tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77033808849247020932024-03-13T03:23:16.712-07:00Writing for RealL.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-12194383082255573812020-12-30T17:27:00.006-08:002020-12-31T07:32:19.383-08:00Book Review: The Frontman by Lawrence Parlier<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">With
a cast of characters who have lived a rock and roll life and weathered the ups
and downs of fame and fortune, the demons of addiction and personal tragedy, <i>The
Frontman </i>takes us on a journey of mystery and discovery, guilt and
redemption. The strength of family ties and the hardcore bond between musicians
highlights this twisty adventure throughout, carrying the reader to its highly
satisfactory ending. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Legendary
rock star frontman Kerry Vance has died, and his family, fans, and friends have
questions. But long-time buddy Avery Clark doesn’t just have questions, he has <i>suspicions.
</i>He knows Kerry didn’t die of an overdose as has been reported, there’s
something going on that’s just not right about his friend’s death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">When
a mysterious woman approaches him with Kerry’s last wish, Avery is in
disbelief, but the more he hears, the more he feels it’s necessary to keep
Kerry’s fortune in the right hands and to discover what really happened to the
larger-than-life singer. Avery vows to follow through on this quest even when
it involves hijacking the hearse bearing the coffin of Kerry Vance -- one last
road trip with his old friend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The theft of a hearse – complete with dead man
– is not so easy to hide, but luckily, Kerry has friends in all directions and
one of them has a van. Along the way, they gather a couple more fans. Soon,
they all begin to notice there’s something about the mysterious woman named
Calliope that’s way beyond ordinary. Something ancient, and supernatural. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">But
it’s not Calliope Avery has to worry about. It’s the FBI who’s chasing them
down, and Kerry’s widow that Avery would prefer to avoid.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lawrence Parlier’s first novel <i>Sierra Court Blues</i>
introduced those of us who’ve never been there to the world of the struggling rock
musician who burns to attain the status of “Juke Box Hero”, and to life’s
minefields that can take it all away in the blink of an eye.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lawrence is also a writer of poems and short stories, and
his work has appeared in <i>The Writer’s Bone, Murmurations Magazine, Heartbeat:
A literary Journal, </i>and <i>The Best of Ohio Short Stories Vol. 2. </i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He comes by his knowledge of rock music firsthand and is
currently lead guitarist for the heavy metal band, <i>Chaos Ritual.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-17378646479273504832019-10-12T15:37:00.000-07:002020-01-21T17:34:58.680-08:00Look Who's Talking<br />
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Let's talk about talking. Tony the pizzeria guy in New Jersey doesn't talk the same way as former debutante Mary Beth who owns a cupcake shop in Atlanta.<br />
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Dialogue not only allows the reader to get to know the characters, it also drives the story line. Dialogue is every bit as integral to a story or novel as narrative and exposition. That is to say, <i>good </i>dialogue, <i>pertinent </i>dialogue. Cut the small talk. No one wants to hear about the weather unless the weather is a factor in the story. No one wants to hear about what your character had for lunch. (Unless he/she has a Facebook page where any personal tidbit seems to be welcome and of great interest to everyone. Quiche, anyone?)<br />
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What your reader wants to hear characters talk about is what's going on in front of their eyes or in their hearts. Your readers want your characters to be immersed in exciting action or deeply-felt emotions like love, hate, fear. happiness, or sorrow. Dialogue is a catalyst to your characters' circumstances. Although you should never set dialogue as a dumping ground for information, characters' conversations can lead into the plot more smoothly than paragraph after paragraph of exposition and narrative. Long blocks of writing without people talking slows the pace of a story, and can be boring. I know I can't be the only one who has closed a book in the middle of the first chapter and set it aside because I didn't want to work that hard at getting to know the characters. <br />
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Just as you should make every word count in narrative, your dialogue between characters should be just long enough to say only what needs to be said. Unless it's back story or some other necessary information, keep it brief. Create dialogue that either indicates conflict or foretells conflict to come.<br />
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Humans talk over each other, a lot. We say <i>um </i>or <i>er</i>, a lot. We fail to finish sentences, and jump from topic to topic without warning, a lot. English teachers would like you to speak in full sentences. But full sentences rarely happen except in scholarly papers. Fiction writers don't write stories about quantum physics or commentary on the theory of evolution for the scientific community. We're writing about everyday people, so train yourself to hear how everyday people talk. <br />
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Once you've given your character a voice, maintain that voice throughout. When you've established how Mary Beth speaks, don't allow her to suddenly start talking like Tony the pizzeria guy or like an aging biker-chick bartender who's been on her feet for seven straight hours.<br />
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Read dialogue out loud. Ask yourself if people would actually say these things in real life. Make sure your dialogue moves things along in a logical manner. Don't let your characters confuse your readers with nonsensical babble. Unless you <i>want</i> them to babble nonsense. <br />
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Have you ever read dialogue like this?<br />
"Hello, Mary," Jane said.<br />
"Hello, Jane," Mary said. "How are you?"<br />
"I'm good," Jane responded. "How have <i>you</i> been, Mary?"<br />
"Oh, I've been great, Jane."<br />
"I heard you were getting divorced, Mary."<br />
"Well, it can happen to anyone, Jane."<br />
Enough! In the name of Hemingway, why would any writer do this? Your readers can figure out who is who by the second sentence. Avoid calling your people by name once the conversation is established. It's a waste of words and it's annoying.<br />
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Although <i>said</i> is the still the clearest way to indicate who's speaking, vary the format for longer conversations. Repetitive dialogue styles are boring. Sometimes <i>responded </i>works, sometimes <i>muttered </i>is best. It all depends on the characters and the situation that has brought about the conversation. Words like <i>murmured, reiterated, teased, joked, </i>etc. are okay to use in place of <i>said,</i> just don't overdo it. And remember that people don't <i>hurl </i>words, they don't <i>chortle </i>words. People rarely <i>snort </i>words, nor do they <i>laugh</i> or <i>sigh </i>words.<br />
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Varying dialogue tags helps keep conversations fresh.<br />
"I'm going to the concert," Brad said.<br />
Lori said, "Not without me."<br />
"Do you think we should get an Uber?" Brad asked. "I'll pay for the ride."<br />
Very rarely will you come across <i>asked Brad </i>or <i>said Lori. </i>It doesn't roll off the tongue as smoothly as it should, although it is sometimes used in more formal writing or poetry.<br />
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Where dialogue trails away, use an ellipsis.<br />
"I'm not sure . . ." James said.<br />
When dialogue is interrupted, use the em-dash.<br />
"Well, I don't think -- "<br />
To break up dialogue, use commas or em-dashes.<br />
"I realized," she said with a sigh, "that he didn't like me."<br />
"Without the bricks -- " Dave shook his head -- "I don't think we can finish the job."<br />
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Dialogue should be believable, interesting, and compelling. If your dialogue doesn't do its job, readers will probably not read your novel. Or as Tony might say, "Fugged aboud it."<br />
<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-57024921282362657462019-01-14T12:00:00.000-08:002019-01-14T12:00:16.753-08:00Flash Fiction: Making a Long Story Short<br />
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"For sale: baby shoes, never worn." A story told in half a dozen words.<br />
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It's unclear who wrote it, some say Hemingway, others believe it came from a 1910 ad in the <i>Spokane Press.</i> But no matter who actually penned this enigmatic little story, it stands as the most well-known example of flash fiction.<br />
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Authors as far back as French writer Charles Baudelaire (1821-1869) wrote flash fiction as "slice of life" stories. Mark Twain wrote tales short enough to fit the category, as well as Langston Hughes, Jamaica Kincaid, John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, and Margaret Atwood, among other well-known authors.<br />
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In the past few years, flash fiction has become an increasingly popular form for online sites and anthologies, Although much of the flash fiction published online is in the sci-fi, fantasy, or horror genres, romance and humor publications also offer writers the opportunity to submit their work.<br />
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Flash fiction -- also known as sudden fiction, immediate fiction, micro fiction, postcard or nano fiction -- can range from fewer than 100 words up to 1500 words to tell a small story while hinting at a larger one. A concise vignette with the same structure as longer stories, flash fiction demands a solid plot and careful structure to deliver a complete story. There must be tension and conflict implied in as few words as possible. Beyond well-rounded characters, settings, and themes, this kind of abbreviated writing also needs strong tone and mood to carry it. <br />
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In writing these short-short stories, the focus should be on the compression of language without sacrificing the elements of its form. There is a very tight space in which to develop movement, and intellectual and emotional impact. Scenes must be handled efficiently, and limited to only those necessary to the story. As in any writing, but especially in flash fiction, strong nouns and verbs should take the place of adjectives and adverbs.<br />
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Spotlight only one main conflict or the story will wander off in too many directions to keep the writing tight. Avoid backstory. That's part of the challenge in writing flash fiction. We writers tend to want the reader to know everything, the what, when, why, where, and how. But there is no room in a very short story for more than just a few solid (and telling) words of explanation or description, whether of character or setting. Word, phrase, or sentence -- if it does nothing to move the story forward, cut, cut, cut.<br />
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Your readers want something to happen within the first paragraphs, so start the story with action as your hook. (But even before that, choose a title that draws the reader in.) Flash fiction often ends in a twist, so end the piece with a surprise, if possible.<br />
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Although flash fiction is thought of in some circles as "the underdog" of writing, busy readers appreciate the opportunity to read a good story in a short amount of time. Experiment with the form. Challenge yourself to craft one of these mini-stories. It's great practice, and a perfect cure for that place called "writer's block" where your longer story or novel is refusing to move beyond that crappy scene you wrote last week.<br />
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Before submitting your flash fiction to online sites, do the research. Some of these markets are not well-presented. But there are many legitimate publications anxious to publish good quality stories. Some pay well, some pay a nominal amount, but no matter whether these popular sites pay or not, it's always great to see your name attached to a successful piece of writing. <br />
