Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 173

Writing—the Type Who Sticks With It

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

As I’ve mentioned here before, my daughter is obsessed with horses.

She’s taking weekly lessons and is attending horse camp at different weeks over the summer.

It’s a bit like hell’s kitchen here in the South this summer (and in other parts of the States, too.) Hotter than usual in North Carolina. We’d usually have temps in the low 90s for July, but they’ve been around 100F most days.

And my daughter is out in the heat wearing a helmet, boots, and long pants.

She was trotting around one of the riding rings in full riding attire in the sun on the day it reached 105 F. in the shade. I wasn’t convinced it was safe (despite what the camp thought), so I did the typical mommy hovering thing— leaning over the fence and handing her a damp washcloth and a water bottle whenever I could. And then hustling her off into air conditioning at the first available opportunity. This particular heat wave has been known to kill.

Another mom chatted with me as we stood in the shade in our shorts and sleeveless shirts. “How is your daughter handling the heat here this week?” she asked me.

I said, “She loves it. She said she’d stay here at the barn all day every week if she could.”

“She’ll stick with it then, for life. Kids like that always do,” the mom said.

And I just don’t get the horse fixation. I don’t get the flies or the shoveling of horse poop or the large animals who intimidate me a bit. I don’t get the combing, grooming, and washing of the horses or all the tack care. But I’m happy to make these things happen for my daughter, who loves them all.

The other mom’s words struck a chord in me. Yes, just like my daughter’s determination to ride, most writers stick with their writing obsession, too. Similar to my not understanding my daughter’s fascination with horses, most writers’ family and friends don’t get our love of writing. Except, instead of flies and poop and constant grooming, those close to us see isolation, rejection, poor reviews, and low pay.

Some qualities of writers who stick with it:

Stubbornness and/or determination

Love of writing

Thick skin or ability to ignore or easily absorb criticism

Flexibility

Insuppressible creativity...a habit of looking at the world through a writer’s lens

What qualities can you add?

Interview at Creative Juicer

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

If you have time today, I hope you’ll pop over to Emily Wenstrom’s site, Creative Juicer. She’s posting an interview with me there today.

We’re covering challenges to creativity, fitting writing into our day, and what to do when we get stuck.

Thanks!

Creative Commons for Writers—Guest Post by James Hutchings

by James Hutchings

Many writers, whether published or just starting out, are very nervous that someone else will steal their work, whether that be another writer using their ideas in their own stories, or someone making pirated copies of their books.

When I put out a collection of my writing, I specifically gave permission for anyone at all to copy my ideas, or even to cut and paste whole stories. I also contacted the Pirate Party, a worldwide network that wants to lessen copyright, and told them that I was giving anyone permission to put my ebook on file-sharing sites. In this post I hope to show why I went against common wisdom.

Creative Commons

I used a free service called Creative Commons. Creative Commons is useful for people who want to give the general public permission to use their work, but with restrictions. In my case I didn't mind people using my work for non-profit purposes, such as posting on a blog, but I didn't want to allow anyone to make money off it. Similarly I wanted anyone who used it to give me credit. I could have just listed these things myself. However I'm not a lawyer, and perhaps I would have worded it wrong so that someone could twist what I said to do more than I meant. Also I could have been unclear about what I was allowing and what I wasn't allowing. Sure, someone could email me and ask, but the whole purpose of having a written statement is so that people don't have to ask.

Creative Commons has a series of different licenses, which give permission to do different things. They're all legally 'tight', and they're all summarized in plain language. So all you have to do is go to their site and answer a series of questions, to get to the license that does what you want. In my case I used the Attribution Non-Commercial License.

Why?

That's what I did. But why? Common sense would suggest that I'm giving something away for free that I could be selling. However I believe that, in the long run, I'll be better off. The main reason is that I've seen how many people are, like me, trying to get their writing out there. Go to Smashwords and have a look at the latest ebooks. Then refresh the page ten minutes later, and you'll probably see a whole new lot. The problem that new writers face isn't that people want to steal your work; it's getting anyone to show an interest in your work at all. If someone passes on a pirated copy of my work, it might get to someone who's prepared to buy it - and that someone would probably have never heard of me otherwise. Even if they don't want to pay for what they read, I might come out with something else in the future, and perhaps paying 99c for it will be easier than hunting it down on a file-sharing site.

Science fiction writer Andrew Burt tells the story of someone who disliked his book, and to get back at him decided to put a copy on a file-sharing site. The effect was that he got a small 'spike' in sales immediately afterwards.

I also have some less selfish motives. Many people would assume that the purpose of copyright is to protect authors and creators. Leaving aside the fact that someone else often ends up with the rights (how many Disney shareholders created any of the Disney characters? How many shareholders in Microsoft have ever written a line of code?), that doesn't seem to have been the intention in the past. The US Constitution says that Congress has the power "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Note that protecting 'intellectual property' isn't mentioned. The authors of the Constitution seemed to see the point as getting ideas out there where people can use them: almost the exact opposite of keeping them 'safe' and 'protected'.

The original idea of copyright seems to have been a sort of deal: you have an idea, and we want you to get it out into the world where it will do some good. To encourage you to do that, we'll give you a monopoly on its use for a limited time. After that, anybody can use it (it will enter the 'public domain').

A lot of people don't know that copyright used to give a lot less protection than it does now, especially in the United States. In the US, it used to be that works were copyrighted for a maximum of 56 years. Today copyright in the US can last for over 100 years. In fact Congress keeps extending the time. In practice, they're acting as if they never want ideas to go into the public domain.

This is great for the owners of 'intellectual property'. But it's hard to see how this "promotes the Progress of Science and useful Arts," or how forever is a "limited time." In a sense it's a theft from the public. Anyone who publishes work has accepted the deal that the law offers, of a limited monopoly in return for making their idea known. Congress has been giving them more and more extensions on that monopoly, but doesn't require them to do anything to earn it.

It probably doesn't matter that much that Disney still owns Mickey Mouse, or that Lord of the Rings is still under copyright. But remember that these laws don't just apply to the arts. Similar laws apply to science as well. So a life-saving invention could be going unused, because its owner wants too much money for it, or because it's tied up in court while two companies fight about who owns it.

