Theresa Jacobs's Blog, page 14
April 7, 2019
Breathe Life Into Your Characters
The plot?
The ending?
The flow?
How about the characters?
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All of the above should coalesce into one amazing, unforgettable tale – if only it was so easy!
Even if your plot is thin, or your ending not to everyone’s satisfaction, you must have characters that people can identify with. A character to love. A driving force so the reader will want to see what happens to them. Perhaps mixed in with one they will hate who is stopping your character from achieving their ultimate goal.
While you don’t always have to have a character as an agonist, you do have to have one they’ll love, otherwise there is no reason for them to read on.
How do we accomplish that?
Write about people you know. I mean really really know! You have family, friends, co-workers, we’er surrounded by living breathing characters – use them. They don’t have to know and you can mix a trait from one person with a different trait of another. Thinking about the real person, how they act, talk, or move, breathes the life into your fictional character.
Not all my book reviews are stellar, and that’s okay, what always pleases me the most are the comments on my characters. After all, they are the story.
Snippets from my reviews:
The little girl, Montana, was my favorite character. She always added joy to the story and the characters who had given up hope.
Amell, retired US army general and rancher, won my heart, which made reading The Used a bumpy ride, but how could he refuse to defend innocent
Once you start reading this book, you’ll become best friends with her characters. I and Finn are like two peas in a pod now. I love his humor. The author has given each of her characters a distinctive personality, which I love.
There were a lot of things that Theresa did that many other authors seem unable to overcome. The first was the character differentiation.
Characters are fresh and diverse, they evolve in their own opinions and intimate thoughts.
Her characters are well developed. It leaves you wanting to meet each one and have a conversation. I especially love Chief Salinger!
The characters felt real. One in particular I found a touch annoying, but when I encounter people like that in life I have that reaction. So I liked that it brought a genuine reaction out of me, which is always good.
You will connect with Jacobs’ characters right away, making the fear that they feel much more tangible.
The characters are what really shine in this haunted house tale.
Do you have a different way you build your characters? Please share your ideas with us. It never hurts to try new things.
Get your Buckle – Free Belts Men or Woman first order save 10%
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March 30, 2019
Ghost hunting
I’ve always been fascinated with the paranormal. Whether it’s actual spirits or residual energy – ghost hunting was a profession I had wanted to do. However, before the internet became accessible, I was lost as to where to go or how to begin, so I never perused this dream.
Last weekend I got to participate in a ghost hunt with actual paranormal investigators.
https://steelcityparanormal.com/
First they gave us history of the building, Nelles Manor in Grimsby Ont.
Then they discussed the science behind paranormal investigating, and showed us how the equipment works and how to use it.
After listening to them speaking with some spirits we were set free to roam and talk to the spirits ourselves. They even allowed us to take pictures and videos.
I didn’t capture any orbs or spirits in my videos, but I was able to get some words through the spirit box. It’s extremity hard to hear through the phone, but here’s a sample.
I had so much fun that I’ve already reached out to be apart of the next event. Maybe next time I’ll have ghostly photo’s too.
Do you have a true ghost story to tell? Please share in the comments.
https://opalescence.store/search?q=natural
March 20, 2019
Book Review & Author Interview: Wife ‘n’ Death by Theresa Jacobs
My Review: 3.5 of 5 Stars
After killing her husband, Angelica brings the muzzle of her .38 special to her temple to end her years of heartache, but once she pulls the trigger, she finds herself trapped in a new cycle of misery. From that fateful day the ghosts of Brian and Angelica become stuck in a seemingly endless loop of torment until a woman and her five-year-old daughter move into the house, providing fresh victims for Brian’s rage. Angelica attempts to warn Crystal, and tries to protect the young Eden, from her husband’s wrath, but her spirit may not be strong enough to save them all.
From the very first pages of this novel, I was hooked. The author’s writing style is easily digestible, full of sharp images, and portrays vivid characters, making this book hard to put down. Each chapter is told from the viewpoints of both the…
View original post 1,735 more words
March 16, 2019
Calls for Horror Anthologies
Some I’ve entered, you can too!
Good Luck.
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As most of you know, Fractured Mind Publishing will be publishing three anthologies in 2019. They are:
1) Seven Sins of The Apocalypse
2) More Lore From The Mythos
3) Christmas Kills
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RED CAPE Publishing
We are currently calling for submissions for a series of horror anthologies. The series will be based on the theme of the Four Elements, and will consist of four books. We are looking for short horror stories, between 3000 and 5000 words, on each of the themes; Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.
