Writer Brains

Writers can be hard to live with. Even harder to watch television with.
I can often guess the plot before the show is over. I catch glitches in the story and point out why the crime scene doesn't make sense.
Hawaii 5-0 recently had a show where one of the characters is found kneeling in a parking lot or some such area, with a bomb strapped to his neck. One of the cops says, "Don't move. That's a mercury switch, if you move it will blow up."
A mercury switch depends on where the little drop of mercury is in the switch. If you lean to either side the mercury moves and completes the circuit and KABOOM!
So then the 5-0 character tells his would be rescuers that he doesn't know how he got there he was knocked out and just woke up in the parking lot.
Now remember as we come upon the scene the man is in a kneeling position. So that means, if he was knocked out, he would not have been in an upright kneeling position. He would have been laying down. Now, if it is a mercury switch, and he would have had to move up to the kneeling position, this would have set off the bomb. That's the way a mercury switch works.
Hmmmm...
I just can't let these things slide. It's bad habit. It's so apparent I just have to say something. It amazes me that others don't see this stuff.
I give away the plot and I dissect the inconsistent. I think its a writer thing.
Anyone else do this?

The Editing Process...

I had Disregarding Heaven ready to go months ago and have the rejection to prove it. The only thing the editor said when she rejected me was that my hero didn't come in soon enough. Yet I've seen books where the hero didn't enter right away and they worked just fine. So I added a preamble. I'm doing a scene where the hero shows in the woman's life two years before. Which what happened but is only referenced in the way I originally wrote the story. Let's hope it works.
One thing I'm seeing while editing this story is I'll get to a place and think "I should put X here" and I insert it. Then I read down a couple of lines and see X. So I thought of it originally and did put it in. This is slowing me down as I have to keep back tracking and re-fixing the stuff I added that was already there.
>sigh<
It just makes me want to write a new story. Which I started because I had an idea pop into my head and had to get it down.
So what's your secret to successful editing?

My story, Valentine's Day Disaster, is in the February True Romance Magazine. Yay!
It seems Dorchester revamped the True's office and the January issues went digital, but it seems February is back in print. Whew!
I think the audience for the Trues is definitely print type people. It's the kind of mag you curl up on the couch with a hot cup of tea. I was worried.
True Confessions was started in like 1922 and after it's success True Romance bounced onto the scene followed by a bunch of others. They are simple stories about how people overcome hardships to find love. Fun to write, fun to read.
:)

Adventures in ebooking

I've decided to have a go at putting an ebook up on Amazon. This is a learning curve as I don't really know what I'm doing. So here's the adventure. Step by step I'm going to post as I go along.
Step 1. Pick something already finished to put up as the ebook. I have several novels finished (rejected by agents) that I think are polished and ready to go. I'm choosing "Disregarding Heaven", a story about a woman who finds out she should have died two years ago and now has no destiny. When she finds out it's all her guardian angel's fault she goes looking for him and the show down ain't gonna be pretty.
One editor told me I introduced the hero too late and that he should have come in within the first ten pages. Hmmmmm, gotta think on that. I might have a slight change to make, but I have an idea on how to do it.
Step 2. Polish it one more time. I'm going through it again because I have this very nervous feeling that it won't be perfect and reviews will be biting.
That's where I'm at now.
All advice welcomed.

Self pub? The times they are a-changin?

Visited J.A.Konrath's blog and he has up an interesting post about the evolving world of self publishing. I know for years self publishing has been a big no-no and thought to be only a thing to stroke the ego of a writer who has yet to be able to go the conventional route. But now?
I think it's a new world for publishing. Like everything else evolves so has book publishing. There's been many a time I laid down my good bucks for a book that should have been used to line the bird cage. As a yet unpublished (except for the Trues, ehow and Livestrong) writer I knew I could do better. I'm sure others have had the same experience. There were times I wondered if getting your book published was 50% talent and 50% luck. Hit the right agent on the right day when your words would hit the right ear at the right time.
So now we have Amazon's epublishing stuff where anyone can put their book up for sale. This means some books are going to be not so good. Wait, I've already paid good money for one (or ten) of those and they were from traditionally published authors.
So now I think about ebooking it and my biggest worry is the polishing. I want it to be perfect. I want perfect grammar, flow, execution and everything a good agent and editor would catch.
What about you? Do you ebook? Do you want to? What's holding you back?