Conclusion

I'm far from an expert on either the law or the publishing industry. However I hope that I've given you, especially those of you who might be thinking about publishing some writing, a different take on the whole issue of whether authors should worry about their ideas being stolen. At least I hope I've shown you that there's a different way of thinking about it, and that that way doesn't require you to just give up on making money; in fact that it might be more profitable as well as better for society.

*****

James Hutchings lives in Melbourne, Australia. He fights crime as Poetic Justice, but his day job is acting. You might know him by his stage-name 'Brad Pitt.' He specializes in short fantasy fiction. His work has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, fiction365 and Enchanted Conversation among other markets. His ebook collection The New Death and others is now available from Amazon , Smashwords and Barnes & Noble . He blogs daily at Teleleli .

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License .

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I shared the previous week.

The links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming ) which has over 16,000 free articles on writing-related topics. Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook .

You can also find me today at Kaye Barley's Meanderings and Muses blog, talking about the pleasures of writing.

Enjoy your week!

Why Children's Publishing Needs Freelance Editors Now: http://bit.ly/MH6QEU @pubperspectives

Libraries See Budgets Drop: ALA Report: http://bit.ly/MH6XQN @galleycat

Finding Names that Capture Your Characters: http://bit.ly/MH6Zbu @diymfa

Can Writing in Multiple Genres Hurt Your Sales Potential? http://bit.ly/MH70fn @goblinwriter

Why The Deepest Lessons Take Time To Absorb: http://bit.ly/LXinOt @jmcaddell

7 Reasons to Quit Balking & Start Blogging: http://bit.ly/LXiNo0 @SoberBoots

How To Publish Your Book On The Kindle And iPad: http://bit.ly/LXiObw @bubblecow

Myths About Traditional Publishing: http://bit.ly/LXiQjL

5 Stages of Editing Grief: http://bit.ly/LXiRnN @LyndaRYoung

Self Published Authors are Amateurs – Or Not: http://bit.ly/LXiV6Y @passivevoiceblg

Your ebook is reading *you*: http://on.wsj.com/LXjiOQ @wsj

Writing in between: Too much God for the general market, not enough for the Christian market: http://bit.ly/LXjjCr @novelrocket

What Do We "Owe" New Writers? http://bit.ly/LHyqSb @jamigold

My interview on @JeffRutherford 's podcast covering my publishing story & thoughts on
various social media for promo: http://bit.ly/Kk5n8V

Plotting twists in crime fiction: http://bit.ly/M0qQOi @LauraHoward78 @HartJohnson

Find the magic in your everyday world to set your story apart: http://bit.ly/M0xkwH @LubaLesychyn

Why aren't more publishers embracing digital publishing innovations? http://bit.ly/MMzAgl @Porter_Anderson

The data-gathering power of digital formats--that writers/publishers can't access: http://bit.ly/MMBpKk @Porter_Anderson @MikeShatzkin

Should authors insist contracts stipulate library availability for ebooks? http://bit.ly/LAnXWj @Porter_Anderson @rachellegardner @naypinya

Messing up your story's denouement murders your characters: http://bit.ly/OfjiMr @p2p_editor

Richard Russo--still not putting his money where his mouth is: http://bit.ly/MYKxpX @Porter_Anderson @Canfield_AP @JDGsaid @jeffjohnroberts

Don't query until your book is done: http://bit.ly/LHyuS5 @behlerpublish

Even editors need an editor: http://bit.ly/LHyx02 @p2p_editor

To MFA or Not To MFA: http://bit.ly/LHyBgq @4YALit @diymfa

Blog tour tips: http://bit.ly/LHyHVj @kalayna

A useful resource for describing settings, emotions, shapes, textures, and more: http://bit.ly/eIGRMO @AngelaAckerman

The snowflake method's 10 step process for writing a novel: http://bit.ly/LHzA0b @bubblecow

Writing--when should you give it up? http://bit.ly/LHzEgb

How to blog a book of poetry: http://bit.ly/LHzGVl @NinaAmir

Adding a Sense of Place to Our Writing: http://bit.ly/LHzLs5

Creative Contagion: Setting Sparks, Catching Fire: http://bit.ly/LHzOnT @emilywenstrom

Blackmail App for Writers: http://bit.ly/LHzR2Y @JasonBoog

How to Maximize eBook Royalties and Minimize Hassles: http://bit.ly/LHzSnN @RayRhamey

Crafting Natural-Sounding Internal Thoughts: http://bit.ly/LHAgTh @Janice_Hardy

How to write a scary scene: http://bit.ly/LHAlpT @stdennard

The Power of a Deadline...The Importance of a Goal: http://bit.ly/LHAolF

Author Blogging 101: Keyword Basics: http://bit.ly/LHAsBI @JFBookman

Writing Great Characters: http://bit.ly/LHAtpj @mooderino

Parenthetical Punctuation: http://bit.ly/LHAx8v @writing_tips

Zen and the Art of GoodReads: http://bit.ly/NPf3nd @blurbisaverb

Publishing Options: Knowing the Best Choice: http://bit.ly/NPf7DD @behlerpublish

For literary inspiration follow @AdviceToWriters. Jon Winokur dispenses writerly wisdom of the ages.

20 quotations on writing: http://bit.ly/NPfdeo @rebeccaschinsky

Finding The Character Within: http://bit.ly/NPfii3 @KateMessner

Yeah, e-books are great — but libraries are in a tough spot: http://bit.ly/NPfy0L @laurahazardowen

5 Critical Things to Make a YA Story Stand Out: http://bit.ly/Mgv61Z @nelsaroberto

Who will care about what we've written? http://bit.ly/O3tzLD @dirtywhitecandy

How to create an animated ebook cover: http://bit.ly/O3tGXv @KSAugustin

Writing Highly Intelligent Characters and Points-of-View: http://bit.ly/O3ugEP

Tips for freshening up your character descriptions: http://bit.ly/O3uBas @MargieLawson

4 Keys to Writing Un-Put-Down-Able Middle Grade Adventure: http://bit.ly/O3uM5E @ChuckSambuchino

6 standard types of antagonists and their uses: http://bit.ly/O3v50c @RachelLarow

10 tips for self-editing: http://bit.ly/O3veAM @bubblecow

How Content Analysis Makes Your Book Engaging to the Reader: http://bit.ly/O3vno5

