Ronda J. Del Boccio's Blog: Writing is pure Bliss, page 40
November 15, 2014
Getting OUT Among Other Writers: NaNoWriMo Day 15
Send to KindleI’m still baking in the glow of winning a bunch of cash and those writing awards yesterday.
Today I was away from my writing desk to attend the Ozarks Writers League quarterly conference. Each time there are speakers helping with some aspect of writing.
Tricia Goyer, author of about four dozen books, spoke at all sessions. She covered writing and publishing for the Christian market in the morning. This part was of little relevance to me,a s that is not my market.
Regardless, I have huge respect for someone who has been a professional writer for decades and manages to shuffle family, charity, and her craft. I can learn something from everybody I hear speak about writing.
Tricia Goyer has a super popular mom blog as well as bushels of books.
Author Tricia GoyerNovel Writing Tips
Her afternoon sessions about writing a novel definitely piqued my interest. Here are a couple of the insights I gained from her talks:
Study the structure of movies and take that back into novel writing.
Halfway through a ovie or novel comes a turning point at which the protagonist must make a meaningful discovery and begin a path of change.
The protagonist should meet the problem in chapter one.
If there is a love interest, they need to meet in chapter one.
The hero needs a source of joy as well as a vice, which need to be introduced early in the tale.
Much to my delight, I am on track with all this in They All Died Smiling. the paranormal suspense novel I’m writing this month for NaNoWriMo.
Here’s my progress for the book:
flup
How are you coming along toward your goals?
Keep writing, and as always, follow your BLISS
Ronda Del Boccio
Best selling author and speaker
Find my books from Amazon and enjoy them!,
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November 14, 2014
Ronda del Boccio Wins 4 Fiction Prizes: NaNoWriMo Day 14
Send to KindleEntering writing contests is a great way to get an adrenaline rush. Well, it is at the award ceremony. It’s good to put your work up against others’.
There’s no finish line or objective measure, so winning or not winning feels arbitrary to some extent, yet having those placements is good to add to your writing credits.
Contest Winnings!
Today I was at the awards ceremony for Ozarks Writers League, and I am thrilled to announce that I won 4 contests for my fiction. It feels WONDERFUL to receive cash awards for my stories.
“Hillbilly Heaven” won the Gene Anderack Short Story Contest
“She Had a Curfew…I Had a Van” took third place in the Genre Straddler Contest. that means a story that combines two genres. THis one’s paranormal romance.
“Welcome to Haven” took second in the Flash Fiction 99 Word Story Contest. This was a very short horror story.
“Welcome to OWL” took first in the Hoot & Hollar Contest. This tale elated an experience I had welcome a prospective member to the Ozarks Writers League.
I am so incredibly excited! Stunned, too. My writer friends aren’t, but since there’s no objective measure, it always feels like a playing a game of chance.
Update on my progress with They All Died Smiling, my NaNoWriMo project.
Meanwhile, I made a little progress on the novel today, as I wasn’t home much. Tomorrow as well will be a light writing day, so I’m glad to be ahead on my goal!
I’m approaching the halfway point in the book.
Keep writing!
Ronda Del Boccio
Best Selling author and speaker
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November 13, 2014
Funny Story about Being Spooked while Writing a Novel: NaNoWriMo Day 13
Send to KindleToday I was writing a creepy scene in They All Died Smiling about a demon who has just discovered who and what Kassidy is, even though she herself has no clear idea yet.
Here’s a sample:
My hair stood on end. The black haze eclipsed Amber. A pair of red eyes glowing like embers pierced through the blackness to stare at me. They were where Amber’s eyes would be, but they did not belong to her.
Those red glowing eyes reappear a number of times. At one point, my cat sat next to my keyboard getting intermittently petted, and we both heard a sound from another room.
There was nobody in the house but us. I was spooked. Good thing I have the house shielded. I think I’ll put seasalt at all the doors and windows.
Here’s my progress in NaNoWriMo. Nice being past the halfway mark.
Keep writing and as always, follow your BLISS,
Ronda Del Boccio
#1 best selling author
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November 12, 2014
How to Just Keep Writing a Novel: NaNoWriMo Day 12
Send to KindleOne of the best writing skills you can develop is to save edits for the second draft.
Today as I was working on my novel They all Died Smiling, I thought of a few minor changes I wanted to make to earlier scenes. Since I’m in speed writing mode, I didn’t stop to “fix” those scenes.
I simply made some notes about what chapter and what to do. Now I know I won’t forget, and I can put that out of my mind and…
Just Keep Writing.
As I said in yesterday’s post, when writing, don’t stop to edit. Taking notes lets you stay out of your own way.
