Robin M. Helm's Blog: A Bird's Eye View, page 6
January 25, 2012
Interview with the author, Robin Helm, part 1
Tell us a little bit about yourself. When did you start writing?
I have always loved to read. I was the baby in a family of six, and there was always plenty to do in the way of cleaning, cooking, gardening, and yard work. I remember hiding in a closet to read quite often, because if my mother saw me, she would immediately make me put down the book and get to work. I think I bought the house we live in because it has walk-in closets.
After twenty-five years of teaching, mainly high school English and music, I left full-time teaching to take three part-time jobs. I began to “beta,” or edit for other writers. Before that time, the idea of writing a book had been too daunting to me. A year ago, I was intimidated by the idea. Now, I have written and self-published two books in The Guardian Trilogy, Guardian and SoulFire, and I am nearly a third of the way through writing the third book in the series, Legacy.
I have always loved to read. I was the baby in a family of six, and there was always plenty to do in the way of cleaning, cooking, gardening, and yard work. I remember hiding in a closet to read quite often, because if my mother saw me, she would immediately make me put down the book and get to work. I think I bought the house we live in because it has walk-in closets.
After twenty-five years of teaching, mainly high school English and music, I left full-time teaching to take three part-time jobs. I began to “beta,” or edit for other writers. Before that time, the idea of writing a book had been too daunting to me. A year ago, I was intimidated by the idea. Now, I have written and self-published two books in The Guardian Trilogy, Guardian and SoulFire, and I am nearly a third of the way through writing the third book in the series, Legacy.
January 23, 2012
Ah, Memories!
When I’m aggravated at my hubby, I remember what he said to me after we left our last Lamaze class thirty years ago. I was pregnant with our first child, twenty-seven, and eight and a half months pregnant. The class featured a film showing every sort of birth possible, in graphic detail with screaming women and frantic fathers. We sat in our little car, and I was thinking, “There’s no way out now. It’s a little late to show me that film. This baby is coming!”
My husband took my hand, looked into my eyes, and quietly said, “I wish I could do this for you.”
I looked back at that wonderful man and replied, “I wish you could, too.”
My husband took my hand, looked into my eyes, and quietly said, “I wish I could do this for you.”
I looked back at that wonderful man and replied, “I wish you could, too.”
January 21, 2012
Guardian Book Giveaway
Guardian
by Robin M. Helm
Enter to win
by Robin M. Helm
Giveaway ends January 28, 2012.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Enter to win
January 20, 2012
Hey, I Think I'll Write a Book Today
When I started writing my first book in February of this year, I had no idea that it would be so difficult. The task was daunting, of course, but it had always seemed to me that writers made too much of a drama of the entire process. All that angst about writer’s block and the muse seemed a bit over the top.
I had been a school teacher for twenty-five years, and most of that time I taught high school English with heavy doses of English and American literature, composition, spelling, vocabulary, poetry, and grammar. My students were published, won loads of scholarship money, and usually went on to do well in college. In addition, I had been an avid reader since my sister taught me to read when I was four years old. I knew what constituted a gripping story. How hard could it be to actually write one?
My students were obsessed with the Twilight Saga, so I read it. I wanted to be able to discuss it with them knowledgeably and understand their attraction. After all, students who had struggled to read The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Count of Monte Cristo were rushing out to buy four huge books and staying up through the night reading. I found that I loved the story as well, and I began to analyze why I enjoyed it so much. Several elements jumped out at me immediately: the hero was a natural bad guy trying his best to be good; he was abnormally beautiful, intelligent, talented, and self-sacrificing; he fought her attempts to seduce him because he wanted what was best for her; and the heroine was smart and pretty, but also clumsy and somewhat of a social misfit. The story was every girl’s dream scenario. They all identified with average Bella and wanted a guy like Edward. That he was a vampire only heightened the angst of the situation, because he was a “good” vampire, struggling against his very nature in an effort to deserve the girl he loved obsessively.
My story line would flip that. My protagonist would be the ultimate good guy, a guardian angel, gifted by God with emotions. He would fight his growing love for his charge, seeking instead what he thought was best for her. Unlike Bella, my heroine would be beautiful, as well as supernaturally talented and gifted.
Since my favorite novel was Pride and Prejudice, I had been reading on several JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction) sites for about a year, and I had begun to “beta” for several writers. They sent me chapters which I corrected and e-mailed back to them. My concentration was on finding errors in grammar and mechanics. Several of those writers published their stories, and I was credited for my work.
Finally, I decided to take the plunge. Because I wanted to ensure that my work would actually be read, I chose to write a P & P fan fiction (modern, alternate universe) and post it as a WIP (work in progress). One of the writers agreed to beta for me, along with two other betas who were experienced in looking for plot problems and finding errors in grammar and mechanics. At least I was not ignorant enough to think I needed no help.
I wrote my first chapter, and, rather pleased with myself, I sent it off to my betas. I did not expect that there would be no criticism at all – in fact, I am not exactly certain what I expected – but what came back to me was certainly not in any of the scenarios I had imagined.