Too Much Interior Monologue? http://bit.ly/O3vsIb @Janice_Hardy

Twitter marketing for authors who don't get it: http://bit.ly/O3vAYc @LauraPepWu

72 great quotations on writing: http://bit.ly/O3xoR9 @writersdigest

How to Create a Different Kind of Antagonist: http://bit.ly/O3y2hB

Are You Writing Your Novel Too Fast? http://bit.ly/O3y5d5 @KMWeiland

Inspiration and the "Yeah, but…": http://bit.ly/LYKZXu @March_Mia

Resources & Thoughts On Character Naming: http://bit.ly/LYL6lQ @BryanThomasS

5 Reasons To Build Your Writer Platform: http://bit.ly/MKTZS2 @chucksambuchino

What Is The Best Genre To Write If You Want To Get Published? http://bit.ly/LYL8KF @bubblecow

16 Tips on How to Survive and Thrive as a Writer: http://bit.ly/LYL9yf @livewritethrive

How agents choose the best publisher for a project: http://bit.ly/LYLdxL @rachellegardner

Writing Scenes That Work: http://bit.ly/LYLhhh @storyfix

11 reasons writers get rejected--and why only 3 of them matter: http://bit.ly/LYLocp @annerallen @ruthharrisbooks

Are You Telegraphing Your Plot? http://bit.ly/LYLqRL @Janice_Hardy

10 Quick Tips to Get Your Manuscript Ready for Self-Publication: http://bit.ly/LYLuRu @JFBookman

Choosing Your Point of View: http://bit.ly/LP3ktT @Janice_Hardy @DonnaGalanti

Winning over an editor – using comparisons to prove your book's raison d'être: http://bit.ly/LP3rFV @behlerpublish

How to Get Rid of Writer's Block, Pixar Style: http://bit.ly/LP3tgP @joebunting

Writing--Fighting Distractions: http://bit.ly/LP3zoT @JillKemerer

One Reason Your Blog Posts Aren't Getting Any Comments: http://bit.ly/LP3L7A @pushingsocial

Tips for writing like a pro: http://bit.ly/LP3MIv @ava_jae

4 Query Resources: http://bit.ly/LP3O36 @sierragodfrey

Proofreading Marks You're Unlikely to See from Your Editor: http://bit.ly/LP3S2Y @fuelyourwriting

Using Dialogue Tags and Punctuation Properly: http://bit.ly/LP3TUp @CMKaufman

5 Common Writing Mistakes That Bloggers Make – and How to Fix Them: http://bit.ly/LP3Yrb

Facing the dreaded 2nd draft: http://bit.ly/LP4kyc

Making Heroes Heroic–Why Flaws are Important: http://bit.ly/LP5rh8 @KristenLambTX

How to be a bloody awful writer: http://bit.ly/LP6ei9 @jammer0501

The New World of Publishing: Book Pricing from Another Perspective: http://bit.ly/LP6xto @deanwesleysmith

Write from your specialty: http://bit.ly/LP6CNO @JulietteWade

For Those Who Fear Failing As a Writer: http://bit.ly/LP6Rsc @krissybrady

3 Things to Look for in a Critique Community: http://bit.ly/LP6Vbl @diymfa

Unusual Inspiration: Character Arcs Made Easy: http://bit.ly/LP71Q8 @FaeRowen

Unusual Inspiration: Character Arcs Made Easy: http://bit.ly/LP71Q8 @FaeRowen

20 Easy Ways Readers Can Help Promote a Book: http://bit.ly/LPagHq @jodyhedlund

The 13 Trickiest Grammar Hang-Ups: http://bit.ly/LPasXg @GrammarGirl

Should You Send Your Book To An Agent Before It's Finished? http://bit.ly/LYbMBC @bubblecow

Author Visits by Skype: http://bit.ly/LYbQ4x

1 trad. published author's self-pubbed adventure (with Create Space): http://bit.ly/LYbVFg @junglereds @rosemaryharris1

The Best #BadWritingTips: http://bit.ly/LYbWZO @rebeccaschinsky

Twitter abuse: Gain followers the right way: http://bit.ly/LYc77o @rebeccaberto

3 productivity tricks: http://bit.ly/LYc8bI

5 Things Mad Men Can Teach You About Publishing: http://bit.ly/LYcfE5

Use S.C.A.M.P.E.R. to improve your writing: http://bit.ly/LYce2P

Crafting Multi-Layered Characters: http://bit.ly/LYchMc @4YALit

Grammar: Neither, nor, or: http://bit.ly/LYcyyM @howtowriteshop

Using beats in a scene: http://bit.ly/LYcChQ

3 Tips for Writing Heavy Emotional Scenes: http://bit.ly/LYcCP5 @JamiGold

How to Tackle Critique Notes: http://bit.ly/LYcIWH @CarleenBrice

Writing 2 books at once: http://bit.ly/LYcI9h @PBRWriter

5 Elements of Storytelling: http://bit.ly/LYd283 @joebunting

Critique vs. Discussion: What Kind of Feedback Do You Need? http://bit.ly/LYd5Rf @DIYMFA

If You Only Learn From Writers, You're Doing It Wrong: http://bit.ly/LYd3ZH @fuelyourwriting

Free Writing & Self-Publishing Tools: http://bit.ly/QTT5TC @duolit

That--frequently a needless filler word: http://bit.ly/QTToxz @KMWeiland

Tips for making a book trailer: http://bit.ly/QTTF3A @beth_barany

Differing approaches to worldbuilding: http://bit.ly/QTUcTb @litreactor @rajanyk

Parallels in Music & Writing: http://bit.ly/QTUxFA @christi_craig

Writing endings with readers in mind: http://bit.ly/MNsRSs

Using the past to inspire fiction--historical instances of cannibalism: http://bit.ly/MNt7kg @genelempp

7 Ways to Intensify Crisis Scenes: http://bit.ly/MNtbAJ

Functions Determine Plot: http://bit.ly/MNtsUk @fictionnotes

How long until you follow up on a query? http://bit.ly/MNtz1X @nicolamorgan

Can You Plagiarize Yourself? Conversations about Copyright: http://bit.ly/MNtBXV @fictionnotes

