Phil Giunta's Blog, page 8
September 17, 2023
About This Writing Stuff…
Nice to hear from a few writer friends on the blog this month. Sara Karnish reminds us about proper critique etiquette and discusses the writer/editor relationship with Pattie Giordani.
It is said that your focus determines your reality. That applies to fictional characters as well. However, there are occasions in real life when we deliberately ignore or avoid something unpleasant. Writer pal Kathryn Craft shows us effective ways to depict that in our characters.
Over at Good Story Company, Amy Wilson draws a distinct line between editing and revision while Kristen Overman delves into the “chosen one” trope and how to ensure your hero is up to the task.
Struggling with book marketing? With a writing drought? With imposter syndrome? We got you covered on all three this month.
All that and a little more. Enjoy!
Follow the Energy of Denial by Kathryn Craft
Chosen One Stories: Is Your Hero Worthy of the Journey? by Kristen Overman
How Right Do Your Characters Have to Be? by Terry Odell
How to Give a Critique (Without Being Too Critical) by Sara Karnish
I Would Rather See My Books Pirated Than This (Or Why Goodreads and Amazon are Becoming Dumpster Fires) by Jane Friedman
How to Market Your Books to Get Worldwide Exposure by Diana Urban
How Authors Use Preorders to Promote New Books in 2023 by AJ Yee
5 Things Influencers Look for in a Book by Ryan Steck
5 Ways to Survive a Publishing Drought by Katrina Kittle
The Difference Between Editing and Revising by Amy Wilson
The Author/Editor Relationship: A Q&A with Pattie Giordani by Sara Karnish
How to Escape Imposter Syndrome in Your Writing Life by Lynette M. Burrows
September 11, 2023
Testing the Prisoner Countdown!
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August 13, 2023
Book Review: Brent Spiner’s Fan Fiction
During the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, actor Brent Spiner attracts a stalker, a fan from the lunatic fringe who sends disturbing packages and threatening letters to him under the name “Lal.” Trekkies know that Lal was an android created by Commander Data in an episode titled “The Offspring.”
Spiner contacts the LA police only to finds himself dealing with an eccentric detective who seems more concerned about getting his Star Trek script produced than investigating the case. The FBI becomes involved when “Lal” sends razor blades to Spiner through the mail and a postal worker is injured. The female agent assigned to the case just happens to have a twin sister in the bodyguard business and she’s hired to accompany Spiner everywhere…and I do mean everywhere. The action heats up as “Lal” closes in. Along the way, Spiner veers off on several odd tangents about his stepfather that loosely relate to the plot. As for the ending, no spoilers here, only that it was rushed and contrived (the kind of “riveting” finale we’ve seen in a hundred other thrillers).
While not perfect, this amusing noir-comedy blends fact and fiction to deliver a fast-paced and suspenseful tale that includes the main cast members of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as Gene and Majel Roddenberry and even a cameo by Ronald Reagan.
August 6, 2023
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, we’re doing it by the numbers. At Career Authors, Polly Stewart offers five tips for creating suspense while Barbara Butcher explains six rules for writing true crime.
Mythcreants Chris Winkle and Oren Ashkenazi give us five ways to maintain tension in our stories and five mistakes to avoid when crafting our villain’s master plan.
Over at the Kill Zone, Sue Coletta shows us a formula for writing effective back cover copy while James Scott Bell reviews the latest news in the publishing industry.
If you want to make sure your characters aren’t boring, listen to Amy Wilson at Good Story Company. If you want your characters to be iconic, take some advice from literary agent Donald Maass.
All that and a lot more. Enjoy!
CRAFTBoring Characters by Amy Wilson
3 Helpful Tips for How to Rewrite a Novel by Rhiannon Richardson
Better Book Descriptions in 3 Easy Steps by Sue Coletta
Five Secrets to Writing Suspense by Polly Stewart
Five Ways to Restore Tension by Chris Winkle
Five Questions to Ask About Your Villain’s Master Plan by Oren Ashkenazi
Six Rules for Writing About True Crime by Barbara Butcher
Iconic Characters: Made Not Born by Donald Maass
BUSINESSEye on the Publishing Business by James Scott Bell
The Balance Between Indies by Lauren Wise
8 Unexpected Benefits from BookBub’s New Releases for Less Promotions by AJ Yee
Top Tips on BookBub Cost-Per-Click Bidding from 15 Advertisers by Carolyn Robertson
KKR in Advanced Talks to Buy Simon & Schuster for $1.65 Billion by Anirban Sen and Milana Vinn
August 3, 2023
Battle of the Books
On Wednesday, July 26, I shared a wonderful evening at my local library with several fellow writers for Battle of the Books, a game show in which three writers read three-minute excerpts from their novels or short stories in six rounds. The rounds include opening scene, introducing a character, action, dialogue, random page (chosen by the audience) and closing scene. After each round, the audience votes on their favorite reading. Following this, our quizmaster reads an excerpt from a famous novel and the audience is given the opportunity to answer and win a prize.
