Riley Adams's Blog, page 220

Watermelon and Seed

I was volunteering in my daughter's classroom on Friday for a Thanksgiving party for 4th grade. 

While I was in there (supposedly setting out snack supplies so the kids could make their own teepees out of ice cream cones, chocolate, and hard candy), I couldn't help but look at all the writing-related posters on the wall.

Fourth grade is a big writing year in elementary school.  There were posters covering punctuation mechanics, grammar rules, commonly misspelled words, etc.

There was one poster though, that was a little more interesting to me.  "Is your story idea a watermelon or a seed?"

Kids, naturally, sometimes come up with big ideas for stories—that don't really work for a short writing assignment.  "My Summer Vacation" instead of "The Worst Amusement Park Visit Ever!"  The teacher's point was that they needed to narrow their focus to get a better story.

But novelists are working with more pages to fill.  We can afford a bigger picture.

Sometimes, though,  that big picture doesn't always work.  I've definitely read books where I felt lost in the imaginary world the author had created.  What was the primary plot?  What character am I supposed to care about…and who is the protagonist?  These books felt unfocused and rambling.  What was the point?  Was it a murder mystery or a family saga or lit fic with an agenda? What was the seed?

With genre fiction, the seed is pretty easy to find.  The underlying thread of my books is a murder.  And I don't need to get too far away from it or else I'm off-target.

I've definitely edited down books before to get to the seed.  Maybe there's a subplot that's fun, but doesn't really tie in enough with the main story—maybe it's an idea that needs its own book instead of being squeezed into a subplot.  Or maybe there's a secondary character that's stealing the show and needs his own book.

Have you read books that don't have a sharp enough focus? How do you winnow your plot down to the seed when you write?

Why We Write

My 8th grade son has really enjoyed his Language Arts class (what the schools are calling English these days) the last couple of years. His teacher actually moved up from 7th grade to 8th grade and he's having her for a second year.

I've been impressed with the way the teacher has taught topics like mood and tone and the quality of the assignments she sends home for projects. I feel like he's getting a really solid background in a subject that's important to me.

He does have a new assignment, though, that's got me puzzled. To be fair, it hasn't actually come from the Language Arts teacher that he and I like so much—it's a school-wide, quarterly book project and is supposed to supplement his other curriculum.

For the assignment, he's to take the books he's reading for pleasure and do a comprehensive project on them. So, not the books that he's reading for class---books he's reading for fun.

Commercial fiction. Genre fiction. For him, this is Sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian literature, etc…and do a project.

Fine. But one of the questions on the assignment is "what was the author's purpose in writing this book?"

My immediate reaction was to snort. For commercial fiction? That purpose is personal to the author. It could be because they can't NOT write. It could be that they've studied the market and studied the craft and written a book that they thought could sell…to break into a difficult and crowded market. It could be for money. It could be that they dreamed up a character that demanded to have a story written around them.

But almost always? It's to entertain. It's probably not to inform or educate. It's to provide a reader a few hours of escape. It's been carefully thought-out and designed and revised and sweated over to seem seamless and to be riveting.

Why do you write?

Twitterific

Here are writing links that I've posted to Twitter for the past week.

If you're looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand corner of the blog (on the black header right above my blog name…next to the Blogger symbol…the small search window is next to the magnifying glass) and the roundup with your subject will come up. To narrow your search down on the page, do a CTRL+F, type your subject, and hit enter.

For crime writers--handling lengthy investigations in our fiction: http://dld.bz/7usF @mkinberg

Why fairy tales are immortal (Globe and Mail) : http://dld.bz/7ugZ

Making Sense of a Rejection Letter: http://dld.bz/7rmj

5 Tips For Choosing The Perfect Book Interior Designer: http://dld.bz/7rmd @thecreativepenn

Understanding Advances And Royalties: http://dld.bz/7rk7

Things that have surprised me about the writing life: http://dld.bz/7tgH

Publishing -- The Synopsis: http://dld.bz/7rk5

Thanksgiving Mysteries: 2010 List: http://tinyurl.com/2g96waz @JanetRudolph

How to Make Your Website Mobile Friendly (And Keep Your Readers Happy): http://dld.bz/7rk2

Writing Cannot Be Strictly An Independent Activity: http://dld.bz/7rkb

A tale of a successful query: http://dld.bz/7rjS

For God's Sake, Buy Your Friends' Books: http://dld.bz/7rxY

When Writing Doesn't Pay (And It Feels Great): http://dld.bz/7rhb

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Hot Seafood Dip http://bit.ly/aFeFNI @CleoCoyle

