Ellis Vidler's Blog, page 25

The Moon and Murder

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Camille Minichino, today's guest, has quite a varied background--physics professor, dollhouse builder, and mystery writer. It all adds up to fascinating stories.The moon? Did Ellis Vidler, my gracious hostess on my blog tour, include the moon as a potential topic?I've been following this blog for a while and I've found so many writers far more qualified than I am to give thoughts on

Sentence Fragments—Tricky Little Devils

In formal writing those unfinished bits that lack a subject and often a verb are studiously avoided. But they have a real place in fiction and informal writing. There sentence fragments can be used to great effect or they can bomb, jarring the reader right out of the story. How to use them is hard to explain, at least for me. My ear tells me when they fit, but I still can't always say why.

Romantic Suspense, Anyone?

Today my guest is romantic suspense author Chris Redding with an excerpt from her book The Drinking Game. Try it--you'll like it!
My son is an aspiring filmmaker. We often talk about directors and actors. We see movies together. It's a love we share. It's nice that at 16 he will still share this with me.
He gave me the inspiration for this blog post. If one of my books was made into a movie, who

Creating a Story from Pictures

This is a little exercise to jump-start your creative juices. When you need a fresh idea, try gathering a series of pictures. Look at real estate ads, websites, or movie scenes and choose a house. Or it could be a desert or a forest--anyplace that appeals to you.


Hollywood-creative commons and Charleston

Now choose a few compatible-seeming characters with similar dress and looks. I like

CONFERENCES – Are they worth the time – and the money?

 My guest, fellow writer, and Facebook friend, Sandra Carey Cody, offers some good insights and advice on conferences--worth reading! Her new book is Left at Oz , a Jenny Connors mystery.
I ask myself this from time to time, especially when I have a conference on my calendar. This summer I have two: Deadly Ink in New Jersey and Killer Nashville in Tennessee. Though I'm looking forward to both,

WASTELANDS OF THE HEART

Tim Hallinan's eloquent plea for the people of Japan.

As the photos above show, there's been a lot of progress in clearing away the wreckage of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.  The problem is, when the rubble is cleared, there's nothing left.
Pretty much everything that wasn't solid concrete that was in the water's path was knocked to bits. (So were some concrete

Is Writing A Team Sport?

My guest today is fellow Sisters in Crime member and author Linda Lovely. Her debut novel, Dear Killer, has just come out. Good story, fun and interesting characters, wonderful setting! While many people consider writing to be a solitary pursuit, preferably performed in a secluded garret, I approach writing as a team effort.Singles tennis is an individual sport. But when tennis players join a

What Makes a Scene?

A Charleston Scene
A scene is one connected and sequential action. The scene should advance the plot and develop the characters. It must have consequences. What happens as a result of this scene? How would the story be affected if the scene were left out? If the story remains the same, the scene should probably be deleted.Four questions need to be answered at the beginning of a scene:1.

What is Romance?

I'm pleased to have Terry Odell as my guest today. After a confusing start (thanks to me), here she is.

