.  Find a special getaway spot that fits your personality and allows you some down-time to recharge your batteries.

Cost: zero – $

FIRE UP

One of the best ways to get fired up about your writing is to listen to an inspirational speaker.  There’s nothing like a supercharged speech to rev the engine of productivity!  So often, we fall into a rut and become discouraged.  We need someone with a plan, someone who’s been there and done all that, to set our feet back on the path to success.

Once again, there is no need to travel anywhere to find motivation!  Thanks to the fact that we live in a virtual age, there are any number of webinars available for writers — some free, some with a relatively minimal charge.  Check out the Writer’s Digest University  for a selection of great offerings.

Perhaps a good book might inspire your creativity and productivity.  The Writer’s Digest Shop has a huge selection of great writerly materials.  Your local library and Amazon are other great places to find books for writers.  More on this later in the post.

There are often author events hosted by local libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops.  Look for advertisements for these events and try to attend a few.  Helping a fellow author is never a wasted effort, and you may be able to do a little networking of your own!

Cost: zero – $$

NETWORK

Of all the purposes of a conference, this one at first blush seems to be the most difficult to come by outside an actual conference.  But it need not be difficult at all!  Here are a few options to consider for finding new ways to network with other writers:

  • Join a new writers’ forum.  There are so many online networking sites for writers of all types.  Perhaps you already belong to one or a few.  Why not browse around for a new group?  Perhaps visit some websites of a few of your favorite authors.  Sometimes they have their own online communities, or perhaps they belong to some.  In either case, it might give you a good place to start looking.
  • Join a new writers’ support group in your area.  If you don’t already belong to a local writers’ group, perhaps now is a good time to join.  If you live in a city, there are likely to be several different groups available to you.
  • Start your own writers’ group! If, after many fruitless searches, you cannot find a local group that suits you, perhaps you can fill the void by starting a group yourself.  Why not?  Someone has to start these things, after all!
  • Attend author signings or readings.  As mentioned above, this can be a great opportunity to meet other writers (and readers too)!  Who knows what doors might be opened through such contacts?

Cost: zero – $

LEARN

Just because you can’t attend a conference this year doesn’t mean you can’t work on your craft or become more industry savvy.  Here are some great, inexpensive ways to feed your knowledge.

  • Follow some successful writers and industry insiders on Twitter and Facebook.
  • Find a few writerly blogs (like this one!) that are fun to read and offer tidbits on bettering your writing.
  • Use your library!  Some have better selections of writing books than others, but chances are good that you’ll find something useful.
  • Haunt used bookstores for writing books.
  • If there are some books you know you want, look for them on Amazon, alibris, or the Writer’s Digest shop.

Here are a few books that might help you get started (I found these at my local library this weekend!):

  1. The Portable Writers’ Conference
  2. The Writer’s Idea Book (Jack Heffron)
  3. The Writer’s Idea Workshop (by Jack Heffron)

Cost: zero – $$

BOTTOM LINE

Don’t let finances and the economy prevent you from bettering yourself as a writer.  You don’t have to lay out a small fortune to attend a conference.  With a little creativity, self-motivation, a library card and internet access, you can put together your own workshop and recharge your writing!

Jun 16

A Matter of Perspective, Part II

I’d like to continue J. Leigh’s discussion of POV vs. perspective.  This is such an important topic for writers, and something that can make or break a story if not executed correctly.  In the last post, J. Leigh defined perspective as a refinement or narrowing of the larger category of point-of-view.  When writing, you have to know whose head(s) you’re in — not only capturing how would the world look through those eyes, but also how that character would express what he or she perceives in language.  In 1st person POV, incidentally, the focus on language is even more crucial because you’re inside that character’s head all the time; there is no narrator or outside “God voice”.

So that’s by way of summary — by all means, though, if you missed that first post, go back and read it! 🙂

I want to pick up the discussion of perspective with respect to embedded narratives — stories within the main story, such as a flashback or a narrated account within the context of the larger plot.