I nearly called the published writer to see if she had slit her wrists and inadvertently bled all over my work. There were notes concerning point of view, active and passive voice, scarcity of dialogue, absence of descriptive details, and my general lack of direction. She also failed to understand one of my main plot devices, and she demanded an outline of the entire story before I wrote anything else. I brooded for a day or two, and then sat down at my laptop to rewrite the chapter, closely following her suggestions and ultimately realizing what a wonderful gift she had given to me. Because she had been brutally honest, my writing would improve drastically, and my story would be much better.
“Newbie” writers, please accept this opportunity to learn from my mistakes.
1) Outline the story. This does not have to be three main points with A’s and B’s. I simply made a list, which I have adjusted quite a bit throughout the process. Some ideas that I thought would take one chapter would actually take three. Character development and dialogue take quite a bit more space than I originally had expected, and what I had envisioned as one book has morphed into a trilogy. I probably should have avoided that with my first book.
2) Establish a point of view and stay with it. Avoid head hopping, unless one of the characters can read minds. Even then, that character must be in the scene to read the person’s mind.
3) Make up the “rules” for any paranormal or supernatural characters before typing that first word. Otherwise, a new ability introduced in chapter twelve might conflict with what the character did in chapter three. The writer can gradually reveal the character’s abilities as long as he knows what they are from the beginning and writes the character that way.
4) Make a list of all characters, including their ages, physical descriptions, spouses, birthdays, and anything else that might be important. The list is handy to make certain that details, such as a character’s eye color, age, or height, are not changing from one chapter to another.
5) For a first effort, write about what is familiar. I chose to set my story in a small southern town, similar to the one in which I live. I am a minister’s wife who graduated from a religious college, so I used Scripture to introduce my chapters and develop the spiritual warfare angle of the book. Though my book is a work of fiction, my concepts concerning angels and demons were supported by the Bible, and I could answer questions about everything that I had written. The time period matched my own life, so I knew whether people used DVD’s or VHS tapes, cell phones or pagers, and GPS devices or maps during the years in which the chapters took place. I also knew how people dressed during the different decades, and I knew what music was popular.
6) Research anything that is unfamiliar. When my characters gave a concert in Toronto, I used the internet to find the perfect concert hall, hotel, restaurant, and airport. Someone who is familiar with that area may read the book, and I wanted it to be realistic. Though I majored in music, I still went to YouTube to listen to the pieces they played. I even called a restaurant because their website did not list a complete menu or say if diners had to wait to be seated. When I knew more about a place or a time period, my descriptions came to life with detail.
7) Make certain that every chapter advances the plot. I read and reread the chapters from the beginning of the book straight through as I continued to write, checking for continuity, small errors, confusing sentences, and extraneous details. I asked myself constantly, “How does this chapter contribute to the story? Is it necessary?”
8) Use a variety of words. I was surprised recently when my family read a well-known author’s new book out loud together. She used the same adverb over and over in every chapter. Since there are at least ten adverbs which have that same meaning, she could have made the book more interesting by using the other nine. Had she read her book from beginning to end instead of chapter by chapter, she would have seen that herself.
9) Know the personalities of the characters before they are introduced. Is the character proud, obstinate, sweet, or funny? Do not make up the personality traits halfway into the story. It shows.
10) Write tight, realistic dialogue. When my characters texted as teenagers, my twenty-year-old daughter read (and trashed) what I wrote. If they conversed, she checked the language for me. I listened to her because she knew more about it than I did. Again, the dialogue should advance the plot. No one should be talking just to fill a page.
11) Discipline yourself. I write a chapter each week and stay at least seven chapters ahead of my posting schedule. I am usually rewriting two chapters as I write the new one. Real life has a way of intruding, and I do not wish to disappoint my readers by failing to post on schedule or by posting substandard work.
More important than anything in the list is to enjoy the experience. The passion of the writer will be reflected in the work. If the book is a drudgery to write, it will be a labor to read.
I had been a school teacher for twenty-five years, and most of that time I taught high school English with heavy doses of English and American literature, composition, spelling, vocabulary, poetry, and grammar. My students were published, won loads of scholarship money, and usually went on to do well in college. In addition, I had been an avid reader since my sister taught me to read when I was four years old. I knew what constituted a gripping story. How hard could it be to actually write one?
My students were obsessed with the Twilight Saga, so I read it. I wanted to be able to discuss it with them knowledgeably and understand their attraction. After all, students who had struggled to read The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Count of Monte Cristo were rushing out to buy four huge books and staying up through the night reading. I found that I loved the story as well, and I began to analyze why I enjoyed it so much. Several elements jumped out at me immediately: the hero was a natural bad guy trying his best to be good; he was abnormally beautiful, intelligent, talented, and self-sacrificing; he fought her attempts to seduce him because he wanted what was best for her; and the heroine was smart and pretty, but also clumsy and somewhat of a social misfit. The story was every girl’s dream scenario. They all identified with average Bella and wanted a guy like Edward. That he was a vampire only heightened the angst of the situation, because he was a “good” vampire, struggling against his very nature in an effort to deserve the girl he loved obsessively.
