Michelle L. Levigne's Blog, page 159

Letters to Kel: GET TO THE END!

You can't have a booksigning without a published book.
Makes sense, right?

You can't have a published book until you've gone through the torturous editing process with your editor.
Can't have the editing until you sell the book.
Can't sell the book until you send it to the editor -- and you can't send it until you query and gain the editor's interest.
You can't query a book until you have one to send in!
Of course, once you're a published author, you can work up to the point where you can simply say to your publisher, "I have this idea ..." and essentially sell the book before you write it. But that takes time.

What am I getting at? Bear with me...
You have to have a finished book to query it (until you're so successful that people are clamoring to buy scribbled notes on a wet napkin).

So FINISH the dang book!
To finish the book you have to do multiple revisions and polishes.
You can't revise and polish a book until you ... that's right, say it along with me ... FINISH that first draft.

I have a friend who I consider a much better writer. She has hundreds of scenes scribbled out for dozens of possible books. Lovely bits of dialogue and action, and plot movement ... but those dozens of scenes haven't been sewn together into a cohesive whole.

You probably have writing friends who do the same thing. Or maybe you're the one with the problem. "But I want the scene to be PERFECT before I go on to the next one."

Excuse me, but that's what REVISIONS are for. Sometimes I only have a general idea where the book is going. I have a beginning and an end in sight, but the journey from A to B is kind of misty. I wander a lot. The wandering is the FUN part of the process. Getting to know your characters, their pasts and foibles and fears. Going off on tangents. Discovering things you didn't know or didn't even imagine about your characters when you first sat down to write the book.

Can't go on that journey until you get moving. So what if the scene you just finished writing doesn't feel right, there are missing pieces, you're not sure where it belongs in the story? Keep moving, and give yourself permission to do a half-baked scene and go on to the next one. You might just find out what you need to fix scene 27 when you get to scene 35. Something happens in scene 41, and you realized you need to go back and drop hints and insert props and create a new character in scenes 4, 15, and 23. So make some notes of what to do and KEEP WRITING. Get to the end of the book. When you have a better idea of what's going to happen, and what you need to have happen, and what needs to be foreshadowed and what needs to be cut, then you go back and REVISE. The first draft is the skeleton, not the final product.

Give yourself permission to write a first draft (not part of a first draft, but the whole thing) that is so utterly wretched, if you printed it out and lined a bird cage, the bird would die.

You can only get better from there. And isn't that a good feeling?
FINISH THE DRAFT YOU'RE WORKING ON. Doesn't have to be perfect, just has to be enough to revise and add to. You can fix a bad scene, but you can't fix a blank page ... except by writing on it.

Off the Bookshelf: LADY OF SPIRIT, by Shelley Adina

And so, we come to the end (wah!) of Shelley Adina's Steampunk adventures.

But only the "end" temporarily -- this is the most recent one. I'm waiting eagerly for the next installment of the adventures of Lady Claire and her gang of alley mice.

In LADY OF SPIRIT, we have Maggie's adventure into discovery of who she really is. In the previous book, we learned Maggie and Lizzie weren't twins, as everyone thought them (different hair and eyes, but otherwise identical) but rather cousins -- daughters of sisters, born within weeks of each other. Lizzie had some disappointment -- and danger -- when she met her father, but resolved the problem in true Lizzie fashion, with some help from Lady Claire. Now, the sister/cousins journey to meet their grandparents ... and things are definitely not what they seem. Poor Maggie is given several different stories of who her father might be, and finds her grandparents punishing her for a crime she didn't commit. And what's worse, her grandparents maintain a crime was committed by and against her mother, and they're punishing her for that, too. Villains from previous books show up with even more incredible gadgets -- submarines, anyone? -- and some sinister plots are foiled and lives nearly sacrificed before the satisfying ending.

Umm, excuse me, Shelley, but could you WRITE FASTER? More, please!

