Sandra Hurst's Blog, page 4
January 2, 2018
Y’keta gets a great review!
Thanks so much Ari, from Ravenous for Reads, I’m honoured that you took time over Christmas to read and review Y’keta. Take a moment to check out their blog and see what they thought of the Sky Road!
The next installment of the Sky Road is taking shape and looks to be a bit darker than book one and even more thrilling.
Happy New Year All.
Sandra.
December 6, 2017
Are you searching for Peace?
About a year ago I was invited to take part in an experiment.
Twenty authors from various genres came together to create the fictional town of Peace Montana.
Each of us will contribute a novella to the series, a romance highlighting the diverse stories and people that have drifted across the prairie to settle in Peace.
Whether you like run-away rock stars, second chance stories, or high school sweethearts there is something for everyone in Peace.
A new story is released every two weeks, so sit back, put your feet up, take a moment, and join us in Peace.
November 29, 2017
Socks – A Sob Story.
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Socks don’t have eyes, everyone knows that, but I could still see.
My elastic wrinkled back and the blue paisley pattern my owner was so proud of faded to a sickly vomit green. The smell was overpowering!
Every time the hamper was opened I prayed that someone would see me, but all that happened was the smelly rain. Wet towels, sport socks, clothes, even Bobby’s grimy fruit of the looms all landed on top of me with a wet putrid squelch.
My eyes watered and the seam at my toe started to unravel, melting in the hideous stench.
‘LEFTY” I cried hopelessly, “Where are you!”
But I was alone. I curled into a ball and tried to bury my nose in my own sweet woolen smell. If I kept still, away from the other filth that was being dumped around me, surely someone, sometime would come and wash us.
I felt so dirty, not just normal backyard football dirty, but the dirty that comes from old neglect and that worse hell for clothes, stylelessness.
Suddenly the hamper lid opened and lefty dropped in beside me. “Righty,” he said, “You stink!”
November 13, 2017
Get Out Of Your Head!
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One of the biggest challenges to me as a writer is my tendency to live most of my life buried deep in my own mind.
This can lead to my prose being, what my editor calls ‘heady.’
I wonder if you feel the same?
The people in my mind are vivid, emotional, real, in a way that can be hard to translate onto paper.
So how do you ground your character in the world?
In their own body?
Here are a few ways that I’ve learned to pull my character out of the ‘head zone.’
Emotions write themselves in the body.
What do your characters emotions look like?
What causes the stomach to tense? The shoulders to rise? These are the things that will ground your character in their own bodies.
Instead of angry can your character slam a door? Break something? Clench her fist until the nails break skin?
What does afraid look like? Do her eyes widen? Did his face go pale and clammy?
Ground your character in the environment.
When you get to a tense emotional segment, don’t go all the way inside. No one wants an entire paragraph of ‘thought’ or ‘wondered.
For every time you use an emotion in a sentence, there should be at least one scent, one outside sound, one thing that she touches or moves to balance out the internal angst.
Remember that the internal and external worlds are connected – you cannot show true emotion in one without the other reflecting it.
Balance your scenes and postcards.
Read the amazing article by Donald Maass about the difference between scenes and postcards.
My first clue that I’m starting to get ‘heady’ is that every paragraph I write feels like a postcard. Everything gets deep, everything gets internal.
Keeping a balance between scenes and postcards helps the story move along without getting too far away from the character development
Watch out for ‘Head Words.’
Your characters can think, wonder, question, imagine, all valid – but all ‘heady.’
Look for words that reflect more emotion and less thought.
Try using more word imagery instead of the bald descriptor.
I’ve found that deliberately using these concepts can keep my emotional prose from turning purple, and my action based stories from becoming rote.
I hope you find they help you too!
November 7, 2017
Remembrance has to be more than a day.
So we wear the poppy, go to the cenotaph and maybe watch a movie to feel patriotic. Then what?
My family has always honoured the men and women who stand in the November cold and watch with sad, quiet eyes as the pipes play and the jets fly over one more time. Each year there are fewer of these hero’s as age and infirmity steals them from us one by one.
But there has to be more than 11 o’clock on the 11th day. It’s disappointing-no disgusting-just how easily we turn the hero we thanked on the eleventh into the old geezer who’s taking too long at the cash register on the twelfth.