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Here's a short list of popular online publications accepting flash fiction. Read the kind of stories they publish and check out their submission guidelines.<br />
Flash Fiction Online<br />
Word Riot<br />
Brevity<br />
Smokelong Quarterly<br />
Nano Fiction<br />
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In addition to the above, you can find many more flash fiction publications at WritersMarket.com, and duotrope.com.<br />
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"Making people believe the unbelievable is no trick; it's work . . . " Stephen King<br />
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<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-17594178364468216752018-11-26T12:28:00.002-08:002018-11-26T12:31:16.025-08:00The Query and The Synopsis, Those Devilish Details<br />
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After five years of agony and obsession, I have finally said <i>finis </i>t<i></i>o my first novel, "Bloody Hollow Summer" and sent it out into the world to be loved or hated. <br />
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The process of submitting a manuscript to an agent, requires a great deal of attention to detail. You might think you know what you're doing, but until you do the research, you're probably going to miss an important point or two. Prepare to spend hours searching agents' websites for submission requirements.<br />
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Literary agencies can be a one-man or -woman operation, or large multi-agent businesses. The top five "brand name" agencies should probably not be your first move. Not that they are not open to new writers, their client lists are just so long that only something spectacular will catch their attention. There are many smaller agencies more open to considering the work of new writers to fill their client lists. The smaller agencies, however, have the same basic submission requirements as Doubleday or Random House, those gods of the publishing industry.<br />
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First, they want finished work. Don't query an agent if you're still writing or editing the manuscript unless your last name is Atwood, Patterson, King, or Koontz, Some agents do consider book proposals, but only if you are already well- and widely-published. They prefer to know that you can actually write a <i>whole</i> book without getting bored or sidetracked by your massive collection of video games. Or if you're addicted to Facebook and Pinterest. <br />
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Second, be very sure of your genre before you submit. It's a good idea to take a look at the writers your chosen agent already represents. Mysteries? Historical? Young adult? An agent whose website says she accepts romance, science fiction, and fantasy is not going to read your crime drama. She's going to mutter "Are you serious?" as she deletes your query from her screen or dumps your hard work into the round basket on the floor beside her desk. Which leads to another important tip: Do not send an email query if the agent's site specifies snail mail submissions. Although this is rare, there are agents who accept either. And don't annoy a busy agent who doesn't want email queries because you think the quicker you get it out there, the quicker you'll become a published author, and your friends and family will accept that you were serious about writing a novel. And bake you a cake, maybe.<br />
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Agents don't have any illusions that you're sending your query to them exclusively. They expect you to spread the good news to multiple agencies that you've written the greatest book ever written. (Seriously, don't ever say that in your query, not only will you look unprofessional, but stupid, too.) Don't send your query to more than one agent per agency. It's tacky and might get complicated if two agents at the same agency decide that your book will be profitable enough for them to buy that hot tub they've been wanting. <br />
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Now. Format. Every agency has particular requirements for receiving queries. They all want a clean, professional query letter with just the pertinent details about you and your work. Briefly explain the material you want to submit, a general, but short, description of your manuscript. Don't fill your query with the names of family members who love your book, or friends who tell you that you're another Joyce Carol Oates or Lisa Gardner. However, if you're a member of Romance Writers of America, or other prestigious writing organizations and groups that clearly reflect what you write, very briefly mention it. Example, if you're an attorney writing crime dramas, or an investigator with a journalistic background who now writes fictional legal thrillers, you could probably blow that horn as background info. Anything that backs you up as a writer, such as a musician writing a fictionalized tale about your world tour would show that you know the journey and the characters firsthand.<br />
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The second most important piece of writing for an agent submission is the synopsis. Writing a synopsis is harder than writing the novel. You're condensing a 100,000 word story into a one-page description. And I assure you that at least once while writing this one-page explanation, you will angrily shove your chair back from your desk, stand up and yell, "I give up. Can't be done, by God. I'm going back to selling insurance." Later you'll sit back down and try again two or three times, maybe four. And eventually you'll get it done. Because you're a writer.<br />
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Some agents will request sample chapters either with initial contact, or after reading your query and synopsis. Make sure they're formatted properly, just as you would for submission of the entire novel.<br />
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There are many informative websites that can help you write your query and synopsis. Here are three that I found particularly comprehensive and helpful.<br />
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writersdigest.com<br />
"38 Query Letter Tips from Literary Agents"<br />
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reedsy.com<br />
"How to Write a Killer Query in 7 Easy Steps"<br />
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query-letter.com<br />
"How to Write a Query Letter/Query Letter vs Synopsis"<br />
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So do your research and carefully study these last steps in writing your story, then get busy on that query and synopsis. They're not going to write themselves.L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-57127697552619216412018-06-29T10:45:00.000-07:002018-06-29T10:45:21.866-07:00Book Review: The Snow Child<div>
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I took the book off the library shelf and read the blurb at least a dozen times this past year. I thought, Oh, I don't know, maybe next time. Didn't think it was for me and my reading peculiarities. </div>
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This time I brought it home along with the usual four or five books I think I might read in the next two weeks. Third book in I decided it was time to give it a go.</div>
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Didn't stop reading until 1:30 a.m. And then, reluctantly. </div>
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I found magic in Eowyn Ivey's <i>The Snow Child. </i>From page 1 to page 388, I reveled in this author's enchanting, emotional story, told in language that sent my writer's heart soaring across the harsh landscape of the Alaskan wilderness. I swear I smelled spruce, and melted snowflakes on my tongue. The imagery is that well done, and so are the characters. I sat with Mabel all night as she sewed her snow child a new coat. I trekked with Jack through the snow in the forest to hunt moose to keep him and Mabel alive through the winter. I climbed the mountain to help him bury a stranger. I made snow angels with Faina. </div>
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<i>The Snow Child </i>is a fairytale and folk legend blended with the realities of homesteading in the Alaskan wilderness in the 1920s. Ivey's prose is perfect, her imagination is boundless, and the heart of the novel is so very true to the hearts of all of us who wish for something with such ferocious longing that we make it real. <i> </i> </div>
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Robert Goolrick, author of <i>A Reliable Wife, </i>s<i></i>aid of Eowyn Ivey's novel "If Willa Cather and Gabriel Garcia Marquez had collaborated on book, <i>The Snow Child </i>w<i></i>ould be it."<br />
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Ivey was raised in Alaska, and was a reporter for the <i>Frontiersman </i>newspaper. <i>The Snow Child, </i>her debut novel earned her a spot as a finalist for a Pulitzer in 2013. Her second novel, <i>To the Bright Edge of the World, </i>is also set in Alaska in 1885. She is an independent bookseller in addition to being a writer. An <i>excellent </i>writer.<br />
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And you all who know me, know I cried at the end. For the beauty of the story, and for my envy of the author.<br />
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<br /><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i>L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-15086031536469281692017-10-11T13:34:00.001-07:002017-10-11T14:25:27.483-07:00Writing Between the Lines<br />
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Subtext in fiction implies that something important is not being said. The technique can take many forms, including symbolic dialogue and a character's actions while speaking. Subtext can also work with silence or digression when a character, for one reason or another, can't say what he thinks, or sidetracks from the subject.<br />
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When ideas are only suggested instead of directly voiced, the undercurrents can often hit harder than dialogue. Make use of subtle tension with voice inflection and facial expression that give deeper meaning to dialogue.<br />
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Silence is useful in presenting pertinent subtext. What is not being said is often more powerful than words spoken out loud.<br />
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In a scene from my own work, two key characters, both teenagers, have a conversation about one character's alcoholic grandparents and the many ways in which they are dysfunctional. Ironically, the character who complains about his grandparents' constant drunkenness is drinking a beer. Lately, it's become the norm for him to have a beer in his hand. His environment is such that it's perfectly normal for him to drink. When he does acknowledge his drinking, he justifies it by telling himself that every teenage kid does a little drinking now and then.<br />
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But his friend's awkward silence is far more telling than if he had said, "Hey, by the way, lately you're drinking like a sailor on shore leave, and I think you've got a problem." Because they are best friends, the character with the beer knows exactly what his friend is thinking. He knows, because the whispers of his subconscious are growing louder every day. <br />
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In subtext digression, a character who fears he will be rude or hurtful, (or get hurt, himself) often sidesteps the obvious by changing the subject. Like when someone asks "Is this a good color for me?" and you tell them their hair looks fantastic instead of saying "You look like a pumpkin in that particular shade of orange."<br />
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Dialogue is not the only way to suggest subtext. Subtext in description is a good way to give your writing tone. It's the old "dark and stormy night" without writing "dark and stormy night." Subtext in setting or description is a little more complicated than silence or digression in dialogue, and it's difficult not to fall into cliche when using subtext in setting or mood. (Please don't ever use "dark and stormy night." Please.)<br />
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Good mystery and crime writers often use subtext to point to a key piece of information that eventually answers the what, why, how, and especially, the who, questions. <br />
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Subtext is a secondary message to the reader that reflects on both character and circumstance. Weather, color, texture, facial expression, even architecture can enhance what your character thinks of himself and of others.<br />