Bloggers: How to Slash your Writing Time in Half: http://dld.bz/7gmx

3 Steps to Fan Page Awesomeness: http://dld.bz/7gkX

Tips on Writing Action Scenes: http://dld.bz/7gkU

Agent Donald Maass On: Your Tools for Character Building: http://dld.bz/7gdc

How to Use WordPress as an Online Notebook: http://dld.bz/7gcH

Keep the Passion to Write: http://dld.bz/7dnM

"Should I Quit My Job to Work as a Writer for Hire?" http://dld.bz/7dns

6 Tips for Writing for Young Adults: http://dld.bz/7dnd

13 Tips for Beginning Bloggers (Which One Blogger Learned the Hard Way): http://dld.bz/7dmP

Writing Should Be Treated as a Business: http://dld.bz/7dmJ

How to write a Q&A: http://dld.bz/7dmD

Get Past a Motivational Brick Wall: http://dld.bz/7dmh

Writing the synopsis before the book: http://dld.bz/7dkR

Should You Include Illustration Notes in Your Picture Book? http://dld.bz/7dkM

Writing Devices: Transitions: http://dld.bz/7dkB

Stop and Go Sentences: http://dld.bz/7dkx

Can An Online Presence Help Make a Best Seller? http://dld.bz/7dkf

Working as a Copywriter Abroad: http://dld.bz/7dkb

Six Ways to Trick Yourself into Working Harder: http://dld.bz/7fRJ

Nicolas Gary: France's Digital Man of Letters: http://dld.bz/7dj5

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Pumpkin Pie! http://bit.ly/d53M1Z @CleoCoyle

The Most Sympathetic Villain Ever: http://dld.bz/7djx

Literary rejections on display: http://dld.bz/7aXg

The Dark Side Of Your Novel's Hero: http://dld.bz/7aWV

Negotiating your own contract: http://dld.bz/7dnS

How to Connect and Network With Writers – 5 Social Media Tips: http://dld.bz/7aWK

Steampunk Abstractions: The Inevitability of Imperialism: http://dld.bz/7aW5

4 Agent Pet Peeves: http://dld.bz/7aWr

The Cons of Procrastination: http://dld.bz/7aWk

Writing Through the Doubt: http://dld.bz/7aVF

Starting a Scene with Dialogue: http://dld.bz/7aVv

Should You Grant an Exclusive Read to an Agent? http://dld.bz/7aVj

7 tips for improving your writing (especially for bloggers and freelancers): http://dld.bz/69N8

Seven Tips to Start Your Travel Blogging Journey: http://dld.bz/69Nv

Novels – Sagging Middle Fixes: http://dld.bz/69MA

How to Gain Twitter Influence: http://dld.bz/69Mz

Lock up the darn writer: http://dld.bz/69K2

12 Dozen Places To Self-Educate Yourself Online: http://dld.bz/69Ky

Top 5 Query Mistakes Freelance Writers Make: http://dld.bz/69Kp

How to speak publisher - A is for Acquisitions: http://dld.bz/69Kc

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Thanksgiving Treats http://bit.ly/c4Q2Zb @CleoCoyle

How to Write for Translation: http://dld.bz/69JM

17 ways for writers to publish their content: http://dld.bz/69J7

The importance of first impressions: http://dld.bz/6SZR @joanswan

How to Write Safely in a Publishing Universe: http://dld.bz/69Jh

How to Salvage a Scene: http://dld.bz/69Hp

Thanks to the Writing Masquerade blog for interviewing me: http://dld.bz/6USZ ! I shared my recipe for corn pudding, too. :) @eveningfades

6 Articles for a Stronger, Faster, Better First Draft: http://dld.bz/6UCE @Writeitsideways

How To Write Three Blog Posts A Day: http://dld.bz/69Hg

9 tips for writing back cover copy: http://dld.bz/6UAT @TheCreativePenn

How to Unblock Your Writing and Create Effortless Words: http://dld.bz/69Hd

Building an Author Platform from Scratch: http://dld.bz/69GV @pubperspectives

This Is Your Brain on Metaphors (NY Times): http://dld.bz/69G4

Developing contacts to promote your book: http://dld.bz/6Tfg @spunkonastick

How to write a profile article: http://dld.bz/69F4

6 Vital Signs of A Healthy Plot: http://bit.ly/dgD3PK

The value of pre-publication blurbs: http://dld.bz/69Fr

iPhone Apps for NaNoWriMo: http://dld.bz/69Fd

Tips for having a blog tour: http://dld.bz/69Fa

Things one writer didn't expect about writing full-time: http://dld.bz/69EF

Book rejection bingo: http://dld.bz/69EB

Cultivating your Imagination: http://dld.bz/69Er @jammer0501

Five Steps to a Strong Main Character: http://dld.bz/69Ed

Checking for plot holes: http://dld.bz/69Ea

Inspiring the uninspired: http://dld.bz/69DR

3 blogging blunders: http://dld.bz/69DM

A reader asks:is Our Attention Span Getting Shorter? http://dld.bz/6z9M

Do You Even NEED an Agent?: http://dld.bz/69DB

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Thanksgiving With a Little South on the Side http://bit.ly/bEcpv9 @CleoCoyle