Methods of engaging your readers online: http://bit.ly/MNtJGJ @duolit

The Art and Power Of Interviews: http://bit.ly/MNtPye @BarbaraOneal

How to Write Productively: http://bit.ly/MNtSKo @FriesenPress

How to Spot Mary Sue in Your Writing: http://bit.ly/QUwrdy @ava_jae

Choosing the Road Less Taken (With Your Characters): http://bit.ly/QUwFl0 @Kris10Callihan @janice_hardy

Twitter Cheat Sheet for Writers: http://bit.ly/QUwNRs @jasonboog @galleycat

The end of ebook development: http://bit.ly/QUwYwd @passivevoiceblg

Creating emotional resonance in your final scenes: http://bit.ly/QUx7Qr

Are you undervaluing your book? http://bit.ly/QUxkD8 @behlerpublish

Men Still Dominate Bylines And Book Titles: http://bit.ly/QUxOsL @litreactor @dave_reuss

How To Write A Successful Book Proposal: http://bit.ly/QUxY3B @bubblecow

Narcissism in crime fiction: http://bit.ly/NfhHDR @clarissadraper

Top 10 fairy fictions: http://bit.ly/NfkEEl @guardianbooks

DRM encourages a community of pirates: http://t.co/UcuJnBOr @Porter_Anderson @jwikert @fakebaldur @timoreilly

What Characters Hold You Captive? Guest Post by Susan Russo Anderson

by Susan Russo Anderson, @SusanRussoAnder

Sometimes my brain feels like the Chelsea Hotel.

Thanks to the many good books I’ve been fortunate to read, unusual types live inside me and this post is about them—the characters that some authors create so vividly that, from time to time, they pop into my head, altered from their originals to be sure, but able to move in two or three places at once and very much alive in my memory.

Here are some that haunt me today:

Gemma James in the KINKAID/JAMES mystery series by Deborah Crombie. Not short, not tall, the slightly anxious mom, woman, and detective, Gemma James, walks with a deliberate gait and/or drives in traffic or flares up at her partner, or puts criminals at ease or is busy being mesmerized by another character. Wisps of her copper hair fly. Ivan in DEATH IN A WINE DARK SEA by Lisa Davis. Ivan pirouettes in my head, this great, unwashed character: “He pulled his shirt up over his barrel chest, showing weathered, hairy skin as he turned in a circle. Generous love handles spilled over his belt.” But he also drives his boat, knocks on the door, twirls, scares, smiles so that the skin crinkles around his eyes and he forgets the gun in his hand.
Marcel’s grandmother In SEARCH OF LOST TIME by Marcel Proust. Marcel’s grandmother sits at the far end of the Piazza San Marco, shaded from the sun by her heavily-veiled hat. Still and still moving, she glides in her garden in Cambray, pace stately, dress flowing. Her head is slightly upturned. She is mute, large and sad, like lost time.
Gil Hodges (really) in MATINICUS, AN ISLAND MYSTERY by Darcy Scott. I’ve just begun reading this book so Gil Hodges is the new kid on the block. But he’s such a larger-than-life character that he’s entered my head already, swilling his beer, gulping his pie, sitting up in bed on a dark night, listening, waiting, scared.
The possum (no name) in “The Third Pile,” an achingly sad character in a short story by Ken Brosky. In my head the possum sniffs the road on a moonless night, searching for its lost child.

These characters occupy only one wing of my mind. They rub elbows with Anna Karenina, Dilsey, Augie March, Shurlock John, Judge Deborah, Jack Reacher, Sarah Berg, the white rabbit, and Dalziel, to name a few.

I could go on and on, but I’d rather read your comments about the characters that live inside of you. Why do some characters hold you captive? What makes them memorable?

Susan Russo Anderson is a writer, a mother, a grandmother, a widow, a member of Sisters In Crime. She’s taught language arts and creative writing, worked for a publisher, an airline, an opera company. In between writing, revising, and editing, she blogs and reviews books.

DEATH OF A SERPENT, the first in the Serafina Florio series, published January 2012. She just published NO MORE BROTHERS, a novella, the second in the Serafina Florio series and is working on the third Serafina book, DEATH IN BAGHERIA.

The Mystery in Everyday Miracles—Guest Post by Luba Lesychyn

by Luba Lesychyn, @ LubaLesychyn

The Mystery in Everyday Miracles

Writers often pick up tips about their craft in formal settings such as workshops and classes, but sometimes the best gems are gleaned in rather unusual locations.

Of the many hats I wear, one is as a yoga instructor. But I was as surprised as anyone when an experience at a yoga conference had a significant impact on the novel I was writing, Theft By Chocolate, a sassy museum mystery about a woman of a certain age looking for chocolate, love, and an international art thief in all the wrong places.

I was still in the initial stages of the book when I participated in a yoga session called “Everyday Miracles” led by internationally renowned yogini Seane Corn. Throughout the physically grueling class, Corn’s profound narrative challenged us to stop putting so much emphasis on pursuits that create “big wows” in our lives and, instead, to begin noticing the wonder in the smallest moments.

This suggestion resonated with me on so many levels, but as far as my writing, it sent me in a new direction. From the beginning of my creative process I knew I wanted to set my story in a museum, a world with which I was very intimate as I had been working at Canada’s largest museum for more than twenty years. And I wanted to construct my story around a protagonist addicted to chocolate, because that was a character with which I was excessively familiar. The plot was a work in progress and I had been diligently working on a page-turning adventure, but I wasn’t convinced I had a work that was fresh, that readers hadn’t seen before. Lots of stories are set in museums – what was so different about mine?

So it was on that bone-chillingly damp Sunday morning in Toronto, in a bleak conference centre room filled with 200 yoga practitioners, most of whom were looking for a serious physical practice or hoping to find spiritual enlightenment, that a very different kind of insight came to me.

The cast of characters I worked with daily were stranger – and often funnier – than fiction. And the types of things I encountered in my everyday work routine and considered mundane were what others might find fascinating. It was time to notice, discover and describe the everyday miracles of my life and weave those into my story.

So, I found the magic in my day-to-day world and suddenly taking on new prominence were moments such as encountering someone in a hallway pushing a cart of ancient Egyptian mummified cats or experiencing uneasiness while working late in a building rumoured to have ghostly occupants. Even some of my own embarrassing “moments”, like covering up chocolate bar wrappers in my trash bin so the cleaning staff wouldn’t see how much chocolate I had eaten in a week, became material for the story.