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While one person might see a common chicken shape in the water stain on the ceiling, another character might see an elegant swan, Not only have you shown a character's state of mind, you've identified something about why she's in that state of mind. A water stain on the ceiling could indicate a "leak" in her life, and might also say something about the circumstances in which she lives.<br />
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Or maybe that chicken/swan stain on the ceiling is just one indicator in a list of things that point to a character's emotional state or circumstances. Maybe there are overflowing ashtrays, dirty dishes, beer bottles under the couch, a screen door hanging precariously on its hinges. These things can be perfect examples of subtext.<br />
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Or maybe it's just the opposite. The house is scrupulously clean, organized, and your character, who is OCD, is about to lose her mind over that one imperfection in an otherwise perfect home.<br />
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Subtext is the colorful vehicle that drives the reader from the start of the story to its promised destination at the end of the Ah Ha rainbow. L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-47193742144972719712017-07-14T10:59:00.000-07:002017-07-14T10:59:06.976-07:00Set Your Sites<br />
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There are two kinds of writers: Those who are beginning and those who are continuing. As in just about everything else, Internet sites offer a place for every kind of scribe, those who are just starting to dip into that great sea of writing, and those who are already fully immersed.<br />
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Every writer has those times of sitting patiently (or impatiently) waiting for those creative ideas and the words to express them to drop out of the sky and onto the page. But when staring at that immense expanse of white for six hours doesn't help you be any more literate than a four-year-old with a limited vocabulary, there's always the Internet to inspire you. And I don't mean social media.<br />
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One day I decided to stop just sitting around staring into the abyss and waiting for my brain to produce actual words worth putting on paper (or screen) and went looking for somebody to smack me upside the head with advice on how to continue being a writer. Besides finding like-minded people, I found a treasure of helpful sites for those of us who dare to call ourselves writers.<br />
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Following are 10 sites that are worth the time to explore when you need advice, encouragement, and how and where to submit your work.<br />
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1. Writer's Digest. If you don't know WD, then you're not a writer. Or you're a very new one. Writer's Digest has been around since 1920. The print magazine routinely publishes author interviews, markets, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles on every aspect of the writing life. Their website carries the same information, offering writing prompts, workshops, and lists of literary agents and publishers, among other services. Both the print magazine and the website are well worth a subscription.<br />
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2. Writers Write. This site offers well-written articles on everything from beginning a writing project to how to get through writer's block to dealing with publishers and rejection. Writers Write is a pretty comprehensive guide to finding articles on things like preparing your work for submission, and lists of current writing competitions.<br />
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3. Fiction Factor. A great site to find the basics, such as structure, punctuation, editing, critique methods, marketing advice and contests. They also do book reviews.<br />
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4. Advanced Fiction Writing. Among other articles, this site bases its articles on using the "snowflake" method for structuring a novel.<br />
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5. Fiction University. This is one of my favorites. Writer Janice Hardy maintains this site, and presents articles on every form of writing. There are some very good guest blogs in addition to Janice's own, on planning your writing project, problems, editing, selling your work, and many other subjects. One of the best sites.<br />
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6. Funds for Writers. This site offers excellent guest blogs, contests, markets, and how to apply for grants. I found that the market listings are up to date and very comprehensive.<br />
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7. Now Novel. Another excellent site with a very long list of how-to articles about writing, current market lists, and great tutorials. This is an excellent site for learning how to begin a novel and how to finish it.<br />
<br />
8. WOW (Women on Writing). The site provides lists of contests, articles about women who are focused on their writing careers. Freelancers are welcome to submit articles, and the site has been known to occasionally pay reasonably well for blogs on the subject of writing in whatever form.<br />
<br />
9. Writing.com. You can buy a subscription to this site, or scroll to the bottom of their homepage to get writing prompts. They also offer the opportunity for you to submit a writing blog for possible publication on the site.<br />
<br />
10. Scribendi. This is a very professional site that maintains a long detailed list of market categories and articles for writers of every genre, including non-fiction.<br />
<br />
These sites are just a few examples of help for writers, both professional and novice, who have those inspiration-less days when our writer-ly brains turn to mush and words fail. L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-9219315925035934352017-05-26T16:53:00.000-07:002017-05-26T16:53:06.029-07:00Literary vs Mainstream<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">For the most part, both short stories and novels fall into two categories: literary and mainstream. Agents and editors differentiate between them in several ways, but the two forms often overlap.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Mainstream fiction is categorized as entertainment. A mainstream work of fiction usually incorporates overt conflict, whether between characters or humanity at large. The reader is told what is happening in a physical, clearly-defined world. Action drives the story forward. Tension is more apparent and less nuanced in "popular" fiction, making the work more accessible to a wider range of readers. Plot takes precedence in mainstream -- also called commercial -- fiction. In this type of fiction, the protagonist does the work.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Commercial genres include romance, mystery, and thriller, sci-fi and fantasy, and even some forms of humor in fiction.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Literary genres are more difficult to define.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Literary works can be a manifesto of sorts, where the ideal is more complex than the plot. In literary fiction, the reader does the work. This type of fiction is directed to impact society in thought-provoking, and often controversial, ways by taking on social and cultural issues. Readers are led to question preconceived notions. Writing style for this kind of story doesn't rely on convention, but can be experimental, transcending structural elements, with subtext often used to reinforce the theme. The language is broad, elegant, and imaginative, putting the art of prose foremost. The pace is slower in literary fiction than in commercial fiction.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It used to be said that mainstream fiction was "light reading" and literary works were "serious fiction." But today, the genres often overlap into a category called "upmarket," a cross between literary and commercial fiction. The work is still literary but will also appeal to commercial readership. The story is written with a high command of language, but without being pretentious or "stuffy," which makes this type of fiction easier to market than it once was.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In the past, literary fiction was easy to identify, Most of these stories were classic English assignments: <i>Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, Moby Dick, To Kill a Mockingbird, </i>among others that most of us have read. (Whether we wanted to or not. And hurray for Cliff Notes.)<i> </i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Today's A-list literary fiction authors include writers like Alice Sebold, Jodie Picoult, Annie Proulx, Toni Morrison, Sara Gruen, and Joyce Carol Oates. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">As writers, we should read in the categories we most want to break into with our own work. Remember that a well-<i>read</i> writer will soon turn into a well-read <i>writer</i>. (Think about that and it will make sense.) Actually, that's all we writers want, we want readers to read our work. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And money. We want money. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-86564167088760036552017-04-18T18:09:00.000-07:002017-04-18T18:09:02.246-07:00Developing Your Writing Style<br />
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Loosely, the definition of writing style is: The ability to write in a unique manner, clearly, effectively, and with a readable rhythm that makes the work sound right to the ear.<br />
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We all have our favorite writers when it comes to style. Jodie Picoult, Amy Tan, Toni Morrison, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Lisa Gardner, Wally Lamb. So many excellent writers, and not one of them writes like another, they've honed their writing skills over many years to develop their unique style. As writers, we usually read those whose work reflects the kind of writing we want to do. We take note of how our favorite authors achieve their colorful figures of speech, their flavor, their rhythm, without considering how many words these people have written in order to find their voice.<br />
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Style is a matter of choice. There are writers who are terse, blunt, or brisk. There are those whose words flow like untroubled waters. It's our own preferences -- and I would think, our personalities -- that for the most part dictates our writing style.<br />
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Technically, writing style involves both addition and subtraction. It involves subtracting words and phrases that clutter or muddy the meaning. When editing, cut all those fusty, pompous, or complex passages. Replace them with simple, clear, lively and engaging words and phrases. Or, if the passages are unnecessary, don't even bother to replace them. Cut out everything that isn't <i>story.</i><br />
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Style also involves adding the perfect combination of words, when necessary, to express something in a way that moves the reader either emotionally, or in an Ah Ha, I get it now! way.<br />
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A pleasing style is one of continuing originality, using fresh, arresting word visions, with little twists of surprise in the manner of syntax. Avoid rare, difficult words, trite sentences, and cliches that are stale from overuse. There <i>are </i>times, however, when a cliche works, when the writer is sharp enough to use a cliche<i> </i>in a<i> "tongue in cheek" </i>(sorry) manner simply to point out that it <i>is </i>a cliche, especially when uttered by a cliche character.<br />
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In a previous post "Enhancing Your Fiction with Figurative Language", I offered a list of figures of speech that add flavor to writing. These devices, such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, personification, and many more -- are all language forms that can create a trademark writing style, adding flow, harmony, and grace. <br />
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Short sentences make more impact. Longer sentences smooth things out, and offer a lull in action so that the reader can relax and look around the fascinating world you've created for them. <br />
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Twist it. Turn it upside down. Let it go. Pull it back. Invent new words, play with old words. Punctuate it your way.<br />