Thanks to Ellis for inviting me to blog. I'm delighted to be here. Since I write romantic suspense, which falls under the larger umbrella of romance, I'm always looking for inspiration for reasons my hero and heroine will be attracted to one another. And romantic moments are more important than writing the love scenes, because they illustrate what kind of a person the character is.
What do you think of as a 'romantic' moment? Flowers and chocolate on Valentine's Day? A glittery something on your birthday? Flowers delivered every Friday?
For me, romantic means thoughtful. Doing something unexpected. Sure, a guy's going to be in deep yogurt if he forgets Valentine's Day, but it's the action that says "I'm thinking of you all on my own" that trips my heartbeat.
Is a Swiss Army knife a romantic present? Some would say no, but the circumstances, not the gift, define the romance. Years ago, I watched MacGyver. Hubby could take it or leave it, and it definitely wasn't a 'let's sit down and watch this together' sort of a show. I was vaguely aware that he'd come into the room, but didn't even turn my attention from the set. When Mac got out his trusty knife, I mumbled, "Why don't I have one of those?" So when I unwrapped my birthday present and found my very own "mini-MacGyver" (hubby wasn't sure I was ready for the real MacGyver version), I was thrilled. Not for the knife, but for the fact that he actually heard me, even when I wasn't staring right at him, and making a specific request.
Sometimes the gifts can be glittery – such as the time when hubby and one of our daughters were out for dinner. Afterward, as we walked through the strip mall toward our car, I decided to look in the jewelry store. Hubby was definitely against it, but daughter and I pointed out things we liked while hubby grumbled. The next week was Valentine's Day, and daughter and I each received one of the, "that's nice" pieces.
Other things that say romance to me:
Hubby saying, "You're working hard, how about if I take over washing the dishes and one baby feeding every day." Bonus points for it being the 2 AM feeding.
Hubby poking his head into my office where I'm busy typing away, and saying, "Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes."
Coming back from the Y and finding the bed made.
Hubby saying, "I'm making eggs, should I cook some for you?"            Note: leaving the dirty frying pan on the stove 'in case you wanted to have eggs' is NOT thoughtful and romantic.
If we have to ask, it's not romantic. If those Friday flowers are because you (or your secretary) has a standing order at the florist, it's not romantic. If, however, you bring home flowers for no reason other than, "You looked sad when you had to throw out the last ones," then that IS romantic.
Terry Odell writes romantic suspense as well as contemporary short stories. Her latest release include her Blackthorne, Inc. covert ops novels, WHEN DANGER CALLS, WHERE DANGER HIDES, and DANGER IN DEER RIDGE. Find her at her website, http://www.terryodell.com or her blog, Terry's Place, http://terryodell.blogspot.com. And be sure to check out her Deals and Steals tab on her blog. Right now she's offering a 2 for 1 special.

Mysteries = mc2

Camille Minichino, my delightful guest, has quite a varied background--physics professor, dollhouse builder, and mystery writer. It all adds up to fascinating stories. Check her out! [image error] The moon? Did Ellis Vidler, my gracious hostess on my blog tour, include the moon as a potential topic?I've been following this blog for a while and I've found so many writers far more qualified than I am to give thoughts on language, literature, and the craft of writing. But from what I've noticed, no one has waxed (or waned) on the moon recently.That's my forte. Well, physics, which certainly includes the moon.I've never been able to understand why physics gets such bad press, as being difficult or boring.Consider this story fed to us by physics: we're standing on a squashed, wobbling sphere that's spinning at about 1000 miles/hour, while at the same time orbiting around a fiery ball that's about 13 million degrees at its core.Whew. I'm dizzy. And hot. Anything but bored. What a story.You can see how doing physics is a lot like writing a mystery. [image error] The scientist or sleuth looks around, finds clues, and discovers patterns. She then constructs a theory: based on the observed behavior, how did the universe get to this state? Or, how did this murder come to be?Both physics and mystery writing are creative attempts to construct a model of observed, measured reality. Both endeavors challenge us to come up with a good story.For fun, ask yourself which statements below are from physics and which from fiction.1. The moon orbits the earth at about 2200 miles/hour.2. The universe is made up of tiny, invisible strings, vibrating in many dimensions.3. A particle called the tachyon can travel back in time.All are from contemporary physics, of course.And all are parts of great stories.My latest protagonist, Professor Sophie Knowles, teaches mathematics  (more great stories) at a small New England college. It's no surprise that she's able to use her logic and puzzle-solving abilities to help the local police.
[image error] Camille Minichino is the author of three mystery series, beginning with The Periodic Table Mysteries. "The Hydrogen Murder" will be re-issued as an e-book in summer, 2011. Her akas are Margaret Grace (The Miniature Mysteries) and Ada Madison (The Professor Sophie Knowles Mysteries). The first chapter of 'The Square Root of Murder," debuting July 5, 2011 is on her website: http://www.minichino.com You can pre-order The Square Root of Murder and find her other books online.