Spotlight Saturday: RIDING BABYFACE, by Wanda Snow Porter

Today's Spotlight is on a fellow author at Desert Breeze Publishing, with her newest release:
RIDING BABYFACE
More than anything, fourteen-year-old Winna Beckman wants a horse, unaware when she gets one, riding Babyface will teach her about life, love, and true friendship.
Wanda Snow Porter lives on California's beautiful central coast. She enjoys being a grandmother, volunteering at Rancho Nipomo's historic Dana Adobe, bird watching, and photography. She grew up in a small town riding horseback on land once part of an old Mexican rancho. An avid horsewoman, she has owned and trained horses all her life, learned the vaquero way of riding, and earned a Bronze Medal Rider's Award from the United States Dressage Federation. A life spent with horses inspired her to write stories. She has written and illustrated the Burro Picture Book Series published by the Dana Adobe Nipomo Amigos, and is the author of three YA novels: Riding Babyface,Spurs for Jose, and Remedy.
Look for her online:Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Riding-Babyface-Wanda-Porter-ebook/dp/B00K2XCEM2/ref=la_B0068MUOKU_1_5_bnp_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400604761&sr=1-5Desert Breeze Publishing: http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/riding-babyface-epub/ Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2843837.Wanda Snow Porter Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/wanda.s.porter.9 Website page: http://www.wandasnowporter.com/ 

Letters to Kel: WHOSE RULES? MASTER THE RULES BEFORE YOU BREAK THEM.

I have a "co-worker" who is driving me nuts -- or at least, driving me to empty my chocolate stash.

"Co-worker" is in quotes because while we do work for the same self-publishing company, we've never met, and I don't even know his/her name. (I'm going to say "her" from this point on.) When I receive books to edit, her assessment of the book comes with it, including recommendations for the level of editing and what needs fixing.

GRRRRRRR! I just want to reach through the assessment and throttle her sometimes. She insists on rules that honestly make no sense. "Paragraphs should ALWAYS be between 7 and 10 lines." "NEVER start a sentence with a conjunction -- rewrite all sentences that start with 'and' and 'but' so they read properly." And more statements like that, which don't make any sense when I actually read the book and catch the rhythm and flavor and STYLE of the author's voice. See, that's the thing -- those "corrections" she demands will change the author's voice. And I just think that's wrong. (See? I started a sentence with a conjunction, and I solemnly swear no lightning bolt came down from the sky and hit my fingers on the keyboard.) I had a publisher who applied business rules of writing to fiction, and that just didn't work. She insisted ellipses were "illegal" and took them out of dialogue where "..." indicated someone was trailing off and hadn't finished the sentence/thought. ("I don't know," she said, "what if ..." turned into. "I don't know," she said, "what if." Huh???) It looked stupid and made no sense -- but she insisted ellipses were illegal. Yeah, in the business world, but not in fiction!

Paragraphs need to be as long -- or as short -- as necessary to suit the rhythm, the feel, the voice of the piece. Paragraphs need to be long enough to complete their purpose. Some paragraphs are only one sentence long -- they are short to put emphasis on a statement. Some paragraphs fill up the whole page, maybe two pages, until they convey the image the writer wants to create or the information the author needs to convey. Don't break a thought apart into multiple pieces just because you've reached the maximum number of sentences some self-appointed arbiter of "rightness" has declared.

Granted, when you're in school and your teacher gives you guidelines to follow, you DO follow them -- and when you're writing for a publisher, you follow their guidelines. I have a publisher who does not want sentences to start with "and" or "but," and I comply. But if I'm writing for my own purposes and for other publishers, I don't have to follow that publisher's rules.

Sentences start with conjunctions to put EMPHASIS on something. Starting the writing journey, you need to learn the rules until you figure out how words work together, what function they perform in the sentence, and how to modify them -- just like when you set out across country, you refer to a map or use a GPS so you reach your destination. BUT, once you learn how to make the words work together, then you can break those rules to make your point, just like you can discard the maps once you are familiar with the route and surrounding countryside.