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That's style.<br />
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<i>Your </i>style. <br />
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L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-53718540849520349762017-03-05T12:37:00.000-08:002017-03-05T12:37:22.442-08:00Using Conflict in the Short Story<br />
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Writing a full-length novel gives one far more leeway to practice the craft of storytelling without the pressure of trying to put all you need to say in 5000-7000 words or less. There just seems to be more anxiety when you attempt to create characters and story lines to fit into a concise, well-developed short story. So much to say, so little space. However, it's an art form that can build a loyal readership, and sometimes even put a few bucks in your bank account if you hit the right publication. At the least, you just might find your work published in an anthology that affords you bragging rights and the opportunity get your name "out there". <br />
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While there are "literary" or "quality" short stories that are based mainly on characterization, most general market short stories require strong conflict to entice a reader to read on. Instead of pondering or musing about a universal condition or truth, or questioning the philosophies of the masses, mainstream short stories need to present a specific conflict. <br />
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The scenes in a short story are used to characterize, to convey information, and most important, to produce conflict, whether that conflict is emotional or physical. Short story conflict has four main elements. <b>1</b>. There must be a meeting between two opposing forces. <b>2</b>. There should be exploitation of the conflict. <b>3</b>.<b> </b>There should be a suggestion as to the result of the conflict. <b>4</b>. The conflict should set up the transition to the next scene. <br />
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The meeting between two opposing forces sets up a win or lose situation. Somebody, or something (a force of nature, etc.), wins or loses, concedes a point, is forced into a decision, or brings about a revelation. And in those plot points lies the exploitation of the conflict, and the result, and thus sets the next scene.<br />
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There are three plot reasons for conflict: To eliminate an opponent, to overcome an obstacle (physical or mental), or to divert disaster. And although it's been said that there are only three plots to choose from, there are many variations for which conflict is possible.<br />
Man against man.<br />
Man against men (war).<br />
Man against woman.<br />
Woman against man.<br />
Woman against woman.<br />
Man against nature.<br />
Man against disaster.<br />
Man against environment.<br />
Man against himself.<br />
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Short story scenes are created for conflict in each stage.<br />
<b>Beginning: </b><br />
1. Set the scene.<br />
2. Introduce characters, pertinent information, and point of view.<br />
3. Suggest the type of story it is through tone, style, and voice.<br />
4. Relay background circumstances which led to the conflict.<br />
5. Use a narrative hook to raise interest in the protagonist's welfare.<br />
<b>Middle:</b><br />
1. Present the complication.<br />
2. Relay the series of efforts and attempts to solve the complications, and the failures to do so.<br />
3. Present a situation that suggests a failed resolution of the conflict that convinces the reader that there is no hope of a satisfactory solution.<br />
4. Present a decision that will point to the solution of the conflict, and put that decision into play.<br />
<b>End:</b><br />
The decision and the solution must be satisfactory and believable to the reader.<br />
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There's a lot that goes into a successful short story, but if you break it down into manageable components, 5000 words is no harder than 80,000 words.<br />
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"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story."<br />
Toni Morrison <br />
<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-40706983401866808122017-02-21T13:13:00.000-08:002017-02-21T13:13:00.715-08:00What Kind of Driver Are You?<br />
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"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." Toni Morrison.<br />
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Great advice, but what<i> kind</i> of novel do you want to write? In addition to choosing your genre, you also have to decide whether you want to spend more writing hours working on your exciting plot, or on those fascinating characters that live in your head. Often, your chosen genre dictates the structure of the book, but sometimes the lines can cross.<br />
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Although literary purists would say that you need to focus on one or the other, it's perfectly acceptable to blend the character-driven story with the plot-driven one. The key is <i>balance.</i><br />
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A<b> plot-driven</b> novel focuses on the anticipation and excitement of what happens next. It involves physical events, and unexpected twists. There are often large-scale concepts involved in this type of novel. Like car crashes and kidnappings, aliens and avalanches.<br />
<br />
Adventure, fantasy, horror, sci-fi, crime, and mystery novels are most often <b>plot-driven </b>stories. They are external, and considered commercial fiction by agents, editors, and publishers.<br />
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In a <b>character-driven </b>novel, readers connect with people like themselves, how they would or would not like to be seen. These are emotional stories and don't need a complex plot to progress from beginning to end. Of course, there is still a plot but it is based on character growth and change. There are goals and personal issues to resolve in a <b>character-driven </b>novel. Characters usually have to overcome obstacles to their happiness, and plot happens because of a character's desires, deeds, and needs. Decisions are made, whether they are right or wrong, and there is more internal conflict than there is action.<br />
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Romance, coming-of-age, friendship, and family novels are <b>character-driven </b>and are usually considered literary novels.<br />
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But there are no longer concrete rules for fiction, as in the past. Today's fiction often incorporates both types of stories in one. It's okay to create a story wherein you display your character's most intense emotions and psychological traits with an active plot that highlights their soul's journey. There's no reason your "hard-boiled" detective can't sign up for meditation classes, and you won't commit literary sin if your introspective, mousy librarian transforms into a kick-ass roller-derby gal on Friday nights. <br />
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As writers, I believe we write what we enjoy reading. The kind of book you should write is probably sitting on your bedside table right now.L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-78554452752363326062017-01-21T18:51:00.000-08:002017-01-21T18:51:33.000-08:00How to "Raise" a Character<br />
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Characters don't need quite as much as your real children. For instance, you don't have to take them to the dentist, or rent bouncy houses for their birthdays.<br />
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But you do have to give them gifts. You have to endow them with the same kinds of interesting qualities as your kids might display as they grow. Some of these things are probably not qualities you would wish for your own children, but who's to say she won't give up that stoner boyfriend with the bad haircut and no job or driver's license on her own? Or that your son might actually attend a classes at the community college he enrolled in because he didn't want to go away to an Ivy League school and leave his gamer buds behind?<br />
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Oh. Wait . . . Never mind.<br />
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Anyway, your characters are going to have to have<i> things.</i><br />
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Here's a list of five <i>things </i>your characters should have.<br />
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<u>Personality.</u><br />
Flat, dull characters don't sell novels. Scarlet O'Hara wasn't flat or dull. She was unique, complex. She had contradictory traits. Characters need to be strong-minded, outspoken, but hiding insecurities. Genteel, but with an iron will.<br />
Bashful, but charming. Characters are <i>people, </i>we have personalities.<br />
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<u>Interests.</u><br />
Personality is nothing without interests. A character who doesn't read books, jog, collect teapots, study philosophy, love game shows, paint portraits, enjoy scuba diving, or has a passion for <i>something</i>, is not a character I want to hang out with for 300 pages. <br />
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<u>History.</u><br />
Humans are the products of their environments. And their upbringing or past circumstances. A person's history plays a large part in how that person thinks and feels. A child who grows up in a ghetto with abusive parents will probably have a far different outlook than one who has grown up in a blue-collar home with conscientious parents. While it's true that violent or deviant characters can simply be born violent or deviant, background and history will still dictate much of that character's story. Give your characters a history, it will affect their reactions to what happens to them in your story. Their history will reflect in their situations.<br />
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<u>Goal.</u><br />
Give your characters something to work toward; whether the goal is good or bad, depends on who they are. Obviously, if the character is a bad guy, his goal is to get rid of the good guy. Or vice-versa. A character who is poor can want to reach a goal of having money. Or a would-be lover will work toward capturing the heart of his perfect lady. Give your protagonist something to want. A goal creates motivation.<br />
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<u>Obstacles.</u><br />
Nobody would read a book where the pretty protagonist grew up in a happy home, became head cheerleader in freshman year, was voted homecoming queen for four years, attended Harvard and aced every class, got the degree she wanted, sailed around the world, met the man of her dreams, got married, had a child who grew up in a happy home and became a beloved high school quarterback . . . Well, you get it. No setbacks, no failures. No story. There have to be obstacles. Something has to prevent her from being named homecoming queen. He has to overcome something in order for him to become the quarterback instead of that pimply-faced guy nobody likes, who gets sacked every other play, and who made the team simply because he knows where to get the steroids. Throw bricks at your characters. Give her some strange disease that puts her in a wheelchair and make her go through physical therapy in order to walk again. Let him find out that his grandpa is the town heroin dealer. Put him in jail for something he didn't (or did) do. Obstacles.<br />
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Remember, characters are like children. They're going to demand <i>things. </i><br />
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"Every secret of a writer's soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in his works."<br />
Virginia WoolfeL.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-90074768698071727562017-01-12T10:07:00.000-08:002017-01-12T10:12:29.385-08:00How to Give Birth to a Character<br />
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Eyes of blue, hair of gold, and she's got Dolly Parton dimples. He's tall, dark, and handsome, with a twinkle in his eye. She's a sweetheart. He helps old ladies cross the street.<br />
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First chapter in, I'm bored to tears by these people, and I'm pretty sure they're not going to get any more interesting in chapter two.<br />
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These characters couldn't possibly be real people, because real people have <i>depth</i>. And that <i>depth</i> needs to be apparent the minute they leave the womb of your imagination, or your readers might just close the book on those babies.<br />