Using flow for writing productivity: http://dld.bz/69Dw

How to Make Down Days Work for You: http://dld.bz/6zAp

Is Our Attention Span Getting Shorter? http://dld.bz/6z9M

Anatomy of a Scene Cut: http://dld.bz/6z9D

A Hidden Market for Freelance Writers: http://dld.bz/6z93

Writers: Be Bold! http://dld.bz/6z9f

How to Set Up Your First Blog the Right Way the First Time: http://dld.bz/6z9d

For freelancers: Ten Good Reasons the Editor Said "No": http://dld.bz/6z8M

Want to Be a Professional Writer? Act Like One. http://dld.bz/6z8C

Why modern books are all too long (Guardian): http://dld.bz/6z85

Writing the flip side of our characters: http://dld.bz/6GHx

The 7 Rules Part III: Rejection: http://dld.bz/6z82

The 3 types of negative book reviews: http://dld.bz/6z8u

5 Steps for Crafting the Perfect Book Review Pitch: http://dld.bz/6z8m

The Writer's Bucket List: http://dld.bz/6z8f

How to Keep the Conversations on Your Blog Civil: http://dld.bz/6z8a

Researching believability: http://dld.bz/6z7Q

5 Tips for Writing Scenes: http://dld.bz/56B2

One easy way to improve your writing--be specific: http://dld.bz/6DgJ @Paize_Fiddler

An agent with some Twitter tips: http://dld.bz/6z7A

The power of perspective: http://dld.bz/6z7y

Take the Fantasy Novelist's Exam: http://dld.bz/6z6P

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: COMMENT TO WIN TODAY! What is Your Must-Have Thanksgiving Side Dish? http://bit.ly/9jR5pW @CleoCoyle

Character Traits vs Author Traits - Reaching for the Brass Ring: http://dld.bz/6z6B

Why are you writing this story? http://dld.bz/6z6c

Why good guys need to win in detective novels (Boston Globe): http://dld.bz/6z5Z

Biographers fear that publishers have lost their appetite for serious subjects (Guardian): http://dld.bz/6z5M

5 Ways To Tell Your WIP Is Progressing: http://dld.bz/6t47

9 Ways To Elevate Your Speaking To Black Belt Level: http://dld.bz/6t45

Don't Prejudge Editorial Taste When Submitting to Magazines: http://dld.bz/6t42

Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 11/12/10): http://dld.bz/69NK

Things that authors get wrong: http://dld.bz/6t4f

Modifiers to avoid: http://dld.bz/6t3Q

Pleasing Ourselves or Pleasing the Reader? http://dld.bz/6t3K

Avoid 5 Plotting Mistakes by Using Scenes: http://dld.bz/6t34

Multiple Points of View: http://dld.bz/6t2t

Bad Boy Heroes: Three Types: http://dld.bz/6t2q

Top Five Mistakes that New Freelance Writers Make: http://dld.bz/6tzT

An Agent on Addressing Your Query: http://dld.bz/6tzv

5 Reasons Writers Get Stuck with Tips How to Unstick: http://dld.bz/6tzn

Ethnicity in writing--should you worry about including it? http://dld.bz/6475

A look at ending our scenes: http://dld.bz/6tzg

Archetypes, not Stereotypes: http://dld.bz/6tyy

Finding the Writing Groove: http://dld.bz/6tyr

5 Causes and Solutions to Writer's Block: http://dld.bz/6tyd

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: First Murder Bourbon Pecan Pie http://bit.ly/bblVwk @CleoCoyle

Ten of the best angels in literature (Guardian): http://dld.bz/6txX

An editor on backstory: http://dld.bz/6txM

Character Emotional Development: http://dld.bz/6txE

Definitive list of cliched dialogue: http://dld.bz/6txB

An agent on whether a writer should resubmit a manuscript, even if only one chapter is changed: http://dld.bz/6tx6

The online graphical dictionary: http://dld.bz/6sTQ

Twitterific--the week in tweets: http://bit.ly/cwFKYM

Business Writing Jobs and Rates – How Much Do Writers Make? http://dld.bz/6sTH

Taking history: top writers select their photographs of the decade: http://dld.bz/6sT9

An agent answers whether it's all right to scream or squeal when you get 'the call': http://dld.bz/6s6F

The New Girls' Network: How a debut author got a little help (PW): http://dld.bz/6s64

Feed your writing soul: http://dld.bz/6s6x

Events not worthy of a full screen: http://dld.bz/6s6u

5 More Ways to Jump Start a Writing Career - Part 2: http://dld.bz/6s6k

Did all these fantasy stories really rip off Harry Potter? http://dld.bz/6s6j

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Welcome Guest Blogger, Barb Goffman! http://bit.ly/9DKDMd @CleoCoyle

One writer's 10 ground rules for writing about her kids online: http://dld.bz/6s6f

The Life of a Furtive Writer: http://dld.bz/6s5Q

15 Secrets For the Perfect Business Portrait (or Author Photo): http://dld.bz/6mbw

The debate on prologues: http://dld.bz/6mbm

An agent with a thoughtful post on the necessity of author platforms: http://dld.bz/6t2G @pubperspectives

How to Use StumbleUpon: Your Comprehensive Guide: http://dld.bz/6maZ

10 Guest Blogging Tips: http://dld.bz/6maU

The More We Write

There was an article that ran this week on the Genreality blog by urban fantasy author Carrie Vaughn entitled "Things I Didn't Expect About Writing Full-Time."

I thought it was really interesting because I have noticed things that surprised me about spending my day as a writer.  But I hadn't actually sat down to articulate them.

Carrie Vaughn mentions things like the number of emails she gets, and the endless waiting for different things on the publisher's end to happen.