Interweaving such anecdotes, I realized, would give my readers a behind-the-scenes access to museum life and to the life of a chocolate addict that they may never have previously experienced. It would be a new layer to my story that readers could cling onto firmly while they journeyed through my universe. The backdrop would no longer be a flat curtain, it would be a three-dimensional character in its own right, with quirks and flaws and redeeming qualities.

I was fortunate to have such a wealth of unusual stories in a distinctive setting to draw upon for my novel, but so many of the other stories I have percolating within my creative spirit have nothing to do with museums. So my challenge as a writer will be to create a hologram for every tale, even if it’s set somewhere as commonplace as a convenience store. Depending on the story, “big wows” will still have a place in my work, as they do, in Theft By Chocolate. But I am convinced that it will be the everyday miracles that I share with readers that will encourage them to keep coming back for more.

How do you add layers and depth to your writing?

Please leave your answer in the comments with your email address to be entered to win an ebook copy of Theft By Chocolate,the new release by Luba Lesychyn. In five days, a winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Available in any ebook format. Remember to write your email address in the comments so that you can be contacted if you win!

$150 Gift Certificate Giveaway of Grand Prize on July 31st. Do you love chocolate as much as Kelana, the heroine in Theft By Chocolate? Here’s your chance to indulge in $150 US worth! The Giveaway Grand Prize is a gift certificate to a delectable chocolate online retailer. Winner chooses from one of three sites: Chocosphere (US Retailer), Hotel Chocolat (UK and US Retailer) , Darrell Lea (Australian Retailer). To be eligible for the Grand Prize, enter the Rafflecopter below. Remember to sign up for Luba’s email announcements (worth five entries). On occasion she’ll send out exclusive announcements for special events, blog posts, giveaways and free swag! On July 31st, the winner will be chosen at random and notified via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Luxury of Having Options

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Today is July 4th and those of us in the States are celebrating our country’s independence.

It’s a day when we usually celebrate freedom of all kinds. And eat lots of grilled food. :)

One of my favorite things about living in a free country is having choices—being able to choose with whom we want to associate. Being able to choose how or if we want to worship. The option to travel freely to other countries.

And even the freedom to make very small choices. Like how we want to approach publishing our book.

It’s baffled me how acrimonious the traditional publishing vs. self-publishing debate has become. Emotions have run high in both camps and it seems to be centered around who’s right and who’s wrong.

I don’t think it matters who’s right and I don’t think it really matters what we choose to do with a particular book. We should probably just write plenty of books and experiment.

I’ve just handed in the fourth book of my Memphis Barbeque series to Penguin.

Now I’m writing a book to self-publish. I’ve self-published two other titles, but one was backlist and one was written for traditional publishing but didn’t sell. This is the first time I’ve written a book for the sole purpose of self-publishing it.

After that, I’ll be working on my 3rd book for the Southern Quilting mysteries for Penguin.

I couldn’t feel less-conflicted about it. I won’t try to shop the book I’m writing independently—it won’t be sent to my agent. I won’t agonize over the fact that I’m writing books for a traditional publisher and whether that means I’ll miss out on higher royalties.

Actually, it’s a real luxury to have more than one option. What’s a good approach for one book may not be right for another.

So that’s what I’m celebrating on this 4th of July—having options and having the ability to freely choose between them. What are you celebrating?

Happy 4th to my friends in the States. :)

Image: Flickr—Lou Ann A

Check Your Facts, Ma’am! Guest Post by Jodie Renner

by Jodie Renner, freelance editor
@JodieRennerEd

You’re busy creating your story world with your right brain, rolling along with the great plot and developing your characters while your muse is buzzing. Great! But later, when you’ve got that first draft done, it’s important to switch to your left brain and go back and check for logistics, time sequencing, and continuity of character and setting details—or get someone else to do it for you.

And while you’re at it, verify your facts, to avoid annoying or even alienating your readers – and eroding your credibility. “But,” you say, “I’m writing fiction, so who cares about facts?” You should, because you want to create a credible world for your readers to be drawn into, and if an erroneous fact jars them out of it, they’re going to be disappointed and annoyed. Think about watching a movie about Ancient Rome and suddenly you notice a watch on one of the gladiators! The illusion of being caught up in their world is shattered.

If you’re writing a western, make sure the gun makes and models they use were invented by that period. And in a contemporary novel, don’t have a character in the 70s researching a topic on her home computer or emailing friends! I recently read a novel in which the (missing and assumed dead) mother of the protagonist had sent emails 20-25 years earlier! I think I personally started emailing around 1996 or ’97. How about you? Similarly, don’t have your everyday characters carrying around cell phones before the mid- to late-‘90s. Even today, there are large parts of North America with no cell phone service, so if your story is set in a remote area, be sure to check before having your characters use their mobile phones there.

In a historical fiction I edited a few years ago, a murderer was running from the police in England, around 1845. He headed to the port and spotted a lone man with a ticket for a passage across to New York. He lured him into a secluded area, stabbed him, and stole his ticket for the ship, which he boarded almost immediately. Arriving in America three or four weeks later, he was greeted by his uncle, whom he’d arranged to meet him at the pier. I immediately queried the author as to how the fugitive, who’d boarded the ship at the last minute, could have arranged for his uncle in America to be at the harbor to meet him? By telephone? The author admitted he hadn’t thought of that, and was grateful that I’d pointed it out.

Also, be aware of whether expressions were in use in the time frame or geographical region of your story. If you use a modern expression in a historical fiction, it jolts the reader out of that time period, and they’ll probably feel you did a shoddy job of recreating that world for them. For example, in a historical fiction I was editing that took place about 150 years ago, the term “upscale” was used. This struck me as out of place for that time, so I looked it up. Merriam-Webster lists “upscale” as first being used in 1966, so to even use it in narration in a historical fiction takes the reader out of that world. Same with the even more recent expression, “high-end” (coined around1977). For historical fiction, better to use “upper-class” or “elegant” or “sophisticated” or “affluent” or “wealthy.” A few other fairly recent expressions that would date a book set in the ‘50s to ‘80s would be “metrosexual” (Merriam-Webster says it was coined in 1994), “24/7” or the more recent “My bad.” Can you think of any words, terms or expressions that have jumped out at you as anachronistic in a book or movie set in the past, even 20 or 30 years ago?