Time to Remember
[image error]Spit shined boots and far away eyes
Look past you, to comrades that never came home,
It’s time to remember.
The silence, a poppy, A pittance of time,
A poem dragged up from school days long ago.
It’s time to remember.
We’ll meet again and Sweet Lily Marlaine,
Auschwitz, and Buchhold, and Kaslo, BC.
It’s time to remember. [image error]
Quavering voice in a long Checkout line,
Halting and fumbling, with faltering steps.
Now, is the time to remember.
Crumbs on his shirt and stains on his pants,
Mind not quite certain, steps not quite sure.
This too, is the time to remember.
October 27, 2017
Discover Peace
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Visit the sleepy little town of Peace, Montana a farming community in the heart of Big Sky Country.
Founded over 100 years ago, although mostly charming and friendly, an undercurrent of secrecy and danger lurks where its least expected.
Peace is home to some amazing people and the folks of Peace know how to have a good time, especially when Founder’s Day comes along! Join our authors as they explore this quaint little town and its wonderful residents through each novella. A little sweet… a little dangerous… never boring.
** Due to some books containing strong content or violence, parental discretion is advised for anyone under the age of 18 **
Who doesn’t enjoy a giveaway?
Starting November 1!
October 26, 2017
Celebrating Perseverance in the Writing Community
Today I am happy to be part of Writers Persevere!, an event that authors Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are running for the next few days to celebrate their release of their newest book, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Psychological Trauma. This book looks at the difficult experiences embedded in our character’s backstory which will shape their motivation and behavior afterward.
Because Angela and Becca have spent the last year exploring painful human struggles, they wanted to highlight a very important aspect of overcoming difficult circumstances: it can make us stronger. I promised to let Angela hijack my blog today, so please read on!
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Hi everyone! When you set out to find examples of inner strength, you don’t have to go very far. Right here in the writing community we see it every day. Writers more than anyone understand the swirl of emotions as we work toward publication. We dream of making it and seeing our books in the hands of readers…yet doubt and frustration can be a constant companion. For us, there is a lot to learn, much to steel our nerves for, and unfortunately, a host of real-world problems that can try to derail us. And, even as we slowly move forward and grow, we can sometimes feel like impostors. This is a tough road.
But the fact that writers face this battle, day after day, and KEEP GOING…this should be celebrated! We need to be reminded that we are much stronger than we sometimes believe. We dream, create, and force ourselves to keep striving. Through the ups and downs, we persevere!
Have you encountered something on the writing road that made you question yourself? Have you faced an obstacle that required a force of will to get past?
If so, we want to hear about it! Join Becca and me at Writers Helping Writers from October 25-27th, where we are celebrating writers and their stories of perseverance. Stop in, and tell us about a challenge or struggle your faced, or if you like, join this event by writing a post on your own blog and share it using the hashtag #writerspersevere. Let’s fill social media with your strength and let other writers know that it’s okay to question and have doubts but we shouldn’t let that stop us.
GIVEAWAY ALERT!We also have a prize vault filled with items that can give your writing career a boost, so stop by Writers Helping Writers. I would love for one of you to win something that will help you get closer to your goal!
If you struggle, remember to reach out to others. We are in this together, and by supporting one another, we cross the finish line together (and then keep going!).
Happy writing!
Angela & Becca
October 18, 2017
Emotional Thesaurus!
I’m always on the lookout for new resources to improve my writing and pass on to my author friends, so when anything new by Angela Ackerman comes out, I’m right up there with my pre-order flag waving!
This book couldn’t come at a better time for me since I’m writing my way through the death of a main character (not telling) at the moment and the information is invaluable.
Check it out on Amazon Now
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October 17, 2017
The Reading Cat
Thanks so much to Cat Imb, fearless blogger at The Reading Cat for fostering Y’keta during this years Foster An Author week!
Check out her blog, she’s got great reviews, excerpts and give-aways galore!
You can find her at http://thereadingcat.weebly.com or on facebook at @the.reading.cat.book.reviews.
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October 16, 2017
Y’keta goes to school
[image error]Yesterday, I was approached by an English teacher from a local private school who wants to use Y’keta in her class.
This makes two Calgary schools that have asked me for copies of Y’keta to use as examples of character development and world-building.
I didn’t ever imagine my little Y’keta receiving such a great reception. I’m so honoured.
