Nancy S. Thompson's Blog, page 7

A to Z Challenge: G is for Grief

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s an emotion day!
__________
G is for grief:  keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret.
Grief is a powerful emotion, and, when done well, is palpable for the reader.  I used it extensively in my novel, The Mistaken.  It was the perfect vehicle for moving my plot forward: 
Tyler’s wife is killed.  In unbearable pain, he seeks revenge and uses that as a means to free his brother from the Russian mafia.  He makes poor choices, things go very wrong, and all hell breaks loose. 
The key to sharing the character’s grief is making the reader care about him first.  That requires time, building a relationship, creating depth and layers, making him happy, learning what and whom hecares about most.  Then when that’s all taken away—bam!—we actually feel his pain.
At this point, all he wants is to be left alone, but that won’t work.  You have to stir the pot, have another character confront him with his grief, pulling it out for all to see and feel.  But even then, you have to make his suffering worse, hit him while he’s down, not allow him the time or space to heal.  It’s a low blow, but tragedy is unpredictable and often comes in multiples, and it’s in these multiple ways we see, feel, and experience the near-destruction of our character.
At his point, give him a way to deal with his pain, but not necessarily in a good way.  People often make poor choices when they’re at their lowest, so this is the perfect opportunity to add conflict and tension. 
While he tries to deal with all the turmoil of his grief and poor choices, he is bound to meet new people, folks with whom he can share his pain, who can offer a new perspective, shake things up, set him on a better path, and show him he can live again.  His life is different now, changed in ways he never wanted, but will make him feel glad that he’s alive.   

A to Z Challenge: F is for Forgiveness

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s an emotion day!
__________
F is for forgiveness:  the act of giving pardon for or remission of an offense or debt; to absolve.
I was going to take the easy way out today and discuss the emotion of fear, but when I completed my first novel, The Mistaken, a strong and undeniable theme emerged, and that theme was forgiveness.  Seems I have a real issue with it, having quite a few people in my life who’ve hurt me in unspeakable ways.  And I’ve had to deal with not being forgiven myself, something which has plagued me for over twenty-eight years.  So I think I have a keen understanding of it.
It’s not an easily believable emotion to write about.  Forgiveness is something that typically comes slowly, over a relatively extended period of time.  In my novel, the protagonist cannot come to terms with the egregious consequences a stranger’s reckless act has had upon his life—the death of his pregnant wife.  He spends a great deal of time conspiring to get even.  He doesn’t begin to heal until he realizes that many of the consequences he’s suffered are due to his own shortcomings, but by that point, it’s too late, and he’s set into motion a horrifying chain of events.
And that, it seems, is the key to forgiveness, to understand not only what instigated the perpetrator to offend, but that she, the offender, is like anybody else, and, most especially, that she is like us.  So writing about forgiveness must include the entire process:  knowing all the facts and how they unfolded, understanding the motivation behind it, and acknowledging the victim's own culpability. 
This doesn’t happen easily or quickly.  People must be allowed their anger and resentment first.  Then they can be made to see that things are not always as they appear, or are as simple as black and white.  When the victim can see the enemy as human, with all the frailties that encompasses, only then can he forgive.  There must be an earnest sensitivity to the very offense she committed, as well as the offender, and her victim.  Otherwise, the act of forgiving feels far-fetched and unbelievable.    The act of forgiveness, or his inability to do so, often reveals qualities about the character, his substance, his deficiencies, his level of sincerity, and authenticity, all things the character must eventually be attuned to himself before he can ever move forward.  

