Judith Post's Blog, page 73

Starting Over

A friend of mine is getting back into writing.  Which means she’s not new at it, but she’s been away from it for so long, she feels like she’s starting over.  I don’t think that’s true.  I think it’s like riding a bicycle.  Once her fingers touch her keyboard, it will all come back.  Maybe in starts and stops, but eventually the words will flow like they once did.

She asked me for advice on how to get her mojo going again, and we talked about all the things that have changed over the years. You can self-publish now.  And even if you sell, you need to learn to market your work.  There’s twitter, Facebook, blogs.  We talked about all of them.  But I finally figured out the most important advice of all.  JUST WRITE.  None of the rest matters if you don’t have a story or novel that’s finished.  And it makes life better if your story or novel fits a genre somewhere.

I’m all about studying your craft, reading books like Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham or the many other experts on the subject.  There are links on twitter to hone your word choice, use stronger verbs, start with a hook, develop characters fully, make settings come to life, etc.  I retweet the best links I see everyday.  There are lots of them.  But there are no words to make powerful if you don’t write them.  And every time you do, you learn more.

So, after explaining to my friend about finding followers on twitter and signing up for BookBub, my best advice was, “What are you going to write first? Get started on it.”

You can debate whether it’s better to be a pantser or a plotter, if you should storyboard or throw 3 x 5 cards with  scene ideas in the air to see where they land, but most sins can be fixed by a good edit and rewrite.  And no matter what you do–as far as I can tell–when you reach the middle of your novel, you’ve reached the black swamp of misery that you have to fight through to the other side.  C.S. Boyack wrote about that on his blog today, and I don’t know a writer who can’t sympathize.  https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/2019/03/28/a-writing-day-the-middle-slog/

While I’m at it, Staci Troilo wrote a particularly good blog about developing a series, too.  https://storyempire.com/2019/03/25/the-story-bible/  I find a lot of useful writing information on Story Empire.  BUT, as I said before, talking about writing and thinking about writing aren’t writing.  To be a writer, you have to plant fanny in chair and type words on empty pages until those words add up to a story.  And if your first effort doesn’t make you dance around the house and celebrate?  Give yourself credit for making it to the finish line.  And write another story.  You’ll keep getting better at it.  Especially if you study and work at improving WHILE you write.

I hope this has inspired you to hit those keys!  Happy writing!

 

 

 

 

 

Tale of a Story: Voices

My good writer friend and fellow Scribe, Kathy Palm, sold a new story and it’s available on Kindle for $2.99. I’ll let her tell you about it.

Finding Faeries

Back in 2006 or 2007, or somewhere in there, I had an idea for a girl who could hear the thoughts of others. Her name was Lucinda…Cinda for short. So i wrote it. And it received an honorable mention from the Writer’s Digest short story competition. I was very excited.

I was so excited, I decided to submit it. Remember Leading Edge magazine from my last post? They published my story “Marked” (the story that didn’t place in the same competition), so I sent “Cinda” to them. It was rejected. Now, the wonderful thing about Leading Edge is that they send feedback from readers. I had comments on why the story didn’t work, which helped me rethink the idea, and I rewrote it.

And submitted it again.

It was rejected again with more comments. Though none of what anyone said clicked in my brain, so I set the story aside.

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Treasure Trove

Our daughter’s visiting us this weekend, so this blog is going to be shorter than usual.  Planning on lots of play time:)  I’ve been working on rewrites for my fourth Jazzi Zanders book, though.  So my mind has been playing with her, the people she hangs with, and renovating old houses.  And as always when I’m putting the finishing touches on one book, my mind starts wandering to the next book in the series.

And that’s where a good friend of mine and my husband’s has proven a treasure trove of ideas.  Ralph used to buy old houses and renovate them to rent.  Now, Ralph isn’t the type to just slap paint on walls and make a space liveable.  He’s a perfectionist.  He makes everything he works on the best it can be for the price he can put into it.  And when I told him that I was writing a series about a woman, her cousin, and her romantic interest who flip houses, he suprised me with one idea after another of how flipping a house could dig up clues to old murders.

I’ve already used a few of the things he’s shared with me.  Like finding an old, loved tool box in a basement with all kinds of antique tools no one can find anymore and a person’s initials burned into the beautifully carved wood.  That’s how Jazzi and Ansel knew Joel had been in Cal’s house in book one.  For book two, Ralph told me about how an older man walked past a house he was renovating every day at the same time, and how he came to watch for him, until one day he didn’t come.  And Ralph wondered about him.  Was he all right?  Had something happened to him?  I used that idea for Leo walking his dog past the roof Jazzi, Jerod, and Ansel were working on, and Leo would stop to talk to Jazzi every chance he got because he was lonely.  And then one day, Leo didn’t come.