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https://www.darkmarkets.com/search/label/Anthologies
Gothic Fantasy: Epic Fantasy March 24th
American Cult Anthology April 31st
Year’s Best Cosmic Horror 2018 May 31st
The Third Corona Book of Horror Stories April 30th
Haunted Playthings Aug 31
CHECK OUT OUR STORE https://opalescence.store/
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March 6, 2019
March 3, 2019
E-Book Sale & Freebies March 3 – 9 HERE
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/theresajcbs
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DID YOU KNOW I ALSO SELL SOME REALLY COOL STUFF?
Amethyst Skull : https://opalescence.store/products/28g-natural-amethyst-crystal-skull
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Opalescence Store : https://opalescence.store/
March 2, 2019
Adverbs, Stephen King, and the rules.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King,
The adverb is not your friend.
Adverbs … are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They’re the ones that usually end in -ly. Adverbs, like the passive voice, seem to have been created with the timid writer in mind…SK.
My biggest challenge as a writer is grammar. I feel like I have a grammar disability. I love to write. I love to read. In fact, I have read thousands of books over the years; too bad I haven’t been able to grasp grammar by osmosis. But I push on, give it my all, and pray my editors won’t give up on me, because I am a great story teller, (hint, hint, shameless plug).
Every time I write, some of these rules snap me out of flow and say, ‘wait, you can’t use adverbs remember!’ and I have to stop and try to re-work the sentence to fit. Many times, I give up and tell myself I’ll fix it before editing.
Imagine my shock when I decided to re-read one of my all-time favorites, The Talisman by King and Peter Straub, and I noticed this page littered with adverbs.
12 of them on page 51
Quickly
Really
Wanly
Slowly
Sharply
Mostly
Utterly rational and utterly lucid (back to back in the same sentence)
Hardly
Quietly
Barely
Clearly
Okay so what does this mean to me? Or you? Uh…rules are meant to be broken!
Also, I don’t think Mr. King was being a stickler, but perhaps teaching newbies to pay attention to their writing? If I’m lucky, he’ll get wind of this little blog and come chime in
February 23, 2019
EVENT TODAY
Hi everyone, I’m not blogging today because I’ll be attending a Facebook Event.
10am-11am est.
So if you wake up and get this, come check it out.
There will be hundreds of authors over the course 5 days, 24 hours a day, so you can pop in at any time. Meet people, chat and buy some books.
Let’s interact and have fun!
https://www.facebook.com/events/565616523906689/
February 16, 2019
The Project -Indies in a library!
Check out all the dets here – via The Project
February 10, 2019
Look beyond the book.
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First, we must have an idea and cultivate that into the form of a story.
We spend hours upon hours putting words on the page, trying to form sentences that convey the pictures in our heads, into pictures in your head.
Those hours turn into months of work – or even years.
And that’s only the first draft.
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Now we must read, delete, re-write, edit and write again.
We do this two, three, even four times, before sending it to a professional editor.
Editors are not cheap! For example, let’s say there’s an editor at .01 cent per word, the book is 50,000 words (and that’s a novella not even a novel at 100,000 words) the 50,000 words equals $500.00 cash. Generally, in USD as well, and if you’re not American, it translates to an additional couple hundred dollars in exchange.
Now we re-write, return to the editor, re-write some more, for three rounds. If the writer is happy with three rounds and ready to publish.
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Now we need a cover. We can make our own free and hope it’s not too crappy, or pay an artist. There are too many options and prices here to list, but know this is an additional expense.
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Finally, we load it up to publish and sit back – oh wait – no, we don’t.
We must spend more hours, (of which we’d rather be writing) and market the snot out of the book we just finished. Again, there are free ways and costly ways, but the hours always cost us. They take time away from our families, time away from other projects, time away from just chilling and enjoying the moment.
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Know that when you find a book online for the price of a cup of coffee, or less, you can’t bulk at it, for it costs us a hell of a lot more to put it out there for you.
Also think of this when you’re done reading and can’t be bothered to leave a review. Reviews help us be seen and understand what our readers want.
If you want to show your support to art, join the Facebook event happening in Feb. Join “Our Books Are Not Free” and met hundreds of amazing writers from all genre’s in one great place.