A to Z Challenge: E is for Excitement

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s an emotion day!
__________
E is for excitement:  the state of being stirred emotionally, agitated, aroused; stirred to action; a feeling of great enthusiasm or eagerness.
Excitement is the elevation of energy above what is normal, and is typically short term.  Quite simply, it’s all about anticipation, waiting for something to happen, big or small, good or bad, sexual or otherwise.  The expectation can be thrilling ordreadful. 
We generally think of excitement in positive terms, the promise of something that will no doubt lead to extreme happiness, or satisfaction at the very least.  But even so, it can lead to disappointment.  The other end of the spectrum is fear, which causes the same physical manifestations: a racing heart, constant motion, sweating, and trembling.
While it might seem relatively easy to convey excitement in a character, it’s more of a challenge to be original and avoid the cliché, like butterflies in the stomach or jumping up and down.  And simply adding exclamation points will not do the job!!!!!
You must show tangible expression of the emotion:  pacing, speed-talking, breathlessness, giddiness, hyperactivity, and the inability to calm down.  Show how the character’s face lights up, the way it affects his eyes and mouth, how his posture changes and body moves.  Most importantly, express how the outcome might change the life of the character forever.

A to Z Challenge: D is for Despair

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s an emotion day!
__________
D is for despair:  the loss of hope; hopelessness; to lose, give up, or be without hope
There is probably no worse feeling than despair.  It comes in all shapes and sizes and is relative to our life experience.  I’ve certainly experienced it, but I’m sure it was nowhere near as bad as what some people live through.  Regardless, it affected me just as adversely as it would anyone else in any situation.  When hope is lost, no matter the reason, nothing else matters.
When writing about despair, which I did extensively in my novel, The Mistaken, it’s best to tackle it gradually, building it up over time, day after day, like weight being added to the character’s shoulders until he eventually breaks under the pressure.  That’s part of what makes despair so debilitating.  Everyday, you wake up realizing nothing has changed, or it’s only gotten worse, and that’s one more brick you have to carry.
You have to be concrete when writing about despair, no clichés or heavy-handed melodrama.  I found comparison works well.  Have the character reflect back on a time when life was good, when he had expectations, then show how it’s changed, what he’s lost, and how nothing will ever be the same.  Below are two short passages from my novel:
At first, it gave me some relief to savor the vision of retribution. Yet, I always woke up the next day with the realization that Erin Anderson was still alive and well, walking the earth, enjoying her life, enjoying her family, while my wife was not, while my child lay eternally buried in Jillian’s cold womb six feet beneath the heavy earth, a tiny speck of immeasurable possibility heartlessly quashed into nothingness...
... Alone now, I sat back in my chair with a full bottle of tequila and drank. With my mobile phone in hand, I played Jill’s last voicemail message on an endless loop, over and over, until I could recite it perfectly, word for word in pitch and tone...
There are many physical characteristics to show despair—rocking back and forth, hugging the body, scrubbing hands down the face, the list is endless—but one of the best ways is to have the character act out in ways he never would have otherwise, pushing him over the line. Desperation often drives people to do things they later deeply regret.

A to Z Challenge: C is for Comma - Plus the IWSG

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s a grammar day!


Plus, it the first Wednesday of the month, time for
Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group.
So I'm going to kill two birds with one stone and
post about the one thing I feel totally secure about:
the use of the comma!

__________
C is for comma:  a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence
As an editor, this is probably the one thing I see used incorrectly most often, or, more accurately, not used effectively or even at all.  A comma is used to set off words, phrases, or clauses from the rest of the sentence, especially where there needs to be a slight pause.  When we speak, we do so in fragments or clauses, and we naturally include small pauses in between these clauses.  Every where there is a pause, imagine a comma, as well.  And did you see how I added a comma before as well in the last sentence?  Well, ditto when you use the word too, too.       
They’re also used to separate items in a series or list of three items or more, even with the use of the word “and” in between.  This way, each item is given equal purpose and is not meant to be combined with the item before it.  Many do not think it’s necessary to use a comma between the second-to-last item in a list and the last, that a conjunction such as “and”, “but”, or ‘or” are all that is required.  While this is common, it’s also incorrect, as not using the comma between is like making the last two items one in conjunction with each other instead of being separate but equal.
Another place people often forget to include a comma is when two complete sentences are joined together, most often by the word “and”.  If each segment of the sentence can stand alone, then use a comma to separate them.  Also, as in this sentence, use a comma to separate or attach words in the beginning or end to the rest of the sentence.  You often see this with the use of time such as “Now” or “Later” or “Today”, but also with adverbs like “Frequently” or “Certainly” or words like “Nevertheless”.
Lastly, if you stick a dependent clause in the middle of an independent one or complete sentence, you divide it with commas on both ends. 
Commas aren’t properly taught in school these days, and we seem to have entire generations of writers who don’t understand the proper placement of commas, but if you listen to the way you speak and hear the pauses in between the clauses, then you know where to put a comma.  A good trick to find missing commas is to use the text-to-speech feature included in most word processing software.        
   