And as a freelance editor, I constantly notice little errors like an amber necklace suddenly being called a sapphire necklace later in the evening; someone picking a daffodil from the garden in October, a wound in the forearm moving inexplicably to the hand; a character’s vehicle color, make or model changing; problems with dates and time sequencing; sudden changes in a character’s name, age, or appearance; inconsistencies with the season, climate or geography; and so on. I was editing a murder mystery several years ago where the victim had been shot in the head while he sat in his car (a single gunshot). Several chapters later, the autopsy was investigating his only wound—in his chest! And another where an apple tree in blossom became, the next morning, a tree bearing ripe apples! If errors like these aren’t picked up before your story is published, you can be sure that a number of readers will notice them and may lose confidence in you as a writer—and put down your story. Or worse, write a bad review of it on Amazon.

So if in doubt about facts in your story, take the time to look them up, or run your story past trusted readers before publication. Better yet, employ the services of a freelance editor, who will be on the lookout for incorrect information, discrepancies, and logic problems, and may query you with a comment like “Was this invented back then?” or “Did she just buy a new car? The one she had yesterday was a blue Toyota. Now she’s driving a Ford,” or “Who’s Ralph?” (That character whose name you changed.) The last thing you want is for your readers to say, “Oh, come on! This doesn’t make sense!” then toss the book aside.

How about you? As a reader, have you ever been jolted out of a story by something that didn’t make sense? As a writer or editor, have you noticed incongruities that needed to be fixed? Do you have any interesting or funny or absurd examples to share?

Jodie Renner is a freelance editor, specializing in suspense/thrillers, romantic suspense, mysteries and other crime fiction, as well as mainstream, YA, and historical fiction. For more information on Jodie’s editorial services, please visit her website at www.JodieRennerEditing.com .

Thanks for coming by today, Jodie! Jodie will be doing a series of monthly guest posts for me to look at writing from an editor's point of view. I'm looking forward to them. :)

Image: Flickr: kylemacdonald/

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I shared the previous week.

The links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming ) which has over 16,000 free articles on writing-related topics. Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook .

Have a great week!

Finding Balance Among Opposites in the Creative Process: http://bit.ly/MAIASo @cjtreggett @PatrickRwrites

Increase the Chances of Your Book Becoming a Breakout Hit: http://bit.ly/MAIIB6 @janefriedman

Can Writers Earn a Living Writing Just One Book a Year? http://bit.ly/MAIOcd @jodyhedlund

Making History Appealing to Teen Readers: http://bit.ly/MAJ22P @janice_hardy @kalongshore

Digital reading is social, but needs improvement: http://bit.ly/MAJbn3 @criticalmargins

5 Story Mistakes Even Good Writers Make: http://bit.ly/MAL5Ea @writersdigest

Using real people in fiction: http://bit.ly/MALXbU @beth_barany

An editorial director answers publishing questions: http://bit.ly/MAM5Ip @behlerpublish

Writing YA: Capturing the Teen Voice: http://bit.ly/MAM87a @diymfa

The Beauty of Low-tech Blogging: http://bit.ly/KCHisA

The Blogger's Essential WordPress Guide: 13 Tutorials: http://bit.ly/KCHjNi @problogger

Authenticity of Voice: http://bit.ly/KCHp7C

Accomplish Your Writing Goals: Make a Schedule and Meet Your Deadlines: http://bit.ly/KCHt7f @writersdigest

Alliteration and Repetition: http://bit.ly/KCHwjw @eMergentPublish

Pen Name: How To Create Yours: http://bit.ly/KCHAzV

Changes in crime fiction through the years: http://bit.ly/KCLNDK @mkinberg

The Vacation Writing Balancing Act: http://bit.ly/KHkNmy @TaliaVance

Finding Themes in a Brainstorm: http://bit.ly/KHkRmk @livewritethrive

8 publishing landmines and 8 tips for dealing with them: http://bit.ly/KHkZlA @KatieGanshert

Cover letter dos and don'ts: http://bit.ly/KHl0pK @nicolamorgan

An agent on movie deals: http://bit.ly/KHl20S @SaraMegibow

5 Mistakes Of New Fiction Writers: http://bit.ly/KHl4WA @thecreativepenn

A list of free stock photo sites: http://bit.ly/KHl7S5 @NinaAmir

Should you give your antagonist a POV? http://bit.ly/KHlhca @KMWeiland

11 Questions to Turn a Target Market into a Reader Profile: http://bit.ly/KHljB0 @duolit

2 Questions That Will Stunt a Writer's Progress: http://bit.ly/KHlnAz @christi_craig

The pre-conference query: http://bit.ly/MQc0tG @literaticat

10 myths about introverts: http://bit.ly/MQchN4 @carlking

7 "You Know What I Meant" Mistakes: http://bit.ly/MQcjVd @writing_tips

Layers of emotion in our writing: http://bit.ly/MQcujf @Kid_Lit

How to Survive the Query Wars: http://bit.ly/MQczUl @ava_jae

Where Is Your Character Going? http://bit.ly/MQcLmg @jacobkrueger

Showing vs. telling: http://bit.ly/MQcKyK @writersdigest

3 elements in a successful query: http://bit.ly/MQcUGz @msheatherwebb @janice_hardy

10 Tips for a Terrific Antagonist: http://bit.ly/MQdB2t @howtowriteshop

Find the talisman in your book: http://bit.ly/MQdDri @diymfa

Using Setting as a Character: a Tip for Novelists: http://bit.ly/MQegRz @MaryLuTyndall

The Universal Fairy Tale: http://bit.ly/MQep7D @storyfix

The escaping character problem: http://bit.ly/MQeyIi @litreactor

Investment vs. Payoff: Is Blogging Worth the Time? http://bit.ly/MQeBnn @roniloren

For Publishers, The Long Term Is the Only Race Worth Winning: http://bit.ly/MQfjRm @pubperspectives