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Stereotypes don't sell books. I mean, that's the goal, right? You're wanting to market this thing that's taken you months or years to write. (Unless you're James Patterson and you began writing the book last Tuesday night and finished it Saturday morning for publication on Monday afternoon.)<br />
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In addition to whatever physical qualities you might bestow upon your characters, you have to add some mental and emotional quirks if you want them to grow up to be interesting enough to read about.<br />
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Even the most fascinating plot can't carry a novel for 300 pages or more without characters who come off as human. (Unless they're aliens, of course.) They have to have emotions, passions, and attitudes to back up their physical appearances. They must have personalities that express their needs and fears, goals and desires.<br />
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Even though your protagonist, antagonist, and supporting characters might change in ways you can never anticipate while you're writing the story <br />
-- characters quite often do that -- there should be an initial outline of the most important characteristics to draw from as you write. In addition to physical appearance, a personality outline is the place to note all those things that will round out the people in your imaginary world.<br />
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Here are some pertinent questions and suggestions for outlining fascinating characters before you send them out into your world.<br />
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In addition to outward physical descriptions (and please don't do blond, blue-eyed cardboard cutouts), create body language and gestures. What happens to their faces when they smile or frown? What is it about their eyes that indicates that they're shy? Do they chuckle at a joke, or break out into a full-blast belly laugh? They curl their lips when they see a cat to show that they're not animal lovers. Describe the tone of their voices when they talk to a child, or to their own mothers, or a waitress. These things go a long way in identifying character. (Remember show don't tell?)<br />
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Know your characters' favorite activities, the kind of clothes they wear, their favorite alcoholic drinks. What are their interests -- art, travel, museums, acrylic nails? Give them specific kinds of cars, or make them take the bus. Do they play golf, do Pilates? When they cook, do they wear aprons?<br />
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How do others see them? Who are their friends, their enemies? How do they handle stress? Are they optimistic, or pessimistic? What are they afraid of? Snakes? Rabbits? Lightning bugs? Money? What are their favorite colors? What makes them sad, happy, pissed off? Note their favorite books, the TV shows they routinely watch. <br />
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Where did they grow up, what childhood games did they play? What is the worst and the best things that ever happened to them? Give them family backgrounds, economic positions, educational experiences, religious or moral beliefs.<br />
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Fill a notebook or file cards with this information. Give each character a page or color-coded card of his/her own, even if they have just a minor role in your story. Background characters might never display any of these traits or speak of their particular histories anywhere on those 300 pages. But they are just as important as the setting of your story. They are the people who will ooh and ahh over, or torment and torture, those unique, colorful characters born of your labor.<br />
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You brought them into your imaginary world, now give them <i>lives. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>"A writer without interest or sympathy for<i> </i>the foibles of his fellow man is not conceivable as a writer."<br />
Joseph ConradL.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-4326375589541084942016-12-30T09:49:00.001-08:002016-12-30T09:49:53.003-08:00Creating Scenes<br />
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Until I started writing <i>Bloody Hollow Summer</i>, I had only a surface knowledge of what scenes in a novel should accomplish. I thought, Well, something is supposed to happen here, so I'll just put my characters someplace and have them do something and say something. I soon had a bunch of boring, lazy, worthless so-called "scenes" that a twelve-year-old might have written.<br />
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I believe I've said this before, but this writing stuff is <i>hard.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
After many revisions (ongoing, perhaps until I'm old and gray -- oh, wait, I <i>am </i>old and gray) I am learning the importance of writing scenes that serve a purpose.<br />
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Every scene in a novel must work toward something. A good scene should move the story forward and engage the reader. It should highlight character motivation, enhance setting, foreshadow future events, complement the tone of the story, or add some other important element to the whole. Obviously, a scene shouldn't just <i>be there </i>for the heck of it, or just so the characters can talk about what they had for breakfast.<br />
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Even though the rules of writing are broken for any number of good reasons, there are patterns which have been proven successful with regard to creating scenes. Those who have been doing this writing thing for a long time advise that scenes that open with long, involved descriptions, history or backstory, are a distraction. Avoid launching a scene with paragraph after paragraph of narrative. If a particular setting, or pertinent information about a character's thoughts or intentions contribute to the action of the scene, keep the summary short, no more than 2 or 3 quick paragraphs, if possible, and then get quickly to the action.<br />
<i><br /></i>
Good scenes should incorporate 3 elements: The point-of-view character must have a clearly-defined goal, must face obstacles and conflict in order to achieve that goal, and must face disaster because of that goal. These 3 elements should lead naturally to 3 more scene points which are called the <i>sequel</i>: An emotional follow-through, a dilemma for the character, and a decision which involves new goals. This 3-part sequel allows the reader to absorb what has happened in the scene.<br />
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Scene endings are the perfect place for cliffhangers, surprising revelations, and emotional turmoil. The ending of a scene should always involve a promise of further compelling situations.<br />
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Building a novel takes almost as many tools building a house, just in different forms. That, I think, is what makes us writers unique. We have to use tools that nobody but another writer can see. We have to build something from nothing.<br />
It's a hell of a job, but somebody's got to do it.<br />
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"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."<br />
Ernest Hemingway<br />
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<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-91233921550947674842016-12-16T16:47:00.000-08:002016-12-19T08:32:58.067-08:00Editing and Revision: The Difference Between Fine Tuning and The Big Picture<br />
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<b>Editing </b>means to change passive words to active, being mindful of repeated words and phrases, and eliminating unnecessary adjectives and adverbs such as <i>very, quite, so, just, really, </i>and<i> suddenly. </i><br />
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It means determining if you've allowed confusing pronouns to disrupt your story. For instance, you have two male characters in the scene performing two actions simultaneously, and you've referred to both as <i>he </i>instead of using one or both characters' names. Your reader can become confused -- is John trying to push the car out of the mud, or is it Steve? Which <i>he</i> is in the car steering?<br />
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Are your dialogue tags necessary --you know, that <i>he said, she said </i>thing -- or could you put one character to work, as in "This doesn't look right."? Harry is speaking, but instead of <i>he said, </i>you could identify him by writing <i>Harry looked perplexed</i> in order to identify him as the speaker. You can place the action (looking perplexed) either before or after Harry speaks. <i> </i><br />
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<b>Editing </b>also refers to that fine tuning you do for typos, misspellings, punctuation, missing words, extra spaces. It refers to combing through the manuscript for awkward phrasing and sentence length variation.<br />
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<b>Revision </b>is looking at the big picture and tweaking the structure of the whole novel, if necessary. This is the big deal here. This is cutting the fat, involving character, plot, sub-plot, the story world or setting, theme, and style. It's when you examine scene and chapter issues, removing whole sections that don't belong, or adding specific, vivid details in all the right places.<br />
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This is when you decide whether there's excessive exposition -- telling instead of showing. Or that certain paragraphs aren't advancing the story, but have slowed the pace when the plot should be moving along more quickly and clearly. You might find that you have to cut whole passages of empty narrative or dialogue.<br />
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Are your characters well-drawn, or are they stereotypes? Is the plot too complicated, or so simplistic that it encourages your reader to throw the book aside (or across the room), turn off the light, and go to sleep?<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Revision </b>is when you ask yourself if the story makes sense. Is the plot compelling, does the prose flow smoothly or is it choppy? Is there enough to keep your reader interested and anxious to know what comes next?<br />
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Although there are writers who can <b>edit </b>and <b>revise </b>their work during the actual writing process, most polish their work after the manuscript is completed because it's the first time the material is seen as a whole, and any missing or weak elements will be more apparent.<br />
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But if you just can't resist making changes as you go along, use a notebook. Keep pen and paper beside your computer, a notebook, file cards, or writing pad, and make notes while you compose. You can implement your own particular system for this, noting chapter and scene, sentence, or entire passages you might want to change or delete. At the end of your writing day, or at the beginning of the next, organize your notes in order of importance, then go back to work and write like your brain is on fire and words are the only way to put out the flames.<br />
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"One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom you can neither resist or understand." George Orwell, on writing a book. <br />
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<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-4530160489676797812016-11-26T17:33:00.000-08:002016-11-26T17:33:29.851-08:00Looking Back to Go Forward<br />
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When it comes to flashbacks, there are two trains of thought. Some writers say no, no, no, don't <i>ever </i>use flashbacks, they distract. There are others who simply shrug and say go for it. Both types write excellent novels.<br />
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Flashbacks are used to convey valuable plot information and insight into character motivation, to build tension or create mystery before the current story action. A flashback can be almost like the author is whispering a secret into the ear of the reader, revealing something of importance about a previous event, or hinting at something yet to occur. Flashbacks are perfect for foreshadowing what is to come.<br />