A to Z Challenge: B is for Boredom

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s an emotion day!
__________
B is for boredom:  the state of being tired or distracted; to make weary by being dull, repetitious, or uninteresting; a pervasive lack of interest; an attentional lapse.
Boredom is a tough one because it’s more about what’s not being shown.  There is generally no engagement with a character who is bored.  They stare off into space with a blank face, doodle on a piece of paper, or keep checking the time.  They fidget, sigh heavily, and exhibit signs of tiredness such as slouching or yawning.  They drum their fingers and roll their eyes in impatience, because boredom is mostly about the limitation of energy, not having any way to satisfy the need to expend it.
Boredom is an emotion you want to use very sparingly as it will slow the action and tension in a scene, offering the reader a perfect place to put the book down.

A to Z Challenge: A is for Anger...AND...a Cover Reveal for Searching for Moore

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
First and foremost, a BIG thank you to A to Z founder, Arlee Bird.
Without you, none of this would be possible!

This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.
Today’s an emotion day!
__________
A is for anger:  a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, hostility, or belligerence, typically aroused by a wrong.
There are many degrees of anger, and so, many ways in which to show it.  First you must figure out exactly how angry the character is.  And don’t overdo it,.  Don’t use clichés such as “raging like a bull” or “angry as a wasp”.  And whatever you do, do not rely on exclamation points to get your emotion across!!!
First, try to use the character’s voice via dialogue, and I don’t mean screaming, but rather by the way he or she speaks, showing the movement from whatever emotion came prior then displaying the change, the difference in phrasing and tone in which they speak and the very words they use to do it.  This disparity will exemplify his turn in mood, as will adding certain traits we all exhibit when angered.
The obvious ones are a red face or gathering and lowering of the brow, a turned down mouth or stomping of the feet, or even a simple tensing of the body.  Using one of these with the proper words and tone is more than enough to display anger.  You can also describe a change in the eyes, how they tensed, glared, or seemed to turn hard.
Whatever physical traits and action the character models to show anger, it’s more effective to contrast it with whatever mood came before it.  And, as we all have typical ways in which we exhibit anger, be sure to be consistent with each character.

__________

But wait!  There's more!  Searching for Moore, actually.  Today is the big cover reveal for my friend and fellow author, Julie A. Richman's new novel, Searching for Moore!


Title:Searching for MooreBy: Julie A. RichmanSeries:Needing MooreSeries #1Genre: Adult Romance, Chick LitLength: 318 Pages

Here's the lowdown : 

Attended by reality TV star wannabes and Southern California social climbers, Schooner Moore knows the party his wife is throwing for his forty-third birthday has little to do with him and everything to do with her social standing in Orange County. The evening turns out to hold more surprises than just his wife's Botoxed friends groping at his privates, when a conversation with his old college roommate, Beau, reveals the biggest surprise of the night.
Beau has had contact on Facebook with Mia Silver. Just hearing her name sends Schooner into a tailspin, as he is now just a Friend Request away from the one who got away when she disappeared without a goodbye, leaving him wondering why she left.

A serial failure at romance, Manhattan boutique ad agency owner, Mia, gets a blindside of her own when a Facebook Friend Request from first love, Schooner, appears in her email. Going with her gut reaction, Mia hits accept, propelling her past to catch up with her in a New York minute, as a forceful Schooner is determined to understand what tore them apart and to explore the possibility of a second chance at love.
From a 1980's Southern California college campus and a devastating first love to present day New York City, Searching for Moore explores how technology has eradicated the divide between our past and our present, and asks whether you would give up everything to reconnect with The One in a single keystroke?

Click here to add Searching for Moore on GoodreadsClick here to attend the Facebook Release PartyClick here to “Like” Julie’s author pageAnd click here to check out her website 




So...are YOU doing the A to Z?  Interested in a little Moore?