Time-related demands on the modern writer: http://bit.ly/MQfBHY @jodyhedlund

40 Irregular Verbs That Can End in "-t": http://bit.ly/MQfDj9 @writing_tips

Why you should be a writer: http://bit.ly/MQfPPt @sarahahoyt

Your freelance career--how to get and stay organized: http://bit.ly/MQg1OA

1 editor's revision process: http://bit.ly/MQgpgc @sjaejones

Can Writers Earn a Living Writing Just One Book a Year? http://bit.ly/MAIOcd @jodyhedlund

The Secret Myth of Traditional Publishing: http://bit.ly/MAImdP @deanwesleysmith

Setting International Prices for Ebooks: http://bit.ly/KzUdMa @passivevoiceblg

What to look for in a beta reader: http://bit.ly/MwcYzA @jamigold

Thinking Outside the Box for Book Tour Events with Indie Bookstores: http://bit.ly/Mwd9Le @LaurHarrington

Academic publishing: The essential checklist for ebook authors: http://bit.ly/MwdnC5 @guardianbooks

If You're Consuming Too Much Then You're Creating Too Little: http://bit.ly/Mwdr4X @originalimpulse

Making Audio Books From Your Novels: http://bit.ly/MwdAWb @beth_barany

Write or Die--the app: http://bit.ly/Mwe8ew @woodwardkaren

Writing Suspense In Science Fiction and Fantasy: http://bit.ly/MweCBp @rodriguez_linda @BryanThomasS

World-building: The Hooks of Magic in Your Book: http://bit.ly/MweTEo @HP4Writers @4YALit

Introducing Nora A. Roberts, Poacher: http://bit.ly/Mwf4j1 @passivevoiceblg

Most manuscripts benefit from a judicious edit: http://bit.ly/Mwfnum @guardianbooks

Building A Home Base As An Author: http://bit.ly/MwftSL @nickthacker

Mythology in Urban Fantasy: http://bit.ly/MwfvKk @fantasyfaction

Three Critique Questions to Ask Beta Readers: http://bit.ly/MwfKFe @writersdigest @Courtney_WD

6 misunderstandings about author royalties: http://bit.ly/Mwhnmh @curiosityquills

Performing the Invasive Edit: http://bit.ly/MwhEph

6 Advantages of a Professional Newsletter: http://bit.ly/MwhK0f @authorems

So You Want to Be Funny: A Guide to Pumping Irony: http://bit.ly/MwhUEQ @gripemaster @BTMargins

5 tips for writing a thriller: http://bit.ly/Mwi5jt @writersdigest

Lit magazine news: http://bit.ly/Mwir9R @BTMargins

Converting backstory into character: http://bit.ly/MwjhmY @theresastevens

Substance vs. Style: Fanfare for the Common Word: http://bit.ly/LqhB9N @JulieWuAuthor

Genre Fiction – Popular Through Time: http://bit.ly/Lqi7ET @jhansenwrites

4 Tips to Improve Confidence During a Video Interview: http://bit.ly/Lqikb9 @sparkhire

A look at a library assistant's day: http://bit.ly/LqiCij @LauraEWardle

The Definitive Guide to Successful Online Writing: http://bit.ly/LqiO0N

Trademark Is Not a Verb: Guidelines From a Trademark Lawyer: http://bit.ly/LqiXkQ @janefriedman

Book Promotion: 5 Tips for Introverts: http://bit.ly/LqjeEx

What Conflict Is and Isn't in Writing a Romance Novel: http://bit.ly/LqjqDU @Courtney_WD

Tips for Fixing Episodic Chapters: http://bit.ly/LqjumR @Janice_Hardy

Your Protagonist Must Decide: http://bit.ly/LqjWll @joebunting

Tapping into Your Character's Biggest Fear: http://bit.ly/Lqk301 @PBRWriter

5 signs you're about to land an agent: http://bit.ly/LqlgVg @internspills

Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Author Website? http://bit.ly/MyNOAt @duolit @nickthacker

Public Speaking – Tapping Into Your Inner Hambone: http://bit.ly/MyOkyw @behlerpublish

20 techniques to counter blogger's block: http://bit.ly/MyOVAj @YouthWorkinIt

November a busy month for you? Consider JulNoWrimo in July: http://julnowrimo.com/ @julnowrimo

If We Remember More, Can We Read Deeper– and Create Better? http://bit.ly/MyPGJz @mkonnikova

Lessons Learned from Wrangling with the Impossible Book: http://bit.ly/MyPLNl @Anna_Elliott

30 Things You Should Not Share On Social Media: http://bit.ly/MyPSbD @jeffbullas

Alfred Hitchcock: from silent film director to inventor of modern horror: http://bit.ly/LTTO4X @guardianbooks

Connecting to Readers With Your Memoir: http://bit.ly/LTTUcQ @Janice_Hardy

4 of the Best iPad Apps for Writers: http://bit.ly/LTTWBp @ShariJStauch

15 Stock Characters — and How to Restock Them: http://bit.ly/LTUirU @writing_tips

7 Networking Tips for Authors: http://bit.ly/LTUmI2 @thecreativepenn @chrisrobley

Don't Imprison Readers in a Character's Head: http://bit.ly/M9SMFb @noveleditor

3 Tips To Heighten Story Tension: http://bit.ly/M9T2nz

Conflict Creation: The Needs Of Your Characters: http://bit.ly/M9T7ru @woodwardkaren

Going beyond Critique: Structuring Feedback to Best Help Your Writing: http://bit.ly/M9Th1W

Why It's Good to Create a Bad Writing Platform: http://bit.ly/M9TjqH @krissybrady

Book Readings: Bar vs. Bookstore: http://bit.ly/M9Ttyo @BrandonTietz

Seth Godin's Kickstarter project & what it says about the industry: http://bit.ly/M9Up5D @ByRozMorris @DanBlank @Porter_Anderson

Using Your Self-Publishing Success to Find an Agent: http://bit.ly/M9UJS4 @goblinwriter @LisMock

Why reviewers won't read your self-pubbed books: http://bit.ly/M9VfiR @gavreads

5-Step plan to selling ebooks: http://bit.ly/M9VlHg @dmcgowanauthor

History, Worldbuilding, and Bricolage: http://bit.ly/M9Vv1q @bookviewcafe

Agent Research-- QueryTracker: http://bit.ly/M9Xnag @JemiFraser @writeangleblog

The Top 25 Ways to Blow a Book: http://bit.ly/M9Xtie @KMWeiland

Takeaways from Downtown Abbey from bestselling authors: http://bit.ly/M9Y57H @JungleReds