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Flashbacks are often introduced by a character's memory trigger, such as a smell, sight, sound, an event, a person. Triggers aren't always necessary, but the flashback must always be relevant in some way to the current story scene.<br />
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Just as with any other literary device, there are rules for using flashbacks.<br />
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A flashback must seem <i>necessary </i>and <i>relevant -- </i>it must propel the story forward while looking into the past. The placement of a flashback should follow a strong scene of the current story, you should never just drift into a flashback.<br />
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Reader confusion seems to be the number one complaint about the sudden intrusion of a flashback. <i>Always orient the reader as to time, space, and characters' ages if necessary. </i>If your character is 42-years-old today and your flashback takes him back to childhood, get the information across quickly.<br />
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(I've just finished re-reading <i>It</i>, and was amazed at how easily and clearly Mr. King continually moved the children of 1958 into the adults of 1985 without any confusion whatsoever. Early events meshed smoothly with current happenings and yet stood out as individual scenes without a bump. Of course, he <i>is </i>Stephen King.)<br />
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The mechanics of opening a flashback scene are the same as any opening literary hook -- the first sentence should be <i>strategic. </i>Whether smooth or jarring, that first sentence must be intentional, and used to full advantage.<br />
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If the story is being told in past tense, begin the flashback in past perfect (had said, had dressed, hadn't seen), and continue using past perfect for about the first five sentences, then move into past tense. When the flashback is coming to a close, revert to past perfect for the last few verbs to signal the end. If the story is being told in present tense, then the flashback should be told in straight past tense to differentiate between past and present.<i> </i><br />
<i><br /></i>Very short flashbacks, a paragraph or two, can be written into the current story as a quick memory. Many writers who use flashbacks use italics as a way of setting it apart from real-time story. But if you are including a long flashback passage, whether you use italics or not, it is always best to give it its own section, separated from the body of the current story.<br />
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Just as a person often considers his past in order to understand his present, so, too, can literary flashbacks shine light on a current situation. It's just a matter of looking back in order to go forward. L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-91933031440737060292016-11-11T15:41:00.000-08:002016-11-11T15:41:13.805-08:00Theme as Glue<br />
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Theme is the glue that holds the plot together throughout the story from beginning to end. Plot is what happens, theme is why it happens. A story without a theme is just a list of what happened.<br />
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Without a theme, your reader will quickly get bored. <i>If </i>your boring, theme-less story even gets past an editor and that round file on the floor beside her desk. (Or if she hands it off to a first reader who, after plowing through your manuscript-without-theme until midnight, rubs her bleeding eyes and decides that she really <i>must </i>find a new profession, maybe something janitorial.)<br />
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Readers read in order to relate to others on an emotional level. They look for personal validation and justification. Of course, sometimes they want to be entertained, too, in a more complex way than just watching kittens play on Facebook. They want to dig into the lives of others and find that their circumstances are just as weird or hilarious as their own. Or just as sorrowful. But whatever they read, they want a <i>point of personal reference.</i> A fascinating plot is great, but even a fascinating plot falls apart without the underlying glue of one or more themes.<br />
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Humans entertain all kinds of psychological motivations for their behavior, some simple, some complex and intertwined with others. Story themes are the same way, some simple to define, some convoluted and difficult to pinpoint. <br />
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Here are a few possible themes.<br />
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Alienation, loneliness Love, lust<br />
Betrayal Escape<br />
Power Addiction<br />
Loss of innocence, coming of age Madness<br />
Fear Black humor, satire<br />
Loss Ignorance<br />
Prejudice, racism, bigotry, snobbery Patriotism<br />
Despair, desperation Survival<br />
Poverty Courage<br />
Death Freedom<br />
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Although it's important to have a theme your reader can relate to, your theme must appeal to you, the writer, too. It's something you love, you hate, you desire, you fear, something you believe in, something that astounds or repulses you.<br />
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Otherwise, the glue won't hold.<br />
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<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-18091799730809935382016-10-28T12:03:00.000-07:002016-10-28T12:03:09.022-07:00Writing Resources Made Easy<br />
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I have a collection of books on writing that takes up at least two shelves on my wall. I probably won't ever get rid of those books because I simply never get rid of books. I mean, they're <i>books. </i>Getting rid of books is like, the devil's work, or something, right?<br />
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When I first began to write, books were the only option to get writing advice and find somebody who might actually read something I wrote. Fifty years later, we writers have more options than ever before along that infinite road called the Internet.<br />
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(I'd like to thank Al Gore for that, but I've been told he actually didn't have a thing to do with it. That was just a myth started on the Internet.)<br />
<br />
So I've gone hunting along that electronic path and have found a <i>plethora </i>(love that word) of excellent writers' sites. I'm sure all my writer friends know about these sites, but just in case, I've made a short list of some where I've found great advice, comprehensive resources, and general commiseration that becoming a writer is harder than becoming an astro-physicist.<br />
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Here are 6 of the best of those sites and what you can find there to help you write and sell your work.<br />
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AEROGRAMME WRITERS' STUDIO<br />
This site offers advice from well-known authors, a listing of contests and competitions, and other opportunities for writers to submit their work.<br />
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A WRITER'S PATH<br />
You can find a world of great writing articles, and book listings and reviews here on this site. Great blog posts, and information about research, publishing, brainstorming, and even an online thesaurus.<br />
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C.S, LAKIN LIVE WRITE THRIVE<br />
Author blog, writing articles and tips.<br />
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FICTION UNIVERSITY<br />
I found this to be one of the best sites, with more than 1,000 articles, and a long list of online resources.<br />
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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS<br />
Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi offer great resources for writers, blog posts, articles, and thesaurus collections for character traits, character motivations, settings, etc.<br />
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THE CREATIVE PENN<br />
Joanna Penn offers online resources on self-publishing and platform-building, writing articles and author interview podcasts.<br />
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These sites and many others like them are not only informative but validating. By taking advantage of these online writers' sites, I've found that I don't feel so alone in my profession. And I've found all kinds of advice that has helped me to write better and to have more faith in my work.<br />
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I still won't get rid of my writing books, because first, they're <i>books, </i>and second, there is still excellent, timeless advice to be found on the pages of those books, old and dusty as they are. Words on the page will never go out of vogue, but who knows how long this crazy Internet thing is going to last? Right?<br />
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<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-9953361638059374682016-10-20T09:29:00.002-07:002016-10-20T09:29:50.658-07:00Why I Read<br />
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So far in October:<br />
<i>The Forever Bridge, </i>T. Greenwood (Great)<br />
<i>Grace, </i>T. Greenwood (Very Good)<br />
<i>The Cellar, </i>Minette Walters (Good)<br />
<i>The Summer that Melted Everything, </i>Tiffany McDaniel (Excellent) <br />
<i>Forgive Me, </i>Daniel Palmer (OK)<br />
<i>All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, </i>Bryn Greenwood (WOW)<br />
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Now for the sad news indeed:<br />
14% of adults can't read.<br />
50% of adults are unable to read on an 8th grade level.<br />
28% of adults haven't read a book in the last year.<br />
33% of high school grads will never read a book after high school.<br />
42% of college students will never read another book after graduation.<br />
80% of US families will not buy a book this year from a bookstore or as a download on an electronic device.<br />
(Statistics are from various sources, 2013 - 2016.)<br />
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But . . . here's what else I learned while I researched those sad statistics.<br />
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Just six minutes of reading can reduce stress by 68%. That alone is worth the effort to learn to read. If that isn't enough encouragement, reading keeps the brain functioning effectively, and studies suggest that elderly people who read regularly are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimers. Reading stimulates memory, analytical skills, focus, and concentration. Reading before bed has also been shown to improve sleep.<br />
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The list of benefits goes on. Mental stimulation, knowledge of . . . well, of anything. Other people, other places, other <i>planets. Aliens.</i> Expanding vocabulary. (I was so proud of myself when I learned the word <i>naive.</i>)<i> </i>Empathy, understanding, and relating to others. Writing skills -- a personal favorite benefit -- are improved, and you become more articulate.<br />
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The books listed above that I have read this month are all fiction. I read and do research for articles in non-fiction genres, also, of course, and I spend a lot of time reading health publications, children's magazines, general interest publications, and especially books about writing as a profession. But my passion is fiction. There are those who would argue that I can't learn anything reading <i>stories. </i>Really? <i>The Forever Bridge </i>explained much about the conditions of paranoia and agoraphobia. <i>Grace </i>told me things about living in Vermont that I didn't know, pretty much drawing me a map of that Green Mountain State and its people. <i>The Cellar </i>introduced me to the lifestyle of Somalian citizens living and working in the United States, an eye-opener. <i>The Summer that Melted Everything </i>gave me pinpoint insight into the racism and superstitions of small town society, and brought back memories of the music and culture of the eighties. From <i>Forgive Me </i>I learned a great deal about private investigators, human trafficking, The US Marshall Service, and the way the FBI investigates kidnapping. <i>All the Ugly and Wonderful Things </i>put me right in the middle of how meth is manufactured and its devastating effects on everyone, especially children. It also introduced me to some of the people who wear leather and ride motorcycles and how people are, in the end, simply people. And it was a hell of a love story. <br />