You have to learn the rules and prove you have mastered them before you can break them. How do I know? Some of the biggest-selling authors break the rules all the time, but they keep selling. (And every time I insist on rules for beginning writers, they always point to those authors. "But Nora ... But Stephen ... But Amanda ..." Yeah, well, when you sell as well as they do, then you can write your way.) Figure skaters have compulsive routines -- specific sequences of moves they have to perform in competition. Then they have routines where they can make up the sequences, but still include all the moves required. If they do what they want and ignore the requirements, they get scored low and even penalized. They have to do the required routines to prove they know what they are doing. You have to know how to skate, what works and what doesn't and what will get you a broken leg, before you can start making up fancy moves and tricks, right?

Same with writing. Prove you know what you're doing, and then people will trust you to try tricks that nobody else is using.

Off the Bookshelf: LADY OF RESOURCES by Shelley Adina

The fifth book in Shelley Adina's Magnificent Devices series is just as much fun as the previous four -- even if she does shift the focus from Lady Claire to the Mopsies.

What can I say? Lots of fun, and opening lots of doors for more stories, and the ability to keep adventuring with characters you've come to love. What more could a reader want?

This time, Lizzie is the heroine. Five years have passed since Claire met and saved the life of Baron Zeppelin and had the opportunities of her dreams handed to her as a reward. The Mopsies, twin sisters Lizzie and Maggie, have profited as well. They are now well-rounded, educated young ladies, graduating from their form at school at the same time Claire is graduating from the university.

Into their life comes a somewhat shady, wealthy man who offers Lizzie answers to some rather large questions from her past: How did she and her sister, at age 5, end up in the Thames with no memories before that night? Where did they come from? Who are their parents? When Lizzie meets the man, strange and disturbing memories start haunting her dreams. She gains some answers and her true identity, but to her dismay she may be forced to leave Maggie behind.

Fear not, all is not lost. Lady Claire comes to the rescue, and the girls' resourcefulness and cleverness and common sense attitudes stand them in good stead. The next book is Maggie's adventure, as she also has a chance to learn who she really is, where she fits into the world and society. Keep reading!!

Spotlight Saturday: STRANGER ON MY LAND, by Sandra Merville Hart

Today's Spotlight is on a fellow member of ACFW Ohio: Sandra Merville Hart, and her new Civil War romance, A STRANGER ON MY LAND.

Carrie and her little brother, Jay, find a wounded soldier on their land after a battle which later became known as "The Battle Above the Clouds." Adam, a Union soldier, has been shot twice in the arm. Though Carrie is reluctant to take Adam to their cave where her family hides their livestock from both armies, she cannot turn her back on him. 
But her Aunt Lavinia, bitter over what Yankees have done to their land, urges Carrie to allow Adam to die. Carrie refuses, but cannot remove the bullets. Adam's friendship with Jay softens her heart toward him. It's not long until his gratitude and teasing manner spark a friendship between the young couple. Even though Carrie's father fights for the Confederacy in far-off Virginia, her feelings for the handsome young soldier begin to blossom into love.

When Adam's condition worsens, Carrie knows a Union surgeon is needed to save his life. How can she accomplish this and keep her family's hiding place a secret?
Sandra Merville Hart loves to find unusual facts in her historical research to use in her stories. She and her husband enjoy traveling to many of the sites in her books to explore the history. She serves as Assistant Editor for DevoKids.com where she contributes articles about history and holidays. She has written for several publications and websites including The Secret Place, Harpstring, Splickety Magazine, Pockets Magazine, Common Ground, Afictionado, and ChristianDevotions.us. Her inspirational Civil War novella, A Stranger on My Land, released on August 21.    
Her book is available on Amazon at  http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-My-Land-Sandra-Hart/dp/1941103278/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405606746&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Stranger+on+my+land.

Letters to Kel: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH WHILE YOU'RE PREACHING

You know what really ticks me off?

Writing books or articles on writing where the authors make mistakes.

Honestly, how can I consider using their advice on solving my writing problems when they can't handle the simple things, like sticking with the subject, keeping verb tense consistent, keeping plurals consistent, and using proper grammar? Or what's worse -- because it's so visible -- being inconsistent with punctuation.