Deep Point of View: http://bit.ly/M9YaYZ @KatieGanshert

5 Ways Writing Seriously Has Changed the Way 1 Writer Does Things: http://bit.ly/M9Ysin @franticsimple

Letter to a writer who is losing confidence: http://bit.ly/M9YBm5 @dirtywhitecandy

DRM encourages a community of pirates: http://bit.ly/MYKj20 @Porter_Anderson @jwikert @fakebaldur @timoreilly

Richard Russo--still not putting his money where his mouth is: http://bit.ly/MYKxpX @Porter_Anderson @Canfield_AP @JDGsaid @jeffjohnroberts

3 Facebook Timeline Marketing Tips for Success: http://bit.ly/NdGRR6 @SMExaminer

If You Can't Read More, Read Better: http://bit.ly/NdGYMk @fuelyourwriting

Your acknowledgments page--a list of people to thank: http://bit.ly/NdH7iZ @mybookshepherd

The 8 Ps of Being a Writer: http://bit.ly/NdHhqr

What Can Trade Publishers Learn from Fanfiction? http://bit.ly/NdHom3 @pubperspectives

Embracing Technology - Word Is Not Your Enemy: http://bit.ly/NdHt99 @authorterryo

Tips for being more creative: http://bit.ly/NdHABA @thecreativepenn @PhilSouth

7 Simple Ways to Make a Good Story Great: http://bit.ly/NdJNgw @esimsauthor

Taking Your Writing from Paper to the Big Screen: http://bit.ly/NdJUbN @JulieBMack

Ramp Up The Fight To Amp Up The Tension: http://bit.ly/NdMgaN @jhansenwrites

3 Myths About Villains: http://bit.ly/NdMmiy @angelaackerman

Tips for fast writing: http://bit.ly/NdMBu6 @junglereds

Writing a Mystery Novel: Creating a Villain & 5 Ways To Justify a Crime: http://bit.ly/NdMLBu @writersdigest

Top 10 Literary Quotes from The Simpsons: http://bit.ly/NdN4fF @NewDorkReview

Fifty Shades of Worry: http://bit.ly/NdN3IS @thefuturebook

International Writers on the Tyranny of Big Languages: http://bit.ly/MH5mKN @pubperspectives

Inconvenient Truths of Our Own Writing: http://bit.ly/MH5oT0 @BTMargins

Are Ghostwriting Services for You? http://bit.ly/MH5vhg @howtowriteshop

How to create an online media kit: http://bit.ly/MH5xpi @BookMarketer

How to Improve Your Story With Specificity: http://bit.ly/MH5ASj @kmweiland

3 Steps to Pinpoint Your Readers' Favorite Hangouts: http://bit.ly/MH5zxF @duolit

Fresh Ways to Handle Blog Criticism: http://bit.ly/MH6IFx @problogger

How Michael Chabon Uses Suspense in Literary Fiction: http://bit.ly/MH6P3D @litreactor @cdrosales

A Tip to Make a Good Story Great—by John Yeoman

Thanks to John for guest posting today with some helpful tips for tweaking our stories. I’m hanging out with Teresa today, over at the Journaling Woman’s blog. Hope you’ll pop over to say hi.

A Little Tip That Can Make a Good Story Great

by Dr. John Yeoman @yeomanis

What’s the clue to writing a story or novel that wins a top award or catches an agent’s eye? It can be revealed in a word - structure.

Of course, there’s more to a story than structure. But a story that’s otherwise excellent, but lacks an emphatic form, will fail in the marketplace.

That’s a paradox because events in real life have little structure, other than the forms we impose on them. And for a story to engage the reader it must have some resonance with reality.

Perhaps the reason we crave structure in a story is that we need to feel a story is a metaphor for our own existence. Our lives will contain conflict and untidiness but, to satisfy us, they must present us with some sense of form. To perceive form is to infer meaning and, of course, we all want to feel our lives are meaningful.

No doubt, that’s why story telling is the earliest art form known. Every story was a pattern into which the listener could pour their own lives and find meaning there.

How does this help us as writers?

We want our stories to sound ‘true’ but contain a strong underlying pattern. Yet, paradoxically, that pattern will be false to life.

The simplest way to fake a sense of form, but keep our stories plausible, is to contrive a strong close. It doesn’t matter if the close is, from a rational viewpoint, inconclusive. Many fine ghost stories end upon the haunting question: what really happened? The reader’s imagination can be safely left to ‘close’ the tale. Nothing is settled but nothing more needs to be told. The tale has closure.

One highly effective way to close a story, even when the end must be left equivocal, is the Book Cover strategy.

At the front of the story we place a colorful event, theme or striking phrase. And we repeat that motif at the back. In a long story, we might echo it several times throughout, each time with a different significance. In a short story, the first and last paragraphs alone will suffice.

Here’s an example...

Suppose we open our novel with a man sitting on a beach. He’s tossing pebbles in the sea. His life is bleak. At the close of the novel, the man is sitting on the beach again. Once more he’s tossing pebbles. But this time, he’s happy. His fortunes have recovered. His life is back under control. How do know that? Every stone he throws dances across the waves!

But, he reminds himself with a wan smile, every stone sinks in the end. And there the story ends too.

Now we have closure, cued by the repetition of the emblems - the beach and the pebbles, but the end is equivocal. There’s also opportunity for a sequel if the novel sells well.

We’ve all come across that Book Cover gambit. It’s a cliché. But professional writers use it intuitively because it’s a failsafe way to end a tale. If used subtly, the reader won’t even be aware of its formulaic nature.

Use the Book Cover for yourself. Formula or not, it makes writing the story very simple. We just have to draft the opening and closing paragraphs, link them with some colorful incident or motif, and the job’s done.

All that remains then is to fill in the bits in the middle...

Dr John Yeoman, PhD Creative Writing, judges the Writers’ Village story competition and is a tutor in creative writing at a UK university. His free 14-part course in writing fiction for the commercial market can be found here.

John has 42 years experience as a commercial author, newspaper editor and one-time chairman of a major PR consultancy. He has published eight works of humour, some of them intended to be humorous.