May your must inspire you. Keep writing.
Follow your BLISS,
Ronda Del Boccio
#1 best selling author and speaker
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November 11, 2014
Authors Wear Two Hats: Wear the Right One for the Job: NaNoWriMo Day 11
Send to KindleWhether you’re writing a novel, short story or nonfiction piece, you as a writer have two hats:
Writer hat
Editor hat
Your writer hat is the creative side, responsible for conveying the story.
The editor hat is the stickler for grammar, punctuation, and structure.
As you only have one head, presuming ou’re a human reading this, you can only wear one hat at a time.
So when you’re in writer mode, these are things you do NOT want to do:
Don’t worry about synonyms.
Don’t bother with typos.
Don’t fix scenes..
Don’t go back and re-read past scenes to get yourself in the mood to write fresh material..
Wearing the Writer Hat, DO these things:
Just keep writing.
Leave typos to the Editor Hat.
Leave synonyms to the Editor Hat.
Leave grammar to the Editor Hat.
When you’re writing, WRITE. When you’re editing, EDIT. If you mix the two, you’ll squash your creativity.
Remember… one head = one hat at a time!
They All Died Smiling Updatte
I’m writing this paranormal suspense novel during NaNoWriMo. Nice push goal to keep butt in seat and fingers on keys. I’m nearing the halfway mark and will get there on the 12th. Yay!
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Book Review: Just Like Gravity by Sorchia DuBois
Send to KindleJust Like Gravity is a new paranormal romance by Sorchia DuBois
Here’s the description of the book from Amazon:
How many times can you make the same mistake? How many lifetimes does it take to get it right? And how many people have to die in the process? In Scotland,
Anna searches for answers. She finds cold rain, steep hills… and terror. When she sees the ancient broch, the ruined building triggers a terror she can’t explain. Scenes from her past lives provide glimpses of the web of events linking her to the broch and the man she’s lost countless times before.
Trapped in an eddy of Fate invariably ending in blood, Anna tries to break the chain and protect what she lost before. Her tealeaves and tarot cards lead her, but the weight of the past may be too heavy.
Have you ever wondered if you have met someone in another life? Or whether perhaps, you had been lovers? Perhaps your encounter is there to show you a pattern that maybe this time you can break forever. That is one of the things you’ll explore as you read Just Like Gravity.
The book is a brilliant mixture of wit, intrigue, love, lust, terror, and temper tantrums. You’ll feel the chill of a Highlands winter enough to make you reach for a blanket. You’ll feel the terror of dreams of blood and real world peril. And you might even want a taste of the peaty LaPhroaig Scotch Whiskey to which the book is dedicated.
This is a romance, and so naturally, the two lovers first hate each other. However, the story quickly goes deeper than the usual love-hate dance you see in typical romances. That’s where the dreams, visions and past life memories enter into the tale.
I have to admit that at first I did some eye rolls over the volatile budding romance. That’s my own bias as one who doesn’t read romances that often. That feeling didn’t last long because I got caught up in all the drama, twists and suspense of the book.
As someone who reads with the eye of both a reader and author, I’d like to highlight for you some aspects of the craft of writing from which you can learn while reading this exciting book.
Conveying character
You’ll all but reach for an umbrella during the opening scene, and with this description, you get personality, mood and weather all in one:
He leaned close to be heard above the rain pattering on my plastic poncho. I smelled whiskey on his breath. Rain-plastered dark hair clung to his neck and forehead. He inspected me with wide-set eyes above a distinctly crooked nose, his lips pressed together in a thin, disapproving line.”
Setting a mood
DuBois does a magnificent job of conveying the mood of s scene. Here’s an example:
The hissing voice of my nightmares whispered in my ear, rustling like dead leaves.
Chilling.
Dialect
DuBois conveys dialect very well. You can hear the Scottish brogue in lines such as this:
Ye cannae catch Scottish, ye ken. It isnae a disease.”
Paranormal elements
This novel includes precognitive dreams, tarot readings,and other psychic or paranormal powers. I felt Dubois portrayed the paranormal elements in a realistic and dramatic way.
Feeling the Heat
I won’t give an example, but you’ll have clues early on of the sizzle to follow. This book is definitely steamy, so if you don’t like that sort of thing, you most likely will find this book too hot to handle.
I gave Just Like Gravity a 5-star review on Amazon. I hope you enjoy it.