Those things wouldn't have made my list, but I've definitely noticed other things that have surprised me about being a writer. One thing that is that I spend most of my day writing.  It's not just work on my novel, of course—it's also answering emails, writing blog posts, creating short tweets, writing status updates, commenting on blogs…I'm actually writing most of the day.

I'm writing to people who also spend most of their day writing.  Other writers, my agent, my editors. 

These people all have excellent communication skills.  Way above average communication skills.

So lately—I've also noticed that I've had some frustration (well-hidden.  I hope…) with regular people who aren't writers and don't write clearly.    That's something I never would have expected as a byproduct of spending my day writing.

I'm not picking out typos or being picky about grammar or anything like that—I'm just trying to figure out the point of the school-related email or the Scout-related email or the church-related email.  Because the emails frequently ramble and aren't clear.   And I'm always in such a hurry to get to the crux of the missive.

And I'm used to corresponding with writers.

Which is ridiculous, of course.  These non-writers aren't practicing their writing skills like we are.  I'm just learning to reread emails a few times to figure out what some of them are trying to say.  And saving the emails and using my highlighting feature. :)

My husband has wonderful writing skills for a non-writer. But it  takes him a long time to write an email.  He wants to get the word choice exactly right. 

So that's what's surprised me the most—the fact that I apparently think everyone writes well, or that writing is just a basic skill like reading is,  because of the amount of time I spend interacting and corresponding with writers.  :)

What surprises you, as you spend more time writing?

Setting the Mood

After so many years of setting the clock back, you'd think I'd expect the changes.

But each fall I'm surprised how dark it is in the late afternoon. Every morning I'm surprised how light it is so early.

The darkness puts our whole family in a different mood. We light candles at suppertime. We feel sleepier at bedtime. And when I take my daughter to her scout meeting at 6 p.m., she gets the delicious sensation that she's up really late at night and out on the town.

I've noticed lately, though, an aggressive attempt by stores to put me in a very particular mood.

The Christmas shopping mood.

It was November 3 and I walked into a store that was playing Christmas music. Whoa! There's no way I'm ready for that stuff yet, y'all. I picked up some things for the kids last summer and that is it. The Christmas season starts after Thanksgiving. It does! But I kept running into stores that were selling the season awfully early.

These stores' determination to put me in a money-spending mood was a slap in the face. It was not subtle. It felt very pushy to me.

I've read some books where I felt the writer abruptly and clumsily tried to force me into a mood: a tense mood, a frightened mood, a maudlin mood. It jumped off the page at me and I don't think it's because I'm a writer.

It's like watching a poorly-done horror movie. You know the bad guy is going to leap out at you because of the scary music, heavy on strings, that's loudly playing.

Subtle ways to create a mood:

Skillful (and, to my liking, brief) description of the scene's setting: an abandoned, deteriorating house (unease). A crowded train with body to body people (stress).

Setting tone through dialogue. Obviously this would be two or more characters sharing more than just chit-chat with each other. There could be an urgent tone set, a joyful tone, somber tone…

Syntax: We convey our feelings about a person via word choice—choosing words with negative connotations instead of positive ones. Someone's face has pity, not sympathy. Someone is smug, not content. A person is cloying, not sweet. The character contributes toward establishment of the mood—the reader feels suffocated by the closeness of the cloying character, e.g.

Weather: I've seen this overdone. But it can be used very effectively in unusual ways. We all remember what a beautiful day it was in New York city on 9-11. It just illuminated the horror that played out.

Light: The daylight savings time shifts play havoc with my moods. You could do the same with blackouts, houses with uncertain electrical wiring, uncovered ceiling lightbulbs creating sinister shadows, etc.

I appreciate subtlety in creating moods instead of having a writer lay it on too thick. Are you the same way? As a writer, how do you invoke mood?

Negotiating Your Own Contract

I haven't run a post on negotiating your own contract for a while, and received a recent email from a writer looking for resources on the subject.

I did negotiate my first contract myself since I didn't have representation at the time--and didn't have enough time to really hunt when the publisher came calling.

I wouldn't recommend doing it by yourself, but sometimes it's just not an option—agents are hard to come by, and you can get an offer from (usually small-to-mid-sized) publishers before you're able to land a literary agent.

There are posts, by agents, on negotiating your own contract: the "Agenting 101" series (look for it on the right hand side of the page. There are eleven references) on the Pub Rants blog by Kristen Nelson, a blog entry called "Ten Things to Know if You Go Commando" on agent Janet Reid's blog, and a series called "Contracts 101" on the BookEnds Literary Agency blog:

http://tinyurl.com/2rneqq
http://tinyurl.com/yaebq3t
http://tinyurl.com/y882fn5

There's a guest post by agent Holly Root with Waxman Literary Agency on negotiating contracts: http://tinyurl.com/ybedos7

A general post by an agent on negotiating your own contract.

Another site I found helpful showed a sample author contract, just to give you an idea what the document may look like: www.writecontent.com.

Stroppy Author blog ran posts covering each section of a contract. Just scroll down for all the posts.

Usually publishers will go off a basic template contract—what's known in the industry as a "boilerplate." Publishers will expect counteroffers (I countered on my contract), but likely won't budge too much from the original offer.