Crayons is Back!

I'm in a lot of pain the last few days. I had rotator cuff surgery three years ago and the pain still comes back. Sometimes its very bad. Like yesterday. And last night. And right about now. No one can explain why this pain comes back or why it won't go away.
Blah.
But today I found a reason to smile. Crayons is back! Crayons tells a story with her drawings. A while a go she closed up shop and said she ran out of things to say. But I would still go by her old site just to see if she had dropped by and today I found Crayons Encore.
Today, inspite of the pain, is a good day.
Thank you, Crayons. Your site gives me smiles.

Under the Dome by Stephen King

Just finished Under the Dome by Stephen King and I still haven't caught my breath. In this story a mysterious force field-like dome covers a small New England town trapping the people inside. Maybe that wouldn't have been too bad at first, but one of the town selectmen, Jim Rennie, has dictator issues and quickly works behind the scenes to create havoc. He fills the town police force with incompetent bullies, murders those who threaten to expose his crimes and manipulates the towns people to his own benefit. When the president sets up an ex-military man, Dale Barbara (Barr-beee), as the person in charge Big Jim pins him with a multiple murder rap and has him thrown in jail. Suddenly all the chaos created by Jim Rennie is blamed on Barrr-beee. What happens next will keep you on the edge of your seat.
My one problem with this book is the size...no it's not the length of the book...it's the physical size. This book is 4 inches thick in hardback. I guess I should have waited for the paperback because this book was hard to fit in my purse. And to make matters worse I couldn't put it down! lol So after going through the first few chapters I went out and got the audio version so I could listen during my 40 minute drive to work. Raul Esparza read this book and he is excellent. His ability to do voices was amazing and really took me into Chester's Mill and it's characters. I think he's the best reader I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.
The characters in this book will stay with me for a long time. When the book ended I felt like I was losing some old friends. Isn't that the best feeling in the world? Well done, Mr. King. Now...will you sign my copy?
Five stars. I loved this book!
Go to Amazon to see a video of Stephen King talking about this book.

Hacked!

My web based email was hacked and someone sent out a weird email saying I was stranded in the UK and needed money. What kind of sicko does this? Then it wiped out all my contacts so I don't even know who it went out to. I'm fuming! I contacted yahoo and asked what they could do about it but haven't heard from them yet. Has this ever happened to you? What do you do about it?
I'm deleting my yahoo accounts which will also delete my flicker account but what else can I do?
Blah. Some people are so mean.

So You Want to be a Writer

Work is really slow this time of year. In fact, it's dead. We sit around and watch movies, read, draw or paint, play computer games or surf. (I hate this job...I don't do well with boredom) And now the powers that be told us to stay off the internet.
REally? What the hell am I supposed to do now?
I want them to give me work...something...anything to do...but there is none for now. Even when there is work it's easy stuff so that's not that entertaining either.
I try writing and sometimes when the office is quiet I can get some done, but usually the chatter is too distracting.
I need a new job. Something busy and active. Blah, the job market isn't that great right now so I don't see anything that would fit me. . . yet. Being a full time writer isn't there for me. At least not yet. (I'm hoping!)
So, I'm looking.
While I'm looking, check this out -->

Cross Country, Oy! Mr. Patterson!