Get your copy of Just Like Gravity
Order Just Like Gravity by Sorchia DuBois
Follow your BLISS,
Ronda Del Boccio
#1 best selling author and speaker
See all book reviews on WriteOnPurpose.com
Authors: How to get YOUR book reviewed
I am an Amazon Top Reviewer. If you are an author and want your book reviewed here as well as on Amazon, all you have to do is go to this page for details: WriteOnPurpose.com/reviewrequest. I only ask a digital copy, which is easier to read for me and less costly for you.
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November 10, 2014
How Many Words in a Novel, Novella, or Short Story
Send to KindleHow many words is the minimum for a novel? Where does a short story become too long to be called a short story?
Since some of my writer friends and I were wondering this, I looked it up.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America specifies word lengths for each category of its Nebula award categories:[10]
Classification
Word count
Novel
over 40,000 words
Novella
17,500 to 40,000 words
Novelette
7,500 to 17,500 words
Short story
under 7,500 words
Writer’s Digest says this:
(See original source)
Q. How long is the typical short story supposed to be? How about novellas and novels? Are there guidelines with regard to word count for a first-time novelist? —Molly HeylA. There are general guidelines for each literary category: Short stories range anywhere from 1,500 to 30,000 words; Novellas run from 30,000 to 50,000; Novels range from 55,000 to 300,000 words, but I wouldn’t recommend aiming for the high end, as books the length of War & Peace aren’t exactly the easiest to sell.Agent Lori Perkins of the L. Perkins Agency in New York says it’s much easier to market a first-time novelist’s book if the word count falls between 80,000 and 100,000 words, or roughly 300 double-spaced, typed pages—the average novel length.
Essentially, it will vary somewhat according to genre, and there is not one solid rule. But if you have written something that is approaching 20,000 words (80 pages), you have a novella. If you have 200 or more pages, you’ve crafted a novel.
Keep writing. DOn’t fuss over word count. First, be in service of the story. Deal with the rest later.
Follow your BLISS,
Ronda Del Boccio
#1 best selling author and speaker
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Novel Writing: How Do You Keep the TImeline Straight? NaNowriMo Day 10
Send to KindleI’m currently writing my second novel. Everything takes place within a tight timeline. My first 300+ page novel covered a timeframe of 2 weeks.
Keeping time is important. You don’t want someone who’s eating dinner with his wife in once scene be across town five minutes later in another.
People ask me how I keep time straight.
I do a couple of things to make my life easier. Maybe they’ll help you with your novel.
Add notes to the start of each chapter.
You’ll take out the notes before sending your book to publishers, but while you’re writing, the notes can really help. Especially when you’re in the editing phase.
One of my notes reads as follows:
(NOTE: Saturday train ride 5 pm)
My story takes place in November. This cue tells me it’s dark and feels like night even though it’s still early evening.
In this book, They All Died Smiling, I’m in one point of view the whole time , so this is sufficient. When I wrote Rue the Day, several people told the story, so I employed my other method.
Create a Timeline of who’s where when.
Even though I don’t need it as much for Smiling, I do have a paper list in a spiral notebook timeframe by each Sure, I could do it online, but I still like to have aper notes near at hand. Plus, if I’m not at a computer and remember a detail or get inspired, I can write it down without major inconvenience.
My timeline notes for Smiling begin thusly:
Capter 1: Friday night commute
Chapter 2: Late Friday night, insomnia, cat fight
Chapter 3: Saturday AM Kass + Julie, commute
Now, as I go along, I can keep track of things with ease.
Don’t be afraid to kick it old school
Sure, I love my computer. I’m thrilled to have a tablet. I feel all Star Trek with it. But I wouldn’t do without my spiral notebooks either.
Sure, I could take notes in a file or with a voice app, but it’s still good to have a way to track work that doesn’t involve a power cord.
I like a steno pad or spiral notebook of a similar shape, but you’ll figure out what works best for your preferences.
Don’t forsake paper just because you have a phone, tablet, and/or computer that does it all.
My NaNoWriMo progress
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is all about writing a first draft of a 200 page book in the 30 days of November.
Today I will hit the halfway mark. Yay! I need to get ahead, because this weekend I will be at a writing conference and will anticipate only being able to produce small word counts Friday and Saturday.
Here’s my progress chart:
Keep to your writing goals and be sure to join Ronda’s Readers for stories, sneak peeks of my upcoming books and more WriteOnPurpose.com/read
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November 9, 2014
Inspration Doesn’t Come at the Keyboard: NaNoWriMo Day 9
Send to KindleThis weekend I had commitments that meant being away from home much of the day Did this keep me from keeping up writing my novel? No. It simply means planning.
Whatever your writing goal, whether you’re in a competition like National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a publisher’s deadline, or a self-chosen goal, you’ll soon discover that life happens.
There will be family commitments, book signings, dinners with friends, going to the store, taking care of your family, and so forth.