The random page segment was cut for time but it was a blast to read alongside Suzanne Grieco Mattaboni and Dianna Sinovic. John Evans was our Alex Trebek, Charles B. Kiernan our quizmaster, Judy England-McCarthy our timekeeper, and Michael Daigle kept score.
As a bonus, I sold a few books afterwards but more importantly, shared a few hours with amazing friends for a welcome midweek break. This was my fourth Battle of the Books, and one of the best yet.
Battle of the Books was created about seven years ago by John Evans as a public outreach event for the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group.
July 31, 2023
Book Review: Galloway’s Gamble 2: Lucifer & The Great Baltimore Brawl
This worthy sequel, set in the fall of 1873, follows brothers Jamey and Jake Galloway on a cross-country adventure with a cast of eclectic characters as they try to outwit a wealthy swindler at his own game—and that game is horse racing. Along the way, the Galloway brothers and their companions face every setback and obstacle the Old West can throw at them from train robbery and kidnapping to romances gone sideways. Through all of this, Weinstein doesn’t shy away from the social ills of the time and weaves them seamlessly into the plot. A fun, fast read.
July 12, 2023
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, take some lessons in suspense from the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock.
Speaking of lessons, Amy Wilson and Anne R. Allen offer advice about writing effective dialogue while Maggie Smith teaches us several ways to make our secondary characters stand out. Over at Mythcreants, Chris Winkle discusses passive voice and how to create a story outline.
The nice folks at Good Story Company show us how to build a better author website and at BookBub, it’s all about promotion and crafting a captivating book description.
All that and a little more. Enjoy!
Using Dialogue Tags Effectively by Amy Wilson
Electrify Your Thriller with These Tips from the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock by Dana Isaacson
Writing Under a Pseudonym by Good Story Company
How to Write a Book Description: Tips from BookBub Editors by Lauren Aldrich
What Fiction Writers Should Know About Passive Voice by Chris Winkle
How to Outline Your Story by Chris Winkle
From Sidekick to Scene-Stealer: Making Your Secondary Characters Memorable by Maggie Smith
Who Should Be Telling This Story? by Jeanne Kisacky
9 Common Dialogue Problems and How to Fix Them by Anne R. Allen
10 Author Websites and Why They Work by Good Story Company
12 Fantastic BookBub Ad Designs Promoting New Releases by Shailee Shah
25 Authors Running Fantastic Book Promotions on Instagram by Shailee Shah
July 11, 2023
Book Review: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
In the midwestern town of Midland City, Indiana, wealthy car dealer and widower Dwayne Hoover exists on the rim of insanity—but it will take an obscure and impoverished science fiction writer named Kilgore Trout to push Dwayne over the edge.
After being invited to the Midland City Arts Festival as their guest of honor, Trout debates whether to accept. Once he decides to go, he first hitchhikes to New York City to find copies of his novels. Trout hates his own books to much that he keeps none at home. He intends to embarrass the organizers and attendees of the festival by reading his lowbrow stories.
After being abducted, beaten, and robbed in New York, Trout hitchhikes his way to Midland City. All the while, Hoover grows more unstable. He becomes argumentative, insulting, and isolated. Filthy and haggard, Trout arrives at the Midland City Holiday Inn—also owned by Hoover—and takes a seat in the lounge where pretentious guests of the festival clash with a few of the locals. Ignoring all of this, Hoover sits alone in a corner lost in his own deranged thoughts and ignoring his estranged homosexual son, Bunny, the lounge piano player.
When the bartender turns on the black lights in the lounge, his jacket glows a brilliant white, as does the waitress’s outfit—and Kilgore Trout’s shirt. Beguiled by this, Hoover approaches Trout, resting his chin on the writer’s shoulder and demanding the answer to life. He snatches up a copy of Trout’s novel, Now It Can Be Told, and speed reads it on the spot. After which, all hell breaks loose.