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We've become a visual society, but I don't believe that a picture is always worth a thousand words. Sure, I can look at a picture of a gray sky and my mind acknowledges it as "a gray sky" and I assume it's going to rain. But I can read the words "a churning gray sea of a sky" and know for sure it's going to storm.<br />
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The worst problem, of course, for those folks who don't try to learn to read, or those who actually <i>can't</i> read, is that the world can be a confusing place. There are circumstances when a person must be able to read travel directions, how to take medications, understand insurance policies, contracts and other legal papers. And unfortunately, for those who don't think reading is important, their children suffer for it, in school and in life. There are very few high-paying jobs for people who think reading isn't important.<br />
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I can't imagine a day without reading. Not one day.<br />
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<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-16095509402115998212016-10-11T09:14:00.001-07:002016-10-11T09:14:45.159-07:00The Story is Inevitable<br />
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It's the cliche question writers are most often asked by those who don't write: Where do you get your ideas? And the answer that always comes to my mind is Where <i>doesn't </i>a writer get ideas?<br />
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The Story is inevitable.<br />
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There is a story in the tiniest grain of sand, and there is a story in every stone in the Great Pyramid. There is a story in a light switch, and in a summer storm. There are countless stories in the lives of every living -- and dead -- human being since the beginning of time. In every sight, every sound, every smell, every thought, there is a story that can be told to carry us into fantastic other worlds and realities and possibilities.<br />
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A writer's imagination is fertile ground where the seeds of unique ideas grow to bloom.<br />
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The problem is not so much where to find ideas, but the choosing among the millions of bits of information that are planted in the course of even one twenty-four hour day.<br />
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That young bank teller who cashed a check for you today has a story. The old man in the park has his. Even that candy bar wrapper on the sidewalk has a potential story: Why is it yellow? Who wrote the standards for the ingredient labeling? How was the candy made in the candy factory, what kind of machine created it, how do the machines work, who invented them?<br />
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What is the reason behind the design of the parking meter where you left your car this afternoon? What were the mechanics of its production and the materials? Who decided the number of coins you dropped into the meter slot and did that person have a brother who might be a murderer?<br />
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Even beyond the plot of that entertaining novel you're reading, there are myriad stories that grow from the very production of the book itself. Who designed the book jacket, where did their own ideas come from? Where did the paper come from for the book's pages? How old was the tree from which the paper came, and did squirrels scamper among its branches?<br />
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If you write fiction, your story is in the faces of the people whose paths you cross in your daily routine, and definitely in the face in your mirror. Your story is in the lives of the people you love and the people you don't particularly like and the people you want to get to know. Your story is in the anger, the joy, the common experience in all humankind.<br />
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Life is fascinating. You need only to pay attention.<br />
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Look, listen, absorb. Create.<br />
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If you're a writer of research articles, how-to pieces, technical copy, advertising blurbs, a story is in the what, where, when, why, and the how. Everyone has some kind of experience or expertise in something. Ideas are endless for the magazine, newspaper article, and feature writer. Published materials and the great infinite web offers access to every fact or statistic you could possibly want to know. (And, of course, some you don't want to know.)<br />
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Ideas bloom from ideas. Writers read. We're guaranteed to find something to write about.<br />
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No matter what the format or genre, whether fiction or non-fiction, mystery or how-to, a writer's garden of ideas is lush.<br />
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In the garden there be dragons, alien beings, maybe even the fascinating story of a rock. All around, every day, every minute, there is a story in full bloom.<br />
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The story is inevitable.L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-13239468413973326942016-09-17T17:03:00.000-07:002016-09-18T08:20:45.112-07:00What's a Grammar Checker?<br />
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Recently, I was questioned about my use of sentence fragments, and since I am such an insecure scribe, I began to wonder if I was using them too much, or if I should be using them at all. I specifically find myself using them for emphasis, and to break up unwieldy sentences. And according to all the information I found on the internet -- all from institutes of higher learning -- students of the English language are terrified of them. It seems that your professor will mark your paper with a big FRAG, or SF, or FIX THIS, or something equally horrific if you don't give every sentence a subject, a predicate, and a complete thought.<br />
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I thought, wait a minute now. I read 3 books a week. (I used to read as many as 5-7 but even the most avid readers slow down eventually.) I was pretty sure I'd seen a lot of sentence fragments. And since I have more than 150 books on my own shelves, I was curious to find out if I was mistaken in thinking that sentence fragments don't always get your work rejected. So I pulled out some well-known authors from my shelf to see if maybe I was crazy, thinking I'd seen a million instances of sentence fragments over the last 40 years, written by well-known writers of award-winning books. I also thought that when I read these amputated sentences, I understood every one.<br />
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These are some examples of bestsellers where the writer made use of sentence fragments for a variety of reasons.<br />
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Joyce Carol Oates, <i>We Were the Mulvaneys: </i>"She wished Michael, willed him, to sleep. <i>To relinquish shame.</i>"<br />
Stephen King, <i>Lisey's Story: </i>"Suppose it was Scott's? <i>Oh, sweet God, suppose.</i>"<br />
Wally Lamb, <i>I Know This Much is True: </i>"See what, specifically? <i>The conspiracy?</i>"<br />
Tawni O'Dell, <i>Back Roads: </i>I tried to think about disgusting things to help me hang on. <i>Rick's fat ass waddling out of Shop Rite.</i>"<br />
T. Greenwood, <i>The Forever Bridge: </i>"It was their playground. <i>Their world."</i><br />
Heather Gudenkauf, <i>Missing Pieces: "</i>It also meant that everyone who had stepped inside Julia's hospital room was a suspect. <i>Including Jack."</i><br />
Flannery O'Connor, <i>Good Country People: </i>Yesterday she didn't do anything but ramble in the bureau drawer. <i>All she did.</i><br />
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There seems to be many reasons for the writers of these works to use fragment sentences. Emphasis. Explanation. To fast-forward. To add pacing. As many reasons as there are writers. As many reasons as there are stories. So I think I'm safe in using fragments to get my story out there, as long as there's good reason to chop up those "correct" sentence structures.<br />
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I never attended an institute of higher learning, and I have only a vague idea where the grammar check function is in my word processing program. Even if I did know where it is, I doubt that I would use it. (I <i>know </i>I wouldn't use it.) I'll just have to play it by ear, and keep on reading good books by great writers who probably don't know where their grammar check function is, either.<br />
<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-73144467644136970542016-09-12T17:30:00.000-07:002016-09-12T17:30:15.825-07:00Who Does This Guy Think He Is?<br />
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What comes first, the plot or the character? Or does it even matter -- one way or another, we've got to fit both to the story. And either way, whether the story is based on plot or person, we've got to get our story-people right.<br />
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Huck Finn would never have made it as a street urchin in Brooklyn. <i>Gone with the Wind </i>probably would have lacked certain elements if Scarlet had been a mousy seamstress. The plots of successful novels need to conform to its characters, and vice versa.<br />
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It doesn't matter whether you first have a plot in mind or its characters, you have to know your people to their core. And a character sketch is the most comprehensive way to get to know them. Besides, character sketches are such fun for those of us who love to create other humans, outside of actually giving birth to them. We writers have this god-complex going on. If we didn't, we'd all be shoe salesmen or accountants. (Seriously, I'm not denigrating either of these professions, I'm really not sure what size shoe I should wear, nor can I add two plus two without wondering why it always comes up four. For my own peace of mind, I need both of these people.)<br />
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Logically, your character sketch might begin with the physical attributes of your story-people. But, again, we're not accountants. <i>Your</i> character sketches could begin with background, parentage, favorite color, or any other defining characteristic. Somewhere along the way, if you suddenly realize he's only five feet four inches tall, and has a mole on his back, add it to the sketch, you can always put everything in order later. Even if you never use this mole in your physical description of your character, you know that he has one, and it helps make him real in your mind.<br />
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In addition to the physical description of your character, you might want to know what he eats for breakfast, who is his best friend, what kind of music he prefers, if he drinks cheap beer or expensive wine. Does he have distinctive mannerisms such as peering into every mirror he sees, a certain way of speaking, does he tell off-color jokes, is he always hitching up his pants? Does he sing in the shower even though he can't carry a tune?<br />
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Know every detail of all your characters' lives, no matter whether you use any of these things in your story. Open up their heads and walk in, learn what their inner-worlds are like. Even before you start your novel, listen to your characters talk. After you've decided what they look like, what their likes and dislikes are, actually give them words and listen to what they say, and how they say it. Is there anger in their words, sadness, love, hate? How do they feel about the setting you're putting them in? You might think you're putting words in your characters' mouths, but you also might find that they start talking on their own to explain who they are.<br />
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This might seem like excessive work to create a character sketch for every character in a full-length novel, but once you can see your people and they've told you all about themselves, you're ready to pour them into the plot cauldron and stir it up.<br />
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So, here's the scary part: One or more of your characters doesn't conform to the plot, or the plot itself just won't seem to wrap around these rogues. The solution is to either change the plot, or -- much easier -- to re-mold the character until he fits. There will be character traits and opinions that won't need to be changed, but there will be those that will. And so, here's the happy part: There's a delete key on your keyboard and an eraser on your pencil. Because you're a writer, and the people you create can also be un-created. You can change blond hair to black, or a love of Jack Daniels to a hatred of all things alcoholic. And if you just can't find a place for that particular person in your story, you can just set him aside for the next story.<br />