Example: Joe Shady meets his pal Slim at the local pub.  Through the haze of smoke and liquor, Slim asks Joe what he’s been doing for the last three months.  Joe replies, “You would hardly believe it.”  End of chapter.  The next chapter and the three chapters after that are told in Joe’s voice as he narrates his adventures.  This is an embedded narrative.  For a more classical example, Book 4 of Vergil’s Aeneid — Aeneas’s tale of the fall of Troy in the court of Dido — is perfect.

Okay, let’s mix it up.  Get your thinking caps on, ladies and gents.

Let’s say you want to write a story told in a retrospective voice (older Joe remembering younger Joe).  This would allow the older Joe’s narrator voice to be more sophisticated than younger Joe’s dialogue voice.  Now, suppose you use this voice for most of the story, until young Joe catches up to older Joe.  Can you also include an embedded narrative in the first (retrospective) section?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes, if you are careful and know what you’re doing.

The key to pulling off a complicated layering of perspectives is to inform your readers that this is what you’re doing and then execute it with surgical precision.  Perhaps you could include a prologue to set up the retrospective tone of the first section of the book.  Set up the embedded narrative clearly and end it clearly.  On the sentence level, be sure you don’t confuse your verb tenses.  When the voices come together in the present, unify the voice across all levels of your writing (sentence, paragraph, chapter, book).  If present Joe is 17, then use a 17-year-old’s voice for the rest of the book, not a 35-year-old voice.

As J. Leigh pointed out in her post, the perspective and the P.O.V. have to be appropriate to the story.  The same applies to the decision to layer perspectives.  An pure, adrenaline-pounding adventure story or thriller probably wouldn’t lend itself well to the retrospective flashback structure.  Readers will expect action, not nostalgia.  An adventure that is character-based may well support such a structure.  It all returns to the basic rules of writing:

  1. Know your story (genre as well as plot lines).
  2. Know your characters.
  3. Know your audience.

So don’t be afraid to experiment with complex layers of perspective.  Perspective is one of the many tools at our disposal, and its correct application within a story can enrich the overall experience for your reader.

Or ruin it.

So make sure you practice.  A lot.

And get a friend to beta-read.

And….

Have fun. 🙂

Jun 11

Silesia: The Outworlder Now Available!

Just a quick announcement on the release of Silesia: The Outworlder!  It is available immediately as an e-book, and the paperback edition will follow shortly!  Download your copy here today!

I have so many people to thank for this project, so I’d just like to take a moment to make some acknowledgments.

For J. Leigh – I can’t believe we’re finally realizing our dream.  It’s so surreal!  You’ve been with me every step of the way, ever since we were kids making up horse stories.  Thank you for vetting this manuscript and for the amazing cover design — you are truly a Renaissance woman!  Love you, girl!

For my parents – You have always given me your support, encouragement, and the drive to push myself to the utter limit.  For all of those things, and for your love, I am so thankful!

For my English professors and mentors – especially Theresa Kenney, Scott Crider, and Dolores Frese.  You inspired me to hone my language skills and to write with passion and precision, and you believed in me when others doubted.  I am so grateful for your mentorship, and I wouldn’t be here now without it.

For all my friends and family – Through all my crazy ideas and down all these varied paths, you’ve been there to cheer me on.  Your love and support gave me the courage to change directions, to blaze a new trail, and, finally, to pursue my life’s passion.

And I just have to close by saying this.

WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!! 🙂

Thank you.  🙂

Jun 09

A Matter of Perspective

I’ve been thinking a lot about perspective lately. That is, perspective in the literary sense of the term. So, I thought I’d take the opportunity to ramble a bit about it.

“Perspective” technically means:

  1. A way of regarding situations, facts, etc, and judging their relative importance
  2. The proper or accurate point of view or the ability to see it; objectivity

In writing, we usually talk about “viewpoint” rather than “perspective.” Viewpoint is divided into 1st person (I), 2nd (you), and 3rd (he/she). But that doesn’t seem to really capture what a “viewpoint” really is. It’s a grammatical definition, and that’s it. Big deal.

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