My story line would flip that. My protagonist would be the ultimate good guy, a guardian angel, gifted by God with emotions. He would fight his growing love for his charge, seeking instead what he thought was best for her. Unlike Bella, my heroine would be beautiful, as well as supernaturally talented and gifted.
Since my favorite novel was Pride and Prejudice, I had been reading on several JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction) sites for about a year, and I had begun to “beta” for several writers. They sent me chapters which I corrected and e-mailed back to them. My concentration was on finding errors in grammar and mechanics. Several of those writers published their stories, and I was credited for my work.
Finally, I decided to take the plunge. Because I wanted to ensure that my work would actually be read, I chose to write a P & P fan fiction (modern, alternate universe) and post it as a WIP (work in progress). One of the writers agreed to beta for me, along with two other betas who were experienced in looking for plot problems and finding errors in grammar and mechanics. At least I was not ignorant enough to think I needed no help.
I wrote my first chapter, and, rather pleased with myself, I sent it off to my betas. I did not expect that there would be no criticism at all – in fact, I am not exactly certain what I expected – but what came back to me was certainly not in any of the scenarios I had imagined.
I nearly called the published writer to see if she had slit her wrists and inadvertently bled all over my work. There were notes concerning point of view, active and passive voice, scarcity of dialogue, absence of descriptive details, and my general lack of direction. She also failed to understand one of my main plot devices, and she demanded an outline of the entire story before I wrote anything else. I brooded for a day or two, and then sat down at my laptop to rewrite the chapter, closely following her suggestions and ultimately realizing what a wonderful gift she had given to me. Because she had been brutally honest, my writing would improve drastically, and my story would be much better.
“Newbie” writers, please accept this opportunity to learn from my mistakes.
1) Outline the story. This does not have to be three main points with A’s and B’s. I simply made a list, which I have adjusted quite a bit throughout the process. Some ideas that I thought would take one chapter would actually take three. Character development and dialogue take quite a bit more space than I originally had expected, and what I had envisioned as one book has morphed into a trilogy. I probably should have avoided that with my first book.
2) Establish a point of view and stay with it. Avoid head hopping, unless one of the characters can read minds. Even then, that character must be in the scene to read the person’s mind.
3) Make up the “rules” for any paranormal or supernatural characters before typing that first word. Otherwise, a new ability introduced in chapter twelve might conflict with what the character did in chapter three. The writer can gradually reveal the character’s abilities as long as he knows what they are from the beginning and writes the character that way.
4) Make a list of all characters, including their ages, physical descriptions, spouses, birthdays, and anything else that might be important. The list is handy to make certain that details, such as a character’s eye color, age, or height, are not changing from one chapter to another.
5) For a first effort, write about what is familiar. I chose to set my story in a small southern town, similar to the one in which I live. I am a minister’s wife who graduated from a religious college, so I used Scripture to introduce my chapters and develop the spiritual warfare angle of the book. Though my book is a work of fiction, my concepts concerning angels and demons were supported by the Bible, and I could answer questions about everything that I had written. The time period matched my own life, so I knew whether people used DVD’s or VHS tapes, cell phones or pagers, and GPS devices or maps during the years in which the chapters took place. I also knew how people dressed during the different decades, and I knew what music was popular.
6) Research anything that is unfamiliar. When my characters gave a concert in Toronto, I used the internet to find the perfect concert hall, hotel, restaurant, and airport. Someone who is familiar with that area may read the book, and I wanted it to be realistic. Though I majored in music, I still went to YouTube to listen to the pieces they played. I even called a restaurant because their website did not list a complete menu or say if diners had to wait to be seated. When I knew more about a place or a time period, my descriptions came to life with detail.
7) Make certain that every chapter advances the plot. I read and reread the chapters from the beginning of the book straight through as I continued to write, checking for continuity, small errors, confusing sentences, and extraneous details. I asked myself constantly, “How does this chapter contribute to the story? Is it necessary?”
8) Use a variety of words. I was surprised recently when my family read a well-known author’s new book out loud together. She used the same adverb over and over in every chapter. Since there are at least ten adverbs which have that same meaning, she could have made the book more interesting by using the other nine. Had she read her book from beginning to end instead of chapter by chapter, she would have seen that herself.
9) Know the personalities of the characters before they are introduced. Is the character proud, obstinate, sweet, or funny? Do not make up the personality traits halfway into the story. It shows.
10) Write tight, realistic dialogue. When my characters texted as teenagers, my twenty-year-old daughter read (and trashed) what I wrote. If they conversed, she checked the language for me. I listened to her because she knew more about it than I did. Again, the dialogue should advance the plot. No one should be talking just to fill a page.
11) Discipline yourself. I write a chapter each week and stay at least seven chapters ahead of my posting schedule. I am usually rewriting two chapters as I write the new one. Real life has a way of intruding, and I do not wish to disappoint my readers by failing to post on schedule or by posting substandard work.
More important than anything in the list is to enjoy the experience. The passion of the writer will be reflected in the work. If the book is a drudgery to write, it will be a labor to read.