For book five, Ralph intrigued me with a story he told about finding a woman’s treasure box in a closet while he was gutting a house.  She had stones she’d collected when she was a little girl, grade school class pictures, a yearbook, letters from friends, pieces of jewelry, and ribbons and awards, among other things.  For book five, I have Jazzi, Jerod, and Ansel fixing up one of the old “grand dame” houses in Auburn, a town north of where I live.  And I keep thinking about what Jazzi will find in a treasure chest of the girl who grew up in that house, but when Jazzi tries to return the box to her, she finds out the girl died soon after her senior prom, and no one ever solved what happened to her.  And that, of course, sets up the mystery she tries to solve.

Ralph’s given me lots more ideas, and I’ve written them all down and keep them in my own small box of treasured story ideas for later use.  Who knew flipping houses, in real life, could stimulate so many plots?  But I’m grateful for all of them.  And if I’m lucky, I’ll have lots more Jazzi Zanders mysteries to write.

And for all of you, happy writing!

 

What is a supernatural mystery anyway?

When I tell friends that I finished Muddy River Mystery One and put it on Amazon, they ask, “What is it?”

Well, a mystery.  That’s in the title.  Muddy River is the town on the Ohio River that the supernaturals settled.  They found a nice, hilly, secluded area in southwest Indiana, far from mortals, to call home.

“The supernatural?” they ask.

Yup, witches, vampires, shapeshifters, and demons, among others.  Most friends know that I used to write urban fantasy.  And now I’m writing mysteries.  So I decided to combine the two.  Sort of like the Babet and Prosper novellas that I used to write.    Prosper was a bearshifter and his partner on the force, Hatchet, was a Druid.

I like writing about Druids.  Of course, I jazz them up a bit.  My Druids can call on lightning to strike and their tattoos are alive and writhe when they’re angry.  It’s Prosper and Hatchet’s job to solve crimes committed by supernaturals who break the rules.

Prosper teams with Babet, a witch, to solve a murder.  In Muddy River, Raven Black–a fire demon–teams with Hester Wand– a witch–to solve the deaths of thirteen young witches who were just starting their own coven.  Of course–no suprise here–while they work together, they fall for each other.

“Oh, a paranormal romance!” someone says.

“No, wrong emphasis.  A paranormal romance has the romance as the story’s main focus.  Raven and Hester’s relationship is more of a subplot.  The mystery forms the main plotline in my story.”

“Why is it different than an urban fantasy?  You started with those.”

“Urban fantasies are about the bad guys, usually evil, bumping heads with the good guys–the protagonist and his friends.  The battles escalate until it’s life or death at the end of the book.  This book, even though it has a few battles, is about solving the mystery.”

This is when my friends usually scratch their heads.  But fellow writers–they’ll understand.  The main plot line is what distinguishes one kind of story from another.  And this story is …a mystery with a romance subplot in a world peopled by Fae, Druids, witches, vampires, shifters, and one banshee.  And it was really fun to write!  As fun as Babet and Prosper.

A close friend and fellow writer still looks at me, bewildered.  “But why?  Your cozy mysteries are doing so well.”

All writers know that it’s dangerous to switch genres.  People who read cozy mysteries might not want anything to do with a fire demon for an enforcer.

Well, I didn’t know how well The Body in the Attic would sell when I started my second series, did I?  It came as a wonderful, happy surprise.  But I’m not sure it would have made a lot of difference.  I tend to lose interest if I read one author, one genre, over and over again, back to back.  Sorry to say, but that holds true of my writing, too.  I really do love the cozy mysteries I write, but I need to change it up once in a while, or else my writing goes flat.

I have no idea if I can find success with Muddy River, but I’d written three cozies, and I needed a witch or two to break things up.  And it worked.  I’m ready to dig into serious rewrites for Jazzi and Ansel’s fourth book now.

Whatever you’re writing, whatever your writing habits, have a great week of it!

 

Great Advice For Reading To and Writing For Middle Grade!

My fellow Scribe and good friend, Kathy Palm, just finished writing a book for Middle Grade and is sending it out to agents now.  I wish her great luck.  I got a chance to critique it, and there was nothing much to critique.  The book was WONDERFUL.

She shares her view on Middle Grade books here.  And it’s great advice!  If you read to your kids while they were growing up, this will give you the warm and fuzzies, like it did me.

https://www.katejfoster.com/talking-middle-grade/its-about-possibilities

In Summary… The Synopsis

For any of you struggling with a synopsis, Staci Troilo gives you a solid list of the basics. And she makes it sound easy:)

Story Empire

Ciao! Staci here again. I’m wrapping up my WIP and about to start another. That — plus the fact that more than one person has asked me about this lately — made me think it might be the perfect time to discuss the synopsis.

Why is this the perfect time? (I mean, other than people asking.) Well, a synopsis is a useful tool in planning a new story, so I could write one for book two. And, now that book one is done, I might want to revise an existing synopsis to give to the publisher (for accurate blurb writing and marketing materials).

What is a Synopsis?

A synopsis is a brief retelling of the narrative arc of your novel, including the ending.

Note: I said including the ending. That’s not a mistake. This document should not be confused with the book blurb on your back cover or with any…

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It’s up!