Throughout the story, told in third-person omniscient, Vonnegut observes the events with his trademark razor wit and dry humor, reminding the reader that he is the creator of this story, explaining some of his decisions, and veering off on hilarious tangents.
The above summary is about one-fifth of what happens in this surreal satire that addresses themes of sex, pollution, racism, mental health, desperation, success, and hypocrisy complete with illustrations drawn by the author.
July 10, 2023
After Action Report: Shore Leave 43
As one of the east coast’s longest-running science fiction conventions, Shore Leave celebrated its 43rd year on July 7-9, 2023. Technically, it should have been their 45th, but blame COVID for botching the numbering. Either way, I’m proud to say that I’ve been around for the past 29 of those.
Celebrity guests included Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Robert Picardo, Robert Duncan McNeill, Penny Johnson Jerald, Alaina Huffman, Peter Macon, Aaron Douglas, Grace Park, and Bonnie Gordon.
In addition to myself, the roster of amazing writer guests is too lengthy to list here so check out this stellar lineup on Shore Leave’s website.
Like the eye of a storm, Shore Leave 43 was graced with a day and a half of fair weather between Mother Nature’s attempts to drown us on Friday and Sunday.
My wife and I arrived on Friday afternoon with ample time to check into our room, collect our registration materials, and grab a quick dinner before my first panel—a lively discussion about the new Quantum Leap TV series. The panel included fellow writers Mary Fan, Rigel Ailur, Lorraine Anderson, and Joshua Palmatier. Panelists and audience members alike compared the original series with the new one, touched on some inconsistencies within each (and between the two), and expressed our hopes and predictions for the next season.
Shore Leave 43 Program Book and BadgesAfter that, my wife and I caught up with several friends in the hotel lobby before getting ready for Shore Leave’s traditional two-hour Friday night book fair, Meet the Pros, at 10PM. As usual, it was a bustling event. I sold four copies of the new hot-off-the-press crime noir anthology, Hard-Boiled and Loaded with Sin, one of which went to writer Dayton Ward, famous for Star Trek novels and other media tie-in work. A few readers had purchased books in advance and brought them to me to deface with my autograph.
Keith DeCandido at Meet the Pros.
David Mack at Meet the Pros.
Dayton Ward (standing in aisle at right, with yellow lanyard) at Meet the Pros Book Fair.
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Here I am, stuck in the middle between Keith DeCandido (L) and David Mack (R).
Derek Tyler Attico (foreground) and Mary Fan at Meet the Pros.
Across the hall: Hildy Silverman and Bob Greenberger at Meet the Pros.After the book fair, I spent another hour chatting with a few of the writers in the hotel lounge before calling it a night.
This was the first time Shore Leave scheduled me for a 9AM panel, but I was awake and alert on Saturday morning for Providing Actionable Writing Critiques. Fellow panelists included Joshua Palmatier, Amy Sisson, Laura Ware, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, and John Coffren. We covered a lot of ground including the value of critique groups, proper etiquette for providing and receiving a critique, different types of editing (developmental vs. line editing), evaluating an editor for your work, and what editors look for when selecting stories or novels.
Since my next panel wasn’t until noon, my wife and I watched a presentation about NASA’s planetary defense program known as DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test). Panelists included:
Lindley Johnson, NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer and Program Executive of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO).
Kelly Fast, Near-Earth Object Observations Program Manager for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.
Timothy C. Miller, Chief Scientist of the Seeker and Information Processing Group at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
The panel was moderated by Joshua A. Handal, Program Analyst for the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The goal of the DART mission was to launch a small craft at an asteroid in an attempt to alter its course. In November 2021, the craft was launched on a SpaceX rocket from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California and successfully impacted the asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022. The presentation included footage and images from the mission. It was a remarkable achievement!
At 11AM, I ambled to the room next door for What Makes a Good Detective? with panelists Christopher D. Abbott, Lorraine Anderson, Lauren Ware, T.J. Perkins, and Melissa Scott. Panelists and audience members alike offered their opinions on what traits a good detective should possess. Discussions ranged from earth-based sleuths—such as Holmes, Poirot, Columbo, Jessica Fletcher, and others—to detectives in science fiction and fantasy settings.
