Ask the Author: Helen C. Johannes
Answered Questions (14)
Helen C. Johannes
"Uh, honey, did we forget to take out the garbage before we left on vacation a month ago? 'Cause there's something growing in the kitchen."
Helen C. Johannes
I have a thesaurus and an excellent dictionary, plus the thesaurus in WORD to use when I need to find if I've chosen the right word. The best similes, I've learned, grow out of the context of the particular story world. Have you found the Dictionar of Similes useful in your writing?
Helen C. Johannes
With each book I learn more about pacing. I wouldn't change any significant plot points, but I know I'd cut words and improve chapter ending hooks in my earlier books.
Helen C. Johannes
So glad you enjoyed my book, Hywela. Too bad about the comment system causing issues, but you found a way around it! Sometimes that's the best we can do. :(
Helen C. Johannes
Fodder for a sci-fi mystery plot: We live in a locality where over the years more and more gray squirrels are becoming black squirrels. They're very beautiful. But every now and then there's yet another aberration: a black squirrel with a reddish tail. And the occasional gray squirrel with a blonde tail. What is it about our area that's set off this chain of mutations? Should we be worried?
Helen C. Johannes
That's my plan, Lynn. I'm working on a novella in that world while I mull novel-length ideas. Glad to hear you enjoyed the story.
Helen C. Johannes
LORD OF DRUEMARWIN comes out soon (yay!) and the idea originated from unfinished business in PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE and, oddly enough, the Princess and the Pea fairy tale. Book one ends with their world on the brink of a new beginning. I had introduced a love interest for a major character near the end, and their love story just begged, nagged to be told in that context. My heroine faces the dilemma of the outsider, the princess who is tested by the proverbial pea to see if she and her love are worthy of the hero, his people, and the new alliances. I had fun writing all the complications that ensue before the happily ever after.
Helen C. Johannes
I've been hanging out with Percy Jackson and his Greek half-blood heroes lately, and while it's a totally fascinating world full of adventure, I think it's a bit too dangerous to really visit. So I think I'd visit Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Tuscany in Breathing Room. The scenery, the climate, and the food would be fantastic, and the characters--whoa!--visiting them would be both wildly funny and so romantic.
Helen C. Johannes
Exciting news! I'm currently reviewing the audio chapter recordings for BLOODSTONE. It's a somewhat disconcerting experience at first to hear one's words spoken in a stranger's voice, but this narrator is so good, he brings the characters alive in a whole new way. I sometimes forget I'm working while listening.
Helen C. Johannes
Enter writing contests that offer detailed feedback. At some point you need to measure your work against that of others. Learning what you do well is just as important as learning what you need to fix.
Now I know entrants are at various stages in their writing careers and have varied knowledge of the conventions of writing, but here are some items to pay attention to fixing BEFORE you submit because if you attend to these issues first, you give your judges a better chance to focus on your story rather than on trying to figure out what is on the page. And what you really want them to judge is the story and characters.
Paragraphing
Observe in published novels how dialogue is broken into paragraphs. Put the character’s spoken words in the same paragraph as his/her actions. Readers will be better able to follow who said what if you do this. And following who said what helps the reader see the story without getting lost.
He/She/They used too frequently without identifying who he/she/they might be.
If two male characters are talking, be sure to tag each one clearly with a name or descriptive title because if “he” appears multiple times in a row, you (the author) may be clear as to which “he” is which because you are visualizing the scene in your head, but the reader has most likely lost track. (The same goes for female characters and any time you have more than two characters in a scene.)
The unreferenced “it”
This useful little word can also be a source of major confusion if “it” is not placed close enough to the thing “it” is replacing or standing in for. We, the writer, know exactly what we mean. But readers can’t see inside our heads, so it’s our job to replace all the vague words in our text with clear ones.
When we enter contests, it’s partly because we want to be read, to connect with an audience. We want the judge to assess our story, our characters, our scene setting, our hook, and give us feedback on the story as a whole. The last thing we want to do is interfere with the judge’s ability to see those aspects of our work. My best advice is to pay attention to these few items when you polish that entry.
Now I know entrants are at various stages in their writing careers and have varied knowledge of the conventions of writing, but here are some items to pay attention to fixing BEFORE you submit because if you attend to these issues first, you give your judges a better chance to focus on your story rather than on trying to figure out what is on the page. And what you really want them to judge is the story and characters.
Paragraphing
Observe in published novels how dialogue is broken into paragraphs. Put the character’s spoken words in the same paragraph as his/her actions. Readers will be better able to follow who said what if you do this. And following who said what helps the reader see the story without getting lost.
He/She/They used too frequently without identifying who he/she/they might be.
If two male characters are talking, be sure to tag each one clearly with a name or descriptive title because if “he” appears multiple times in a row, you (the author) may be clear as to which “he” is which because you are visualizing the scene in your head, but the reader has most likely lost track. (The same goes for female characters and any time you have more than two characters in a scene.)
The unreferenced “it”
This useful little word can also be a source of major confusion if “it” is not placed close enough to the thing “it” is replacing or standing in for. We, the writer, know exactly what we mean. But readers can’t see inside our heads, so it’s our job to replace all the vague words in our text with clear ones.
When we enter contests, it’s partly because we want to be read, to connect with an audience. We want the judge to assess our story, our characters, our scene setting, our hook, and give us feedback on the story as a whole. The last thing we want to do is interfere with the judge’s ability to see those aspects of our work. My best advice is to pay attention to these few items when you polish that entry.
Helen C. Johannes
Just finished The Dark Prophecy in the Trials of Apollo series. Great! Looking forward to Dangerous Minds by Evanovich and the latest Amanda Quick.
Helen C. Johannes
If I think of who's inspired me long ago when I first delved into literature, it's probably Scarlett and Rhett (what a dramatic story), Jane and Rochester (still gives me gothic shivers), Eowyn and her unfulfilled crush on Aragorn (what a gutsy shield maiden and him--sigh).
In today's literature, almost any couple in Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books and Elizabeth Hoyt's books will stay with me. They write strong characters who hold their own with the reader but meld perfectly and believably as a couple.
Of my own books it would be Prince Arn and Aerid from THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE. They are opposites in almost everything, but what keeps bringing them back to each other--besides a strong physical attraction--is their shared core of honesty and mutual respect.
In today's literature, almost any couple in Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books and Elizabeth Hoyt's books will stay with me. They write strong characters who hold their own with the reader but meld perfectly and believably as a couple.
Of my own books it would be Prince Arn and Aerid from THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE. They are opposites in almost everything, but what keeps bringing them back to each other--besides a strong physical attraction--is their shared core of honesty and mutual respect.
Helen C. Johannes
Hi Lynn! I'm working on convincing my characters that it's time to head for the finish line in what's currently titled THE LORD OF DRUEMARWIN, a sequel to THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE. My principals have been enjoying themselves--love is wonderful, isn't it?--but now they have to unmask the assassin and face all those little (or big) complications that could blow a relationship to smithereens, not to mention get them killed.
Helen C. Johannes
Hi Riley! The book went out in the mail today. Hope you enjoy it!
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