Normally, I love James Patterson. Yes, I've heard the rumors that he doesn't write his own books and yes, sometimes those short chapters annoy the hell out of me, but generally I like his books. And I love the Alex Cross series.
Then I read Cross Country and prayed for it to be over. This was the worst book I've read in a long! long! long! time!
It broke all the rules! There were so many exclamation marks I thought I should be jumping up off my chair for every other sentence!
There there were the rhetorical sentences. They came in groups of three (always three!) in every chapter.
If you've ever read any of the Alex Cross books you know he's this big, tough detective. He's too smart to take unnecessary chances and always puts his family first.
He's the perfect man.
Well, whoever took over the Alex Cross in this book was none of those things. He came across dumb as a doornail, took stupid chances and was a really feminine. Yes, big tough Alex Cross came across in this book as a girl. Jacqueline Daniels had a bigger pair than this guy.
Now lets move on to the plot....Alex goes to Africa to try and track a murderer. However he goes without a clue as to where to look for this man. Africa is a big continent so....what's the plan Alex? Wander here and there and hope for the best to bump into this guy?
But lets back up, Alex has no proof that this guy is in Africa. He only has some rumors that the guy originally came from there. The Alex Cross in previous books was much smarter than this guy.
Weak plot and out-of-character characters make for a really bad book. And I think this book was written by a woman. The feminine voice comes through so loud and clear
I can picture big, tough Alex Cross running in high heels.
Sorry James, whoever wrote this book needs to go back to writing 101.

More Sales!

Two more sales to the Confessions for January!
Yippy!

When is it Okay?

I've read a couple of books lately where there are info dumps in the first two chapters. One, a very popular book, had so much back story in the first two chapters I was wondering when the story would start.
In my critique groups this was one of the biggest no-no's, but I see this happening in books all the time.
So when is it okay?
This is a picture of Trixie. She came up from West Virginia on the day she was supposed to be euthanized. This week she got a new family to love. Yay Trixie!

I. Have. To. Share.

Freelancing...

I've been doing a little freelance writing and having a lot of fun with it. I'm nervous every time I turn something in. I sweat out the rewrites and rejoice when I get an acceptance.
The amazing Mark Terry posted a whole freelance course on his blog a while ago and over these months I keep going back and rereading it. I wanted to do it, but was so scared to start. Fiction was easy. Fiction can take many roads and as long as you know the basic guidelines/rules you can make it into anything. But freelance?
DemandStudios.com lists jobs and you grab them up. Most are short, quick things that can be written in a couple hours (if that) and they pay between seven and fifteen. I heard they pay more but haven't seen it yet. These are getting easier and easier to write.
Constant-content.com lets you write whatever you want and put it up for sale. That's easier because I can write what I want and not what I have to. And you put your own prices on the article. So far, I've made nothing there, but I only have one article up. I'm working on a few more ideas and should have more up soon.
My daughter is working for odesk.com. They post jobs from private peeps and you do whatever job they want. This can include articles, ebooks, brochures, etc. Right now I don't have time to do odesk. Work is soul-crushingly busy and I don't want to commit to something I can't give my all to.
Anyway, I'm excited about this new endeavor and just wanted to share.
This is a picture of Trixie. She came up from West Virginia the day she was supposed to be euthanized. Now she's looking for a home.
:)

A New Blog...

Since I've fostered a number of dogs already I've decided to start a new blog; Foster Dog Stories.
I hope it helps get the word out that there are millions of dogs our there that need our help. When I first started fostering I'll admit I was scared. What was I getting myself into? All kinds of questions ran through my head: Would I be able to handle a dog with "baggage"? What if they were mean? What if they pee on my furniture? What if I have to go somewhere? Who pays for the food and crates and stuff?
So that's why I started the blog. I'm hoping my experience will help others see that it's not so scary and you get a lot in return.
I may cry when I get a pancake dog or when I see the scars and neglect, but a few tears are nothing compared to the love you get in return.
So now that stuff will be on the Foster Dog blog and I'll keep the writing stuff here.
You don't have to save them all. Just start with one.

Do you Ebook?

I read Konrath's take on the new self-published ebooks and I'm curious, a little afraid of it, but curious just the same.
I have one story about a woman reincarnated as a dog and it's told from the dog's perspective...how would I ever sell this to an agent??? I don't know how to put a positive marketing spin on it so I was thinking of Amazon. (Actually it's a lot more complicated than a reincarnated dog, but it's hard to blurb)
I really like this story. It's based on the fact that a soul mate doesn't have to be a romantic interest but just a higher connection.
However what holds me back is the fact that to go up as an ebook it would have to be perfect...beyond perfect. Every word, punctuation mark, paragraph would have to be absolutely perfect.
I'm not sure if I'm up to that much perfection.
Anyone got any ebooks they did themselves? Where did you publish? How did it work out?