I wrote a supernatural mystery and posted it, chapter by chapter, for free on my webpage.  Once it was finished, I gave everyone a week to read it, and then I took it down to make into a book.  It’s only 56,000+ words, and some people have already read it, so I’m only charging 99 cents for it.  But it was so much fun to write about witches, shifters, and demons again!  I didn’t want to go back to writing urban fantasy, so I decided to do a cross-genre story–a traditional mystery peopled with supernatural citizens who live on the banks of the Ohio River in southwest Indiana.  Michael Prete created a cover for me that I love, and M.L. Rigdon (Julia Donner) donated two afternoons to me, showing me how to download it to Kindle.  So, here it is, MUDDY RIVER MYSTERY ONE (Black Magic Can Backfire).

 

What Was I Thinking?

In my head, it would be a piece of cake to write two different kinds of books as Judi Lynn.  One in first person POV.  The other in third.  I even considered writing on the cozy mysteries Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then switching to the supernatural on Thursdays and Fridays.  If I’m good–with not a lot of distractions–I can almost always write a chapter a day.  And then, when I got a little bit ahead, I’d concentrate on the supernatural since it’s only going to be about 56,000 words.  And when I finished that, I’d concentrate on the Jazzi books that have to be a little over 70,000.  And then, I’d take turns.  It sounded simple.  It hasn’t been, but I need to switch things up once in a while.  If I write too many of the same type of thing back to back, I get stale.  So why not write a cozy and then write mysteries peopled by witches and fire demons?

Only it’s turned out to be a bit trickier than I anticipated.  All sorts of things look good on paper.  This was one of them.  But I can’t be so neat and tidy about what I write.  I forgot to add in writing promotion materials–character interviews, Q & As, etc. for blog tours.  I forgot about days when everyone calls and wants to touch base on the same day, so that I spend more time on the phone than on the computer.  Days when I spend more time on marketing or when the desire for a special treat tugs me into the kitchen to whip up something.  And I forgot that every once in a while, my dear loving husband thinks we should have a day during the week when we should actually leave the house and do something fun.

Schedules are flexible.  I have lots of things that matter to me, and writing’s only one of them.  Even when it comes to writing, I forgot that it’s not so easy to jump from writing first person to third person without getting them mixed up.  And boy, does that stand out when I go back to do rewrites.

So, I took my neat, tidy little schedule, scrunched it into a ball, and threw it in the trash.  It made me of think of C.S. Boyack’s blog.  He’s working on two books at the same time, too, but he bounces back and forth between them.  I might give that a try and see what happens.  He’s honest about his writing time, and somehow, that’s comforting.  He has good days and bad days.  Here’s a look at one of his blogs:  https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/category/writing-2/  

I have to accept that writing isn’t ever as organized as I’d like it to be.  But then, what is?  I’m still going to write two books.  I’m just not sure how I’m going to do that.  But I’ll figure it out along the way.

And while I’m at it, wishing you happy writing, too!  Have a great March.

 

 

Sharing

My fellow writer and friend, Karen Lenfestey, just put up her latest book, BITTERSWEET HOPE.  It’s the final book in her Bittersweet trilogy, and for this week, she’s offering the first book, 5 O’CLOCK SHADOW for free on Amazon, and BITTERSWEET HOPE is only 99 cents.  So, if you’re so inclined, you could buy the entire trilogy for only $3.98.

I have to say that BITTERSWEET HOPE is my favorite book she’s written so far.  I got to beta read it.  I’ve read all of her books, but I flew through this one.  The two sisters, Claire and Hope, finally find the happy-ever-afters they SO deserve.  Of course, being women’s fiction and a Karen Lenfestey novel, they have to jump through more than their fair share of hoops to get there.  And this time, one of those hurdles is a disturbed young stalker.  The scenes inside this girl’s mind paint a fascinating journey that spirals out of control.  The rationalization for her acts builds more and more tension until the final scene.  And the ending was perfect (in my opinion).

Anyway, if you like women’s fiction, you might want to check out her book or the entire series.

 

Here’s the link for her webpage if you want to check out the entire trilogy or more of her books:

https://www.karensnovels.com/

Pre-release Fun Begins Tomorrow

Kyra Jacobs’ new book comes out March 11th. Kyra’s a local author and I consider her a great friend. If you like sweet romances, she delivers.

INDIANA WONDERER

Happy Sunday, everyone! Wow, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted, having spent the majority of my non-writing author time over on social media. It’s hard, in this day and age, to know where exactly I’ll have my greatest “reach”.

Blogging? Twitter? Facebook? Sandwich board on a street corner?…

Since the forecast is calling for cold, cold, and more cold this week, I’m scrapping the street corner idea before it gets one iota of traction. LOL However, I thought in the week before release of my ninth novel (9!? Can you believe it?!) that we’d have a bit of fun on the old bloggy-blog.

What fun, you ask?

*rubs hands together*

We’re going to have a daily feature here called “Meet the Characters”. For one full week before the release of my next sweet, small town romance THE SOCCER PLAYER AND THE SINGLE MOM(former working title: ON…

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