If something in the contract seems a little off to you, though, the information on these different blogs can definitely help keep you from being taken advantage of.

Hope this information will help some folks out there. :) Google searches on this topic are sometimes hard to sort through.

Becoming a Convert—the Kindle

I really never thought I'd be writing a post like this, but I have to admit that I really like the Kindle.

I was definitely not expecting to like it—for several reasons.

One is that I love being in places where there are books. I grew up surrounded by books in the public library and my house. There was always a book on the table and books making the bookcases groan.

Another reason is that I have enough screen time as it is. If I've had a busy writing week (or promo week, or both), then by the end of the day my head aches and my eyes hurt and I just can't wait to get away from my laptop, the desktop, my smart phone, whatever.

So I wasn't exactly expecting to be a fan of the Kindle when my husband bought one a few weeks ago.

But—it's so sensible.

It takes up hardly any space. The screen isn't backlit like a computer screen, so (as yet) I haven't experienced any eyestrain. I can actually read the Kindle outdoors because there won't be glare on the screen. It can hold all the books I want.

Unfortunately, I think we've reached the point where we can't collect many more books. Books are even stacked on the floor in some rooms…and this is after culling our collection! No, if some come in, then some have to go out….

Unless you have a Kindle. Then you can have a huge library on a single device…and back it up to another.

Usually, if I go out of town, I have to make a big decision as to which books I'm going to bring with me. This involves skimming the first chapter of each book to see which ones I'm more likely to want to read.

If you have a Kindle, you can bring all the books with you.

I'm a clumsy person. Very. Yes, I've already dropped this brand-new device. While I wouldn't recommend dropping the Kindle, it has survived its scary experience.

Do you like to write in the margins of your books? I'm a margin-writer and highlighter, myself. Yes, you can do it in the Kindle.

Like a book, you will still need a booklight if you read the Kindle in your bed in the middle of the night and don't want to wake the person sleeping next to you. That's because it's not backlit. But that's sort of comforting and almost book-like.

I really don't have anything bad to say about it. I'm a fan.

I still go hang out where there are books. I go to the library once or twice a week. I'm frequently in the bookstores…and yes, I'm still buying paper books (after I give away several to make room for the new ones.)

But I think I'm seeing a glimpse of the future. It's a little scary because it's creating a lot of discord in the publishing industry…but I'm definitely a convert.

Have you got an eReader? Are you planning on buying one? How do you like yours?

The Flip Side of Our Character

If you think about it, every trait, even the good ones, can be taken too far or have a flipside to it.

What if our good traits start to work against us and create conflict for us or add tension to a situation?

I'm really Type A about some things. I have to be on time. It's almost an obsession for me…and I'll do just about anything to be on time.

That definitely has a bad side. If I get any hint that a situation will make me late…a traffic jam, a last-minute emergency that crops up…I'm stressed out. Stress isn't good for me and isn't good for people around me, either. :) I'm not nearly as fun to be around when I'm stressed out—and that's a lousy way to start out a lunch date or a night at the movies, or a school event, or whatever I'm on my way to.

An organized person who plans their day may have low tolerance for a sudden change in plans.

Sometimes people who are too nice don't have much of a backbone.

Someone can be industrious but could cross the line into being a workaholic.

Charismatic people can be egotistical.

Intelligent people sometimes need constant stimulation or else they get bored.

And on it goes. :) Have you thought of the flipside of your characters' positive traits and how they might trip them up?

Ethnicity in Writing—by Julia Buckley

Hope you'll all welcome fellow Midnight Ink author Julia Buckley to Mystery Writing is Murder today! Julia's Madeline Mann, which Kirkus called "a bright debut" is now available on Kindle.

My writer's group has gone through many incarnations and has been winnowed down to five dedicated, hard-working women. Once, more than a decade ago, it had more members who had varying levels of commitment to their writing. It was this group that did a reading of my first draft of Madeline Mann, which came out on Kindle a couple of weeks ago.

While the group discussed my book, a young woman pursed her lips over the names of Madeline's brothers, Fritz and Gerhard. "Must they be so ETHNIC?" she asked, sounding almost disgusted.

This shocked me for a variety of reasons. First, because we live in a country that isn't very old; therefore everyone, either immediately or distantly, is from somewhere else. Second, I felt the question revealed more about the woman posing it than it did about my characters, and what it revealed wasn't flattering. Third, I thought that the German ethnicity of the Mann family, informed as it was by my own childhood with European parents, would be one of the things they liked best about the book.

Ethnicity, in fact, is simply one of many things that makes fiction either authentic or not so. Because I had a German mother and a Hungarian father, I felt that I could create a fun and authentic picture of what Madeline's German-American family would be like. Had I chosen to write a character who was French, or Mexican, or Russian, I could certainly have tried to make her life authentic by researching and talking to people who came from those particular cultures, but I wouldn't be able to write with the same authority that my own background gave me.

I'm not sure what would make a reader shy away from "ethnic" fiction, and in fact Madeline's German family is really mostly similar to the stereotypical American family. What seemed to offend the reader the most, then, were the characters' names. She seemed to think they were somehow an exaggeration because they were so different from names she was used to.