Who do we blame? The author, who made the original mistakes? Or can we pass it off on the copy editor or the typesetter, who thought there were errors and went in and made changes without permission, without checking with someone -- and then didn't make changes consistently throughout? The biggest ones (and they drive me NUTS!) come from this new fashion of putting punctuation OUTSIDE of quote marks. (I don't care if Jeopardy does it that way, it's still WRONG and SLOPPY!) Honestly, where did that come from? Sure, they use it in some countries in Europe, and my publisher in Australia insists on periods and commas being outside quote marks when I'm referring to titles of books and records and things like that, but seriously? Putting exclamation points and question marks outside of quote marks when it's DIALOGUE? And the copy editor let it go through.

Or an author says, "try and figure out ..." Excuse me, there is no "try and" there is only "try to." If you "try and do" something, then there are TWO verbs in that sentence. What are you trying, and what are you doing? NO, you are trying TO do something. Honestly, what is wrong with these people, that they think they can teach me to make my writing better when they're making mistakes that only beginners can get away with -- and hopefully, ideally, not for long?

Or people putting apostrophes in front of the s when they make something plural? Excuse me, but the last time I checked, an apostrophe-s combination meant POSSESSIVE, not plural. NO!! A thousand times (not time's) NO!

Or how about this? "The car full of balloons were flying around the corner." What is flying around the corner? The car, not the balloons. Do I have to diagram the sentence for you, so you know what is acting, and what word the verb is applied to? "The car (full of balloons) WAS flying around the corner." And yet I see gaffs like this in articles from writing teachers.

It's no wonder the books I edit come to me so full of stupid mistakes -- the examples the public sees every day teach them the wrong way to do it. Come on, writers -- we're the guardians of language. Do your job!

Off the Bookshelf: BRILLIANT DEVICES, by Shelley Adina

The fourth book in Shelley Adina's Steampunk adventures of Lady Claire starts off with a bang -- the ramshackle airship she is traveling in has major mechanical problems.

No fears. Lady Claire and her band of intrepid companions fix the problem with more ingenuity and brilliance and head off -- finally -- to civilization. There are chores to take care of, including that pesky problem of letting the world know, once again, that she isn't dead. In Edmonton, Claire and company are reunited with their noble, powerful friends and continue on their planned route -- which includes a trip far north to diamond mines and Eskimo (excuse me, Esquimaux) villages.

But all is not well. Sabotage and assassination attempts and social reform all congeal together into an explosive mess. Readers get to meet semi-historical characters, and Claire is caught between two young men determined to win her heart. Plus there's the fun and heartbreak of rough-and-ready Alice trying to learn to fit into high society while struggling to find her father, who vanished years ago.

The only downer in this story? The note from the author that she plans to start writing the adventures of Claire's alley mice companions. (Waaaah!) Never fear, the Lady is still in the stories, she just isn't on camera all the time. Let's hope that the Mopsies are just as clever, independent and full of adventure as their intrepid guardian. (Have I mentioned I really love this series?)

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY: Improbable Solution, by Judith B. Glad

Today's Spotlight is on a book by a long-time friend, fellow author at many other publishing houses, and also my publisher at Uncial Press: JUDE GLAD, with her romance novel, IMPROBABLE SOLUTION

Welcome to Whiterock, Oregon, where Sally Carruthers nurses her dying father, and dreams of the day she can go back to her real life. Where Gus Loring seeks forgetfulness, but to find it, he'd have to do the impossible and forgive himself.
Whiterock is a town where people are from, because there's nothing to hold them there. Every year more of the stores on Main Street close, and every year more of its young people leave to find their fortunes somewhere else. Where what you see today may be different tomorrow. Maybe that's why the town persists. Because there is more to Whiterock than its 639 residents, the elk statue by the park, and the Bite-A-Wee Café. More to it than a place where Gus and Sally find temporary passion together. Whiterock is more than just a town. A lot more...
Want to buy the book? www.uncialpress.com/Improbable-Solution.html
Judith B. Glad was one of those fortunate children to be raised by someone who believed in magic. A great aunt, with whom she lived until she was almost seven, filled her imagination with stories of adventure and derring-do and magic, never letting her know which was fact and which was fiction. With a childhood like that, is it any wonder she grew up wanting to create worlds in which the good guys -- male and female -- always win, where right always prevails, and where love is the most important force in the universe?
Sidetracked by reality, Judith started a family, followed a couple of careers, went back to school and ended up as a botanical consultant. Eventually, the kids all left the nest and she cut back on the consulting, leaving her with time to work on creating those worlds. She and her favorite hero had a long and happy life together in Portland, Oregon, where flowers bloom every month of the year and snow usually stays on the mountains where it belongs. It's a great place to write, because the rainy season lasts for eight months -- a perfect excuse to stay indoors and tell stories.