No, I'm Sorry, But...That's NOT Okay

The book business is entirely subjective, but, even though, as a reader, I know a writer can’t possibly please everyone, as an author, I still strive to do so. I know I'll never achieve this and it typically doesn’t bother me all that much.  This past week, however, was a bit different.

I’m finishing up my current book tour, grateful for all the positive reviews, but today, I had to gird myself for a possible bad one.  Now, I’m not sure what or even if this blogger will post.  I’m hopeful she won’t actually, because, according to her Goodreads updates and the tweets she directed at me, she stopped reading just shy of the fifty yard line, probably throwing my book against the proverbial wall before deleting it from her TBR list.


I know exactly the point at which she stopped reading, the most pivotal scene in the entire book.  Many reviewers have described my novel as a rollercoaster ride.  Well, that scene is THE big drop, and a real doozy, too, the one that makes you gasp and scream  
Thing is, that scene is the reason I wrote the book in the first place, asking the question: What could make a genuinely good man commit a violent crime, something unspeakable?  Because, on a personal level, I really, really needed to understand. 

It’s like Bud White, Russell Crowe’s character in LA Confidential.  He’s this muscly, tough-guy cop who hates men that abuse women.  After all, when Bud was a child, his father tied him to a radiator and forced him to watch as he beat Bud’s mother to death.  But then later, Bud himself is pushed over the edge and beats his girlfriend, becoming the very thing he despises most in this world.
I needed to understand how that was possible, how a man could go against everything he stands for.  And I needed to know how he manages to live with that choice. 
But this reviewer, whom I asked to join my tour based on the books she's read and her past reviews, got to that pivotal scene and…that was it.  She couldn’t take it.  The hero had overstepped, gone over to the dark side.  And, apparently, she wasn’t interested in his redemption. 

I found this confusing, because, among countless other erotic novels, she read and awarded 5 stars to Consequences, a book about a man who rufies and kidnaps a woman, then forces her to submit to him, body and soul.  But it’s okay because, for whatever reason, she kind of likes it and even marries him.  *rolls eyes*  
So why the double standard when, in my book, it doesn’t go anywhere near that far, and, what does happen, only happens once, and by mistake, too?  I’ll tell you why.  Because my victim didn’t like it.  She wasn’t into it.  That’s why. 

My novel is noterotic BDSM and is not meant to appeal to those who are into that whole she-didn’t-have-a-choice-but-she-liked-it-anyway sort of thing.  So I’m disillusioned, because this reviewer, who, I might add, has considerable influence, knew this was a psychological thriller with this type of undertone, and she signed on for the tour.  Yet now, she won’t follow through on her commitment and read the ENTIRE book, THEN make her judgment.
I think it’s fine to hate a book, including mine.  God knows, I hate many books I’ve tried to read.  But I also don’t think it’s fair to review a book if you haven’t actually read it all the way through.  I bought a book over the weekend that several romance bloggers were raving about, but I ended up returning it a few hours later because I felt the writing was poor, and, to be honest, it was boring.  It just wasn’t for me . 

But still, I would never, ever think to judge that book publicly, to rate or review it, since I hadn’t actually read much of it.  I’ve had this happen to me once before on Goodreads, and worse? I just saw it happen again recently to a friend, as well.  That pissed me off.
It’s not fair.  And it’s not cool.

This is the author’s life and work, his or her blood, sweat, and tears, not to mention their reputation, and some reviewers are trashing it WITHOUT having even read it to the end.
I’m sorry, but…I’m not okay with that.  Are you?   

Top Ten Movie Blogfest!

Today is Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Top Ten Movies Blogfest!
This is a list of my top ten favorite movies, ones I continue to watch over and over again.
#10 - LA Confidential

 Why?  It’s smart, very old Hollywood, Kevin Spacey is awesome, and it has a young Russell Crowe
#9 - Gladiator

Why?  Well-plotted, scripted, and acted.  And again, Russell Crowe when he still looked good.
#8 – The Social Network

Why?  Written by Aaron