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You're a writer, after all, and there's always a next story, maybe even tomorrow.<br />
<br />L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-35926825413665995232016-09-04T09:06:00.001-07:002016-09-04T09:06:35.756-07:00Who's Telling This Story?<br />
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This is a previously published article I did for the Brown County Writers Group's newsletter publication <i>The Twig.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
If you're writing your story in Jack London's voice, you better be Jack London. Stephen King? Nora Roberts? Annie Proulx? Sorry, those literary shoes have been filled.<br />
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Nope, <i>you're </i>telling this story, in a voice that is probably not yet established with a particular reader/fan base. That takes years. Agents and editors have not yet fallen to their knees and deified you for your not-Dean Koontz, not-James Patterson writing style, but for your brand new voice that is brilliant and unique. And insanely sale-able, which enables agents and editors to put meat on their tables, which makes them very happy to share their paychecks with aspiring writers.<br />
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When writers read (every day of our lives) we most often read our favorite writers whose material matches what we want to write. Unfortunately, we also tend to try to hijack our favorite writers' voices and call them our own. Sometimes we don't realize we're doing this, and sometimes we do.<br />
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Just as actors set aside who they are to become the characters they portray, so too should writers become the people we invent. We made up these characters, it's our responsibility to match how they think, what they're saying and why they're saying it, with their thoughts and actions.<br />
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Not only do your characters have to present a certain voice, every element of the story should project a certain tone. Setting, scene, circumstance, incident, and even era should reflect the overall voice of the piece. It can be understated and muted, boisterous, serious and melodramatic, sad, funny--whatever voice enhances the story in the most original way.<br />
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Fiction writers create fascinating stories about fascinating people who do something fascinating, and say something fascinating about something fascinating, from somewhere fascinating.<br />
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Well, that's the goal, at least. I've thought I've written something fascinating and find out that maybe only three people in the whole world find it fascinating, and that those people are on some seriously fascinating antidepressants.<br />
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The hard part is doing it in a voice that is exclusively your own. Your right word in the right place at the right time is not my right word in the right place at the right time. It's also not Jodi Picoult's right word, or John Grisham's. It's <i>your </i>voice you're selling.<br />
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To quote Raymond Carver, whose short stories earned literary acclaim and prestigious awards: "Every great or even very good writer makes the world over according to his own specifications."<br />
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Every word you write, and every word you choose not to write, has to work to build a new world of your own that readers clamor to experience, a story told as only you can tell it.L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-21470072233083006312016-08-26T07:54:00.002-07:002016-08-26T07:54:49.616-07:00Enhancing your Fiction with Figurative Language<br />
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Ah, those figurative language devices. Those pesky English terms that I always manage to mix up. Is this a simile or a metaphor? What is onomatopoeia? I can't even pronounce that word, never mind remember what it means.<br />
<br />
So I decided to do some research, and here are the official definitions of those language devices writers often don't even know they're using. Or not using.<br />
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Simile:<br />
A specific comparison using <i>like, as, than. </i>Examples: <i>heart like a stone, thin as a rail, run like the wind. </i>These may be excellent examples, but they are also cliches we've heard too many times. Create your own.<i> </i><br />
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Metaphor:<br />
An implied comparison, such as <i>fish out of water, hard-hearted. </i>Again, these are cliches, so create your own brand of metaphors to enhance your particular character, setting, or plot. <i> </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Personification:<br />
This is a term for giving human characteristics to animals, abstract ideas, or nature. <i>Mother Nature </i>is a perfect example. Another is <i>roots clutching the earth like a child clutching his mother. </i>Personification is often used in magical realism to add poetic flow.<br />
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Symbolism:<br />
Symbols can be objects, characters, colors, or aspects of nature, among many others, to represent abstract ideas. For instance, <i>spring water </i>could represent purity. <i>Friendly dog </i>could stand for happiness. A <i>cemetery </i>might symbolize<i> </i>grief, fear, or loss. But remember, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."<br />
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Alliteration:<br />
Similar, repeated sounds such as <i>a</i> <i>salmon-colored sunset settled over the sea </i>does a great job of creating flow and mood.<br />
<i><br /></i>
Assonance:<br />
The repetition of vowel sounds, often used in poetry.<br />
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Consonance:<br />
The repetition of consonant sounds, also often used in poetry, but just like assonance, can be a tool in writing prose also.<br />
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Allusion:<br />
This is a reference to a work of art or a cultural icon. This sometimes doesn't work because not everybody will recognize the same art or icon. But it does have its uses if the reference is a common one.<br />
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Analogies:<br />
Example: "The federal debt is so high that if the US was a family, it would be homeless . . ."<br />
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Antithesis:<br />
Example: <i>cold hands, warm heart. </i>Yeah, it's a cliche, don't use it. Come up with something brilliant of your own.<br />
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Hyperbole:<br />
Exaggeration: "I've told you a <i>bazillion </i>times, I hate peas." Obviously, hyperbole is common to kids.<br />
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Irony:<br />
The perfect example: I saw a political sign on a lawn that said "Vote no on libarry." Enough said.<br />
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Onomatopoeia:<br />
Usually used as verbs, these literary device words mimic the sound of a thing or an action, such as <i>pluck, blast, zoom, gallop, sizzle, whine, clatter. </i>Thunder <i>booms. </i>The dog <i>woofs.</i><br />
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So those are just some of the techniques and literary devices that can enhance your writing. I hope to be able to recognize the opportunity to use them in my own writing. I also hope I can remember what onomato . . . whatever . . . is and how to pronounce it.L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703380884924702093.post-56585353412013385152016-08-19T11:46:00.001-07:002016-08-19T16:04:57.202-07:00What I Read This Week<br />
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Brad Watson's character Jane Chisolm was born with a rare physiological defect that would affect her whole life, but never her spirit.<br />
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Based on research into the life of his great-aunt, Brad Watson's new book, <i>Miss Jane, </i>tells the story of a character whose courageous spirit belies a debilitating condition<i> </i>that might leave most females bitter and angry and, eventually, fodder for the madhouse. But Miss Jane overcomes her lifelong disability with grace and dignity and courage.<br />
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Brad Watson is as courageous as his great-aunt, taking on a subject that most men would not be able to even consider, much less write about. Miss Jane is born with a rare life-altering deformity called "persistent cloaca", the condition of being born with no external genitalia and only one small orifice for waste elimination. One in 20,000 females are born afflicted with this debilitating defect.<br />
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People born with persistent cloaca are, of course, unable to be sexually intimate, and suffer lifelong incontinence.<br />
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Jane is born in rural Mississippi early in the twentieth-century when there was no hope of corrective surgery, has one sister, and two older brothers who have left home by the time she is born. Forced to wear clumsy diapers, Jane attends school only briefly, as her condition is complicated and humiliating. An avid reader and a tireless explorer of the forests and fields around the family farm, she manages to educate herself to the strangeness and mystery of nature and of life itself.<br />
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When she's fourteen, she does as any other fourteen-year-old girl does: She falls in love with the son of a neighboring farmer. Sadly, eventually, she ends the relationship because she knows there will never be any possibility of a physical coupling or children, although she never tells him why. She leaves it to those in town who have always spread the gossip about her condition to provide him with an explanation.<br />
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Throughout her life her best friend and confidant is the doctor who delivered her and who first realized her difference. A widower, he spends much of his own life trying to get help for Jane, and corresponds with many other doctors in the hope that there will someday be a surgical method to correct her horrendous birth defect. She is closer to him than to her family members, and there are hints that the two might have had a romantic relationship if Jane had been whole.<br />
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She loses her father to alcoholism, and her mother, who freezes to death in a field, to the bitterness that marks her life as the wife of a farmer who loses many acres of the farm in the crash of '29.<br />
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She loses her best friend, the doctor, when he is seventy-four and she thirty-five. He leaves her his house, surrounded by woods, and his beloved peacocks, who takes the doctor's place as Jane's best friends. When she is sixty-seven years old, she receives a letter from one of the doctors whom her friend frequently contacted to see if there was any news of a procedure to help Jane. The letter says that there is now a form of surgery that could correct her birth defect. At first she's angry, bitter, as she walks alone in the woods, listening to her friend's peacocks' eerie cries. In the end she replies to the offer, writing that she thanks him kindly, but that she sees no need to change her life, nor has she any desire to let them "fix" her.<br />
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With prose that sounds like poetry, and with great tenderness, Brad Watson has brought to life a protagonist whose life is testament to the indomitable spirit of those who refuse to give in to adversity.<br />
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Watson is the author of a collection of short stories called <i>The Last Days of</i> <i>the Dog Men, </i>and the novel <i>The Heaven of Mercury. </i>The New York Times has called Brad Watson "A writer of profound emotional depths".<br />
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I agree.<br />
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He teaches creative writing at the University of Wyoming, Laramie.L.Connelly-Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12610710956137361288noreply@blogger.com0