Which would you buy???

Kindle? Sony Reader? Nook?
I'm thinking of purchasing one of these, but I'm not sure which is better and why?
I want light weight. I want to be able to read in sunlight. I want a lot of books.
Anyone have one of these toys? Why did you choose it and how do you like it?

Courage and Freelancing...

I've finally bitten the bullet and decided to give Freelancing a go. I'm nervously waiting for my reviews on two sites, Demand Studios and Constant Content.
Demand offers topics for you to write and has strict guidelines as to how each article should be written. I see this as a learning experience. Constant Content is more open. You post what you want and someone can buy it. They also have fairly strict copy editors who will review your work before it is accepted.

This is something I've always wanted to do but never had the courage to try. Even after the amazing Mark Terry put up a wonderful online course in freelancing I still worried that what I wrote wouldn't be good enough. Courage is a funny thing. We don't always have it when we need it. Some days its there and we feel like lions, but then it disappears like a whisper fading into the wind and we're left cowering under the desk.

I once read that courage was just fear holding out a moment longer. Do you think that's true? Where is your courage? Does it come from your convictions or your fears?

Let there be Peace on Earth and...

I live across the bay from New York City. September 11th was a nightmare here. My little town is full of commuters. Most people I know train, bus or ferry across the Hudson (East River) every day to work in Manhattan. I like the Sea Streak the best. That's the ferry going from the Highlands to the city. It's a beautiful ride.
When the towers went down we could stand on our shore and see the flames from where the planes hit. Within hours our view of the New York skyline was blocked by a huge cloud of smoke. We could see the Statue but everything beyond that was just one big cloud of billowing smoke. Frantic, we all grabbed out cell phones to call our family and friends who we knew were in the city. Almost immediately cell phone service in to the city shut down and we realize how many cell phone antennas are/were on top of the twin towers. When we turned to the TV we caught images of people running from the smoke clouds chasing them down the street. I thought of my cousins, neighbors and friends who worked in the towers. It was days before we knew who made it out and who didn't. Family members went into the city each day searching through hospitals where many lay unidentified. The stink from the smoke hung in our air for days afterward. You couldn't go anywhere to escape it. That smell was in our yards, our cars and our homes. I still remember exactly how it smelled. I don't think I can ever forget.
I went into the city a few weeks later. We took the train and were met with armed soldiers who patroled the streets. They made us feel safe and horrified. The city wasn't the bustling explosion of life we knew, it was subdued. Shock still clouded the faces of those who walked the streets. Coming out of the tunnel from the train the walls were decorated with pictures and posters of the missing. Women in wedding dresses, mothers and fathers with children, graduation photos. "Have you seen this woman? this man? my wife?" We cried.
We went to see the Allergist Wife and at the end Valerie Bertinelli came out to thank everyone for not giving up on our city. She said we can't let terrorism take away our way of life. If we do, they win.
Now I see this preacher in Florida wanting to burn the Quran. Why? What purpose does that serve? Would burning the Bible avenge the Inquisition? As a man of God shouldn't he be using his powers for good instead of hate?
Somethings I don't understand.
Muslims didn't attack America, terrorists did. Just because they use God/Allah as an excuse that doesn't mean every Muslim in the world wanted it to happen. I have friends who are Muslim and they were horrified by 9/11. Muslims died in the towers along with everyone else.
So here's our memorial to 9/11. If anything let it be a day we should remember the importance of peace and respect.
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. And you. And him. And her. And them.

Wordiness...

I'm going back over a story that's been on the shelf for a while and I'm trying to cut the useless words. Not an easy thing in fiction because we need to describe things. Hoping that when someone reads our stuff they can visualize the scenes. We need to put pictures into their heads, but how much is too much?
If I see too much description in a book I start skimming. Too little and I find myself going back to see if I missed something.
When writing sometimes I take things out only to put them back on the next rewrite. Sometimes I waffle back and forth---should I or shouldn't I?
I wish there was a black and white rule. Then I would know for sure.
Do you think Harlen Coben worries about these things?
This is my new foster dog. Her name is Riley and she's 3 months old.