One of the joys of fiction, to me, is that we can enter worlds where things are different and names are different and behaviors are different–and then we learn things from all of those differences. Gerhard and Fritz were names I heard on a daily basis, because not only did my mother have family members with very German names, but she had many German-American friends whose children had names just like these.

Ironically, my parents married in the late 1950s and their cultural world suggested that the best way to raise "American" children was to speak only English in the house. Since neither of my parents could claim English as a native tongue, they felt obliged to make us feel comfortable in our environment. They spoke only English at home, and they gave us distinctly non-European names: William, Christopher, Claudia, Linda, Julia. This, despite the fact that my mother's friends and relatives had beautiful German names like Loli and Lizabeth and Nanne and MariTereze, and her brothers had the lovely names of Ferdi and Hermann-Josef.

In Madeline Mann, I was able to pay tribute to my mother's German ethnicity while writing a very American murder mystery.

A day or two after the book appeared on Kindle, I got an e-mail from my uncle, Hermann-Josef (nicknamed Ebbo) in Germany. I have not seen Ebbo in person since I was one week old; he came to America to be with my mother during her final pregnancy, and he was there when I was born. He held me in his lap and they took photos to commemorate the occasion, but that is the only physical bond between us.

In his older years, though, Onkel Ebbo has discovered e-mail and the Internet, and his world will never be the same. He sends me e-mails all the time, either in German (which I can only partly translate) or in an English that he has translated online, and which is ultimately garbled. But the gist of his e-mail was "Congratulations on your book! I love the German names Fritz and Gerhard!"

And that was a wonderful antidote to my earlier experience, in which my wonderful German-American brothers were viewed with such disdain.

When Robert Fate was kind enough to read my book and blurb it, the brothers were what he loved best: He wrote "I love Buckley's flawless style; her small town American settings are perfect, and her characters are so real it wouldn't surprise me to discover one of the brothers rummaging in my refrigerator."

Vindication! And a reminder that ethnicity is as integral to a story as is plot or setting.

Julia Buckley, the proud daughter of a German mother and a Hungarian father, lives in the Chicago area. Her first mystery, THE DARK BACKWARD, was published in 2006. Visit her website at juliabuckley.com or her blog, Mysterious Musings. She also posts at Inkspot and Poe's Deadly Daughters.

Buckley is a member of Sisters in Crime, MWA and RWA. She recently earned her Master of Arts in Literature, and is at work on a young adult suspense novel and on a new mystery series. Kirkus Reviews called Madeline Mann "a bright debut," and The Library Journal called Buckley "a writer to watch."

Twitterific

Here are writing links that I've posted to Twitter for the past week.

If you're looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand corner of the blog (on the black header right above my blog name…next to the Blogger symbol…the small search window is next to the magnifying glass) and the roundup with your subject will come up. To narrow your search down on the page, do a CTRL+F, type your subject, and hit enter.

Be sure to come by tomorrow when Julia Buckley will be guest posting on "Ethnicity in Writing."

Best articles this week for writers (11-12 edition): http://dld.bz/6s6Q @4kidlit

Writing Killer Content in 140 Characters or Less: http://dld.bz/6maN

A useful foreshadowing device for crime fiction writers: http://dld.bz/6s57 @mkinberg

On Submission Etiquette and Offers: http://dld.bz/6mau

Smart Querying for Unagented Writers: http://dld.bz/6mah @Georgia_McBride

How to write a review: http://dld.bz/6kZN

Taking our readers into account as we write: http://dld.bz/6qU4

Should You Use A Pen Name or Pseudonym? http://dld.bz/6kZE

Question Mark Placement in Dialogue: http://dld.bz/6kZA

Best book marketing tweets of the week: http://dld.bz/6kZe

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Going Bananas! http://bit.ly/9iFDL0 @CleoCoyle

Ten of the best zoos in literature: http://dld.bz/6fKB

When—and How—to Compress URLs: http://dld.bz/6fK8

The Unauthorized Biographer's Challenge (Daily Beast): http://dld.bz/6fKs

How to Use Google Reader to Keep Up with Your Favorite Blogs: http://dld.bz/6fJQ

The 3 stages of speed writing: http://dld.bz/6fJG

No More Drinking the Publishing Cool-Aid: http://dld.bz/6mcF @KristenLambTX

Blog tour effectiveness: http://dld.bz/6fEC

Nominate Your Favorite Writing Blog: http://dld.bz/6fEu

Tips to keep your blog from getting hacked: http://dld.bz/6fEj

Don't label your characters: http://dld.bz/5ZcT

Stop Worrying About Subgenre: http://dld.bz/5ZcH

Dust off your drafts and submit them: http://dld.bz/5Zc5

How to write yourself out of a dead end: http://dld.bz/5Zcp

Deepening Your Novel with Imagery, Symbolism & Figurative Language: http://dld.bz/5Zcf