I knew this weekend would probably be lighter on writing, so I worked more during those days I could so as to stay on track. Simple as that.
Here’s my progress toward that 50,000 word (200 page) goal for the month of November:
Yesterday, I had the book signing at the library. Today I had a lovely visit with friends. And here’s what you need to know:
Inspiration doesn’t come from forcing yourself to sit at the keyboard. It comes from living life! Then you transmute what you discover into words.
My novella The Assassin ad the Prince came entirely from a dream. I scribbled down the gist of it as soon as I woke up, then in a few hours, it was a complete story. This can happen to you. Perhaps it already has.
Inspiration for A Tasty Morsel came from a trip to Dogwood Canyon. Our guide said a cave had just been discovered. We saw an old elk who had a horn growing over his eye. Those two elements made it into the tale.
My current novel in progress, They All Died Smiling, started as a short story that did not win a contest. The judge wrote me and said I had the basis for a novel. I’m finally getting that tale expanded as it should be. The idea for the book came from a “dolly girl” hair dresser , more fake than real.
So don’t think sitting at tje desk pulling out your hair will bring you a great idea. Go out and live life as you keep writing.t
Follow your BLISS,
Ronda Del Boccio
bestselling author and speaker
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November 8, 2014
The Journey From One Book Author to Multi-Published Author: NaNoWriMo Day 8
Send to KindleI knew today would be a light writing day. This morning, I went to Branson, an hour ride, to be at the Taney Hills Library Author Day, a book signing event.
A dozen authors of widely different genres, including some of us Jack Masters types who write in many genres, attended.
We each had to bring our own table and chair. I only had a TableMate, so my horizontal space was limited. So what did I do? Go vertical.
The Table
Thankfully, I have a plastic display stand I used for my books. This gave me hight. I also have a plastic sign stand, which let me advertise a bit. I put out a bowl of licorice for people to take, in honor of the plot twists in my stories.
Experience
Even though I have written several books and contributed chapter, poems and short stories s to over two dozen more, I don’t think of myself as a seasoned writer. I’m always working to improve my stories, and I’m involved with a number of superior authors with many more books and much more experience than I.
Sure, I have many dozens of articles published and materials all over the web and I write in different genres, but still, I’m always seeking to improve my writing, to go deeper into my characters, to pack more into as few words as possible. I don’t often take top prizes in writing contests. I never feel good enough.
I met William Leverne Smith, an author with a half dozen or so novels, a couple s hort story collections, and loads of online stories, at the Author’s Day. We talked about the difference between those of us with numerous books and the one-book authors.
I hadn’t thought about it before, but there is a difference. Now, I’m not being condescending or better-than-thou about it. The honest truth is that when William and I were single book authors, we were in a similar place to the others. Now, with many books, things have changed.
So if you’re a newer author, either pre-published or with one book, you might check out these differences and cultivate the experienced author mindset:
There’s no shaming, no put-down. It’s all a beautiful journey worth taking!
Motivation: Newer authors tend to look outside themselves to write. If you’ve ever said, “I have to feel inspired,” then you’re in this category. If you cannot write without certain conditions being met, then you’re looking outside yourself.
So much of writing is about applying yourself, butt in seat and fingers on keys, to your craft.
Describing Your Book: Newer authors tend to take forever to explain your book. I remember well those days. It’s important to sum up your book in a sentence, because then the listener can decide right then and there whether it’s for them.
A pre-published author to whom I spoke took over 3 minutes to describe his novel. That’s an eternity.
Connecting: The newer authors spent a lot of time sitting behind their table and spoke more with other authors than with the readers wandering through the event. The more seasoned authors stood to speak with people and found out what they like to read.
One of my favorite moments was when a mom told her 2 kids they could each choose 1 book. Her daughter chose my novel, Rue the Day.
Planning: Most of the one book authors had no table decoration or covering. Some did not have change to offer customers making a purchase. Some had no website or business cards.
Again, none of this is criticism, because everyone live and learns, in that order, but it was interesting to notice those differences.
There’s something more subtle than all that.
Author Identity
The more you write and publish, the more you know whom you are as an author. Even if you, like me, work in multiple genres, you know your style.
I call myself a teller of transformational tales on my business cards, because that’s what I am, whether in nonfiction or fiction. That’s what I mean about knowing yourself as a writer.
So, keep writing and be exactly who you are.
Here’s my progress in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
I hope you’ll find ways to reach out and connect with readers. If you would like stories, sneak peeks, and a chance to win free prizes, join Ronda’s Readers right now WriteOnPurpose.com/read.
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Writing is pure Bliss
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