My final panel of the weekend was just a few doors down from the previous two and in a room that was adequately air-conditioned (unlike most of the rooms in what we call the “glass hallway”). I had the privilege of speaking about Pacing Your Fiction in an Attention-Short World along with Michael Jan Friedman, David Mack, Russ Colchamiro, John Coffren, and Christopher D. Abbott. The panel ended up focusing more on the topic of pacing and flow of story based on theme and genre than on writing for readers with shorter attention spans. Nevertheless, it was an edifying discussion.
For almost 30 years of attending conventions, one of the major attractions for me were the celebrity guests. I enjoyed their Q&A sessions and obtaining their autographs despite the often long lines. The appeal of this faded about three or four years ago, but to kill time before dinner, my wife and I sat in for Ben Browder and Claudia Black. Each had a microphone, but that didn’t prevent the audio from being muddled. Still, what I heard was entertaining as they discussed their work on Farscape and the final seasons of Stargate SG-1.
Claudia Black & Ben Browder at Shore Leave 43
Claudia Black & Ben Browder at Shore Leave 43
Claudia Black at Shore Leave 43
Bob Greenberger (standing) chats with Sherri Cook Woosley and Andrew Hiller at the Authors Dinner.At 5:30PM, my wife and I made our way to the McCormick Suite for the third annual Authors Dinner organized by Keith DeCandido and Wrenn Simms with food provided by the incomparable Andy Nelson’s BBQ on York Road. As always, it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with friends and fellow writers, some of whom only see each other once or twice a year.
Authors Dinner at Shore Leave 43Later that night, my wife and I spent time chatting with a few more friends before calling it a night.
With no panels on my schedule for Sunday, we packed up the car, checked out of our room, and attended a presentation on the Hubble Telescope. A Third of a Century Discoveries with Hubble was hosted by Kenneth G. Carpenter, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Operations Project Scientist.
The presentation covered Hubble’s inception, an overview of its myriad discoveries in it’s first 30+ years of service, including new data from 2023. Dr. Carpenter also touched on the James Webb Space Telescope, comparing and combining images from both orbital observatories, and concluded with a brief look at the upcoming Roman Space Telescope to be launched in 2027.
On our way out, we made the goodbye rounds and in some cases, it was the first time we had a chance to see or chat at length with some of our friends who had been at Shore Leave all weekend. It happens. Cons are hectic.
Of course, no genre convention would be complete without cosplayers. I did not have time to take pics of all of the amazing costumes, but my friend Blair Learn caught a few that I missed. There were so many more, but so little time to photograph them.
As always, Shore Leave delivered a fantastic weekend and I look forward to #44!
Photo credit: Blair Learn
Photo credit: Blair Learn
Photo credit: Blair Learn
Photo credit: Blair Learn
Photo Credit: Blair Learn
June 23, 2023
My Shore Leave 43 Schedule
Shore Leave, one of the east coast’s premier science fiction conventions, is two weeks away. The con will celebrate 43 years over the weekend of July 7-9, 2023 in Hunt Valley, MD.
As always, I’ll be participating in a few discussion panels as well as the Meet the Pros book fair on Friday night. If you’ll be at the con, stop by and say Hi!
Friday 7PM – Salon A – Quantum Leap 2.0. The beloved 1989-93 series leaps again with concept expansion, a new cast, and salutes to the original. Can TV lightning strike twice? Howard Weinstein (M), Lorraine J. Anderson, Phil Giunta, Mary Fan, Rigel Ailur, Joshua Palmatier
Friday 10PM – Hunt Valley Hallway (Lower Level) – Meet the Pros Book Fair.
Sat 9AM – Belmont – Back to Basics: How to Give and Receive Actionable Writing Critiques. Every writer at every level, from beginners to best-sellers, needs a good editor on their side. But how do you choose the right editor and/or beta reader for you, and how do you work with that person (or group) once you’ve begun? And if you’re the one providing input, how do you make sure your comments are useful? Phil Giunta, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Joshua Palmatier, Amy Sisson, John Coffren, Laura Ware
Sat 12PM – Derby – Pacing Your Fiction in an Attention-Short World. Some of the greatest stories and novels are slow burns. But in today’s lightning-fast world, do readers have the patience for that kind of pacing anymore? Do you need to jump-start your story from page 1, line 1, or is there room today to ease readers into your fictional worlds? Phil Giunta, Michael Jan Friedman, John Coffren, David Mack, Christopher D Abbott, Russ Colchamiro
