Bev Pettersen's Blog, page 4
July 21, 2020
Wordsmith Wednesday: Strong Opening Paragraphs
Welcome to another episode of Wordsmith Wednesday: Strong Opening Paragraphs! I’m your host, Tamara Hogan.
In this monthly feature, we analyze opening paragraphs from both published books and unpublished manuscripts.
Whether we’re talking about the opening paragraphs of a book, of a chapter, or of a scene, the author’s job is the same: ORIENT THE READER, QUICKLY. To me, this means being able to answer the following four questions in fairly short order:
Who’s the point of view character?
Where a...
July 9, 2020
Flash Fiction Friday!
Oh my! Wishes can get tricky. In 25 words or less, describe what had she expected and what happened instead.
Let’s play! One commenter will randomly be chosen to win a $5 Amazon gift card.
July 8, 2020
Physician, heal thyself
The subject of tag lines and log lines came up in my house recently. My in-house marketing guru has been after me to upgrade my book blurbs, starting with my opening, or tag, line. We’ve been so busy with this, I forgot to put up this blog post. Before you laugh at my old brain for being so forgetful, remember, I’m younger than both major candidates for president of the USA.
Today’s blog post is a case of physician, heal thyself.
What my in-house marketing guru, cook, and physical fitness coach ...
July 5, 2020
Mentorship Monday – July Edition
Welcome back to another edition of Mentorship Monday, where the Rubies are on deck to answer any of your writing, writing career, or writing life questions. Whatever’s on your mind, ask it here and myself and other Rubies will pop by throughout the day to give our two cents. And hopefully those cents will add up to some helpful advice.
I actually have a question I’ve been mulling over for the past couple months that I’d like to use as a jumping off point today. Now that it look like we have ...
June 29, 2020
Masks On, Hands On Keyboard
Okay, so the title is a little facetious, because unless you are writing in public you probably don’t need to write with your mask on, but since cases are surging in record numbers in numerous locales around the US, there has never been a better time to protect your health and put more love into the world through your books. (IMHO.)
First off: Masks are sexy. SO SEXY. They demonstrate that you care about the people around you. That you care about PROTECTING the people around you. Like fir...
June 25, 2020
FLASH FICTION FRIDAY!
I can’t believe it’s already Friday again. And you know what that means! Flash fiction fun!
Using this prompt, tell us your story in up to 25 words for your chance to win a DIGITAL copy of ANY RUBY BOOK!
I love old houses, especially the scarred ones. Here is my go at telling this house’s story:
My parents think I’m haunting their house. I’ve told them over and over, they died in the fire, too.
YOUR TURN! Good luck, Inkslingers!
June 18, 2020
FLASH FICTION FRIDAY!
For today’s exercise, add up to 25 words to this opening line to create a fun, unique story!
BEGIN YOUR STORY WITH:
To say that Alistair Ansel Alcott III was surprised to learn he’d not been born on Earth and was, in fact, not human at all would be the understatement of the century.
Tell us the rest of the story in 25 words or fewer! One FFF player will win their choice of a digital copy of ANY RUBY BOOK!
GOOD LUCK, INKSLINGERS!
June 11, 2020
Flash Fiction Friday!
Today, for the sake of much needed levity, I’m posting something I thought was silly.
In action or dialogue, describe in 20 words or less what happened next. Play along. This could be fun!
One commenter will randomly be chosen to win a $5 Amazon gift card.
June 10, 2020
Stealing ideas
Ooops. I’m a little late. Obviously, I don’t know what day it is. I think it’s a side effect of lockdown.
Today, let’s look at other people’s opening lines in their blurbs. I’m going to pull examples from newer releases from authors I enjoy. You’ll note the bias toward murder rather than love. But then, I love murder. I can hear you groaning over here.
Peacetime has brought little respite to Verity Kent. Intrigue still abounds, even in her own family. – Anna Lee Huber, A Pretty Deceit
Olivia Den...
June 2, 2020
First Line Wednesday ! The First Line of the Rest of Our Lives
As romance writers we might feel a bit helpless to do anything about it. Hell, there are United States Marines who aren’t certain what to do about it. And they have guns and tanks! What do we have? We have the most powerful weapons on Earth, my dears. We have
WORDS !!
We create entire worlds with our words. We touch hearts. We change minds. We give people HOPE !! We make people think. We give pe...