All Writing is Good for Writing: http://dld.bz/5ZbB

4 Tips on What NOT to Say (or Pitch or Do) to Get Your Book Reviewed: http://dld.bz/5Zb8

What one writer wants to tell new writers: http://dld.bz/5Zbc

10 Important But Overlooked Tips for Writing Conferences: http://dld.bz/6dWa @MasonCanyon

Learning from Rejection: The Ongoing Monologue: http://dld.bz/5PTg

Tips on writing great novel hooks from Writer's Digest: http://dld.bz/5PQV

When is close TOO close? http://dld.bz/5PSS @bluemaven

Excuse Editor Troubleshooting Guide for Successful Writing: http://dld.bz/5PRN

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: You CAN Beet Chocolate Cake (just don't underestimate Flour Power!) http://bit.ly/bp0GrP @CleoCoyle

6 Golden Rules of NaNoWriMo: http://dld.bz/5PNS

Toward a Steampunk Without Steam: http://dld.bz/5PNw

The Small Press Book Contract, Pt 2: http://dld.bz/5PNj

Dealing With the Self-Doubt Monster: http://dld.bz/5PMT @jodyhedlund

Impressive collection of "Best Books of 2010" lists (B&N, Library Journal, PW, etc): http://dld.bz/6aqD @largeheartedboy

Dictate your novel draft: http://dld.bz/5PMP

14 Ways to Make Your Facebook Page Fun and Lively: http://dld.bz/5PMF

Acquiring An Agent After Self-Publishing: http://dld.bz/5PMt

Plotting with Scenes: http://dld.bz/5PMk

7 Ways to Use Writing Prompts With Your Current Project: http://dld.bz/5PMb

5 Good Practices to Use with Writing Clients (for freelancers): http://dld.bz/5PKX

Three Lessons from Nano: http://dld.bz/5PKz

Five Writing Tips From Reading J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter": http://dld.bz/5MJR

"Niceness" only goes so far in the publishing industry: http://dld.bz/5MHW

The Making of a Novel: The Lessons of a Bad Book (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/5MHy

Why realistic teenage dialogue isn't necessarily a good thing: http://dld.bz/5MHm

Wake Up! 7 Simple Ways to Energize Your Writing Powers: http://dld.bz/5MGX

Word count--incl. links to find the target count for your genre, beefing up your count, or slimming it down: http://dld.bz/5V8E

The art of the gesture: http://dld.bz/5MGF

The Importance of the Uglies: http://dld.bz/5MGA

How to Get Past the NaNoWriMo Danger Point and Finish Your Novel (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/5MG3

6 Useful Steps To Tackle Procrastination: http://dld.bz/5MGx

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Sweeeeeeeet Potatoes http://bit.ly/9yiFK5 @CleoCoyle

Digital to Represent 20 to 28% of Publishing's Profits, says Forum d'Avignon/Bain & Co. Report: http://dld.bz/5MGh

Writers who love their characters too much: http://dld.bz/5MGb

Moving from gaming to novels: http://dld.bz/5MFQ

Under Pressure: Dealing With Deadlines: http://dld.bz/5MF9

Book cover design--a book designer explains the process (video): http://dld.bz/5RSd @thecreativepenn

The agent-client relationship: http://dld.bz/5AzP

Amazon Increases Kindle Royalties to Publishers (NY Times): http://dld.bz/5MEG

Writers, it's not about the toys: http://dld.bz/5ME3

Polishing up a manuscript draft: http://dld.bz/5MEb

The 3 elements of a novel hook: http://dld.bz/5MCF

20 Essential Works of Noir Fiction: http://dld.bz/5PYU @janetrudolph

7 things your characters do too much of: http://dld.bz/5MBP

Before you write: http://dld.bz/5PPQ @elspethwrites

Creative blocks and how to overcome them: http://dld.bz/5MBA

Now You Have No Excuse Not to Write: http://dld.bz/5MB5

To Prologue or not to prologue: http://dld.bz/5MBq

10 Resources and Tips for Writers - setting: http://dld.bz/5GxC

An agent on publishing contracts: http://dld.bz/5A3T

Judging the quality of your writing: http://dld.bz/5A3P

So You Want to Be a Book Editor? http://dld.bz/5A3N

Manuscript formatting: http://dld.bz/5A3v

Social networking should work for you: http://dld.bz/5A3p

5 Keys to Building Networks Over Time: http://dld.bz/5A3n

The curse of being a writer: http://dld.bz/5A35

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Sunday Chicken--on Wednesday http://bit.ly/9wxUOX @CleoCoyle

Berlinica is Born: How a German Journalist Became a US Publisher: http://dld.bz/5A3d

Resources for writers--an exhaustive list: http://dld.bz/5A2D

External and internal conflict: http://dld.bz/5A2g

Checking for Plot Holes: Does Your Story Add Up? http://dld.bz/5GvS

When an agent requests your manuscript: http://dld.bz/5A2b

10 writing pests: http://dld.bz/5EGN @elspethwrites

Let Their Reputation Precede Them: Introducing Characters For Maximum Impact: http://dld.bz/5Azh

4 Post-Its to Stick Up Over Your Writing Desk: http://dld.bz/5AyN @victoriamixon

7 rules for utilizing writing time: http://dld.bz/5FhY

Knowing when to cut or fix a crap scene, and how to do it: http://dld.bz/5Ayz @jammer0501

Mystery Writer's Guide to Forensic Science - Poisons V: http://dld.bz/5ERx @clarissadraper

Bolstering your word count: http://dld.bz/54YY

Showing character through reaction: http://dld.bz/5Auq

Flashbacks and backstory:http://dld.bz/56Cb

5 tips for writing scenes: http://dld.bz/56B2

Building a strong story foundation: http://dld.bz/56Ba

Staying True To Your Character's Voice: http://dld.bz/56AP

When writers break their agreement with their readers: http://dld.bz/56Ar

Using Facebook to market your book: http://dld.bz/5693

Word placement and micro-construction of sentences: http://dld.bz/569v

Lit agents in and around Ireland: http://dld.bz/569m

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: A Writer's Breakfast: Pumpkin Muffin Tops from Cleo Coyle http://bit.ly/9hY1eP @CleoCoyle

Agent Scott Eagan On: Author Branding and Career Planning: http://dld.bz/54YN

Subtext in dialogue: http://dld.bz/54Y6

Micro-Inequality: Why Review Equality Matters: http://dld.bz/54XN

Questions to ask as you write your novel: http://dld.bz/54XD

How to write fights, games, races and chases – in three easy stages: http://dld.bz/54WW @dirtywhitecandy

Lighting our scenes--keeping it real: http://dld.bz/564N @authorterryo

Pacing, dialogue, and research: http://dld.bz/54WE

The writer's comment filtration system: http://bit.ly/a0Bpju @EverettMaroon

What Makes Romance Awesome: http://dld.bz/54WA

Authors weigh in on what makes a good blog tour: http://dld.bz/56xN @spunkonastick

The 3 act plot structure: http://dld.bz/54Ww

Writing: Mistakes Are Future Tips: http://dld.bz/54VH

How To Handle Subjective & Contradictory Feedback: http://dld.bz/54V8

Deciding which story to write: http://dld.bz/54Zs

Bolstering your word count: http://dld.bz/54YY

Secondary Characters: http://dld.bz/5xeJ

Magic Systems as Characters: http://dld.bz/5xeG

Useful websites for writers: http://dld.bz/5xeh

The great backstory debate: http://dld.bz/5xb5

Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 11/5/10): http://dld.bz/5xbq

Writing time jumps: http://dld.bz/5xbn

Is NaNo Really What Writers Need? http://dld.bz/5wZC

Nathan Bransford's Decision, Self-Published Kindle books, and You: http://dld.bz/5wZ5

Are you dating your fiction? http://dld.bz/5wZt

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Pecan Lace Sandwich Cookies with Orange Buttercream http://bit.ly/caofQg @CleoCoyle

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Welcome, Kate Carlisle! http://bit.ly/cc8GTy @CleoCoyle

ElizabethSCraig is having another busy weekend--please check back Monday morning for more writing tweets. Happy weekend!

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Pomegranate Goodness! http://bit.ly/aT4nGg @CleoCoyle

How to Improve Your Blogging Quickly and Drastically: http://dld.bz/4MU3

Formatting sample pages of a manuscript in a query email: http://dld.bz/4MUt

The crux of character: http://dld.bz/4MUd

Managing Writers in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers: http://dld.bz/4MTP

How textbook publishing got so scary: http://dld.bz/4MTy

Are Blog Comments the new Mundane Commute? http://dld.bz/4MS7

The Making of a Novel: Developing Character Through Dialogue (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/4Hj9

The Argh Moment: vanity publishing = mainstream contract? http://dld.bz/4Hju

NaNo: It's okay to fail: http://dld.bz/4Hjq

The Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Main Characters: http://bit.ly/9z0BmI

The joys of the plot twist: http://dld.bz/4HhT

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Writers: http://dld.bz/4HhN

Writing With a Daily Word Goal: http://dld.bz/4Hdv

The role of a Rights Manager at a literary agency: http://dld.bz/4HbM

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Mushroom Risotto! http://bit.ly/domujA @CleoCoyle

Writing with heart: http://dld.bz/4HeJ

An unofficial guide to NaNo: http://dld.bz/4HbR

Why Sex and Violence May Be Good For Young Adult Books (WSJ): http://dld.bz/4Hfg

Personalizing queries: http://dld.bz/4He4

ISBNs and E-books: The Ongoing Dilemma: http://dld.bz/4Hef

Getting a lot of critique is great--if the advice is all in sync: http://dld.bz/4Hd2

Why revisions matter (or, giving editors a reason to say yes): http://dld.bz/4Hdr

Get others to make your writing mistakes for you: http://dld.bz/4HcR

The 10 Horrors of Blogging: http://dld.bz/4HcS

Writing humor: http://dld.bz/4HcK

Publishing in the land of Larsson: http://dld.bz/4HbY

The action/adventure genre: http://dld.bz/4HcD

A caveat about starting your book with action: http://dld.bz/4TRb @authorterryo

Facebook Blocking Friend Requests: http://dld.bz/4Hcp

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Avery's Easy Cheddar Soup http://bit.ly/93DwJf @CleoCoyle

The wrong end of the telescope: http://dld.bz/4HaY

Online Tools for NaNoWriMo: http://dld.bz/4Ewe

The Pitch and Why We Should Care: http://dld.bz/4Ev3