Letters to Kel: USE YOUR OWN VOCAB, PLEASE?

Every once in a while, I get an editing job where it is oh, so painfully clear that the writer is trying to use a vocabulary that he or she does not normally possess. They're someone with a Kool-aid budget, but trying to talk with champagne words. You know what I mean?

Instead of using words they know, words they use every day, they reach for the fancy, multi-syllabic ones that they think will get people to pay attention and take their books seriously.

What they do instead is make themselves look ridiculous. Do you know who Mrs. Malaprop is? She's a character in an old English drama who used words that sounded "almost" right for what she meant. For instance, someone says "perspective" when they actually mean "prospective." Or in a recent book I edited, the phrase was, "His actions were admiral." I was pretty sure the author meant "admirable." You know what the writers mean, because the words sound a lot like the right ones -- but you also know they're using the wrong word. And that's where the comedy (or frustration) comes in. (I really do have to start a file of these silly gaffs, to bring up for future examples.)

Do you want your book to be considered a joke? Humorous? Amusing? If it's not on purpose, then don't do a Malaprop.

Or worse, the impression you give your readers is that you really don't care about your writing. It's a sloppy mess that you dumped into the computer and then before the pixils on the screen cooled down, you shot the file off to a website, a blog, an editor who didn't care toad squat about proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, or context, and it was published. Or, what probably happens more often than editors and publishers want to admit, the author is a prima donna who believes his/her writing is pure gold and has a hissy-fit if the editor changes one word -- even if the author mis-spelled his/her own name ...

The language in your book should sound as close to the way you actually talk as possible -- but with the grammar corrected, of course. Try to sound like a dry-as-dust academic, or use enough purple prose and sugary imagery to put someone into diabetic shock when you're actually someone who likes shoot-em-up adventure with a large dash of humor thrown in ... just don't.

On the other hand, if you know your vocabulary needs expanding, then do it naturally -- read the type of books you want your writing to emulate. Change the way you talk. Do it gradually. If you want to change your vocabulary from nickel and dime words to fifty-cent pieces, EARN the vocabulary. Get used to using those words. Make them part of you -- don't wear a mask.

Readers will know you're not being honest, and it will make your story come off as plastic, posed, contrived ... try too hard to be high-falutin', and you'll just be fallutin' flat on your face.

*****************************************NEWS!!!COME TO A PARTY!All day today, Thursday, August 14, Author Island is sponsoring a SHIFTER Block Party on Facebook.What's a Shifter?Shape shifter, of course.
Every hour, a different author will be talking about their shape shifter creations, the books they appear in, give excerpts, answer questions .... and there might even be prizes.I KNOW there are lots of you out there who like to read Shifter books -- come on over and check it out.
From 2-3 pm, EST, I will be discussing my shape shifter creations, the Hoveni -- part of my Commonwealth Universe SF series. I'll be posting excerpts, and talking about stories that are in the works.
HOVEN QUEST was a finalist in the SF category of the EPIC Awards in 2008. The Meruk Episodes, 1-5, WON the EPIC Award for Anthology in 2010. I have 3 of the 5 stories in the next Meruk Episodes anthology -- maybe you can give me some feedback and ideas for stories #14 and #15, to help me finish the anthology?
Just put SHIFTER BLOCK PARTY in the Search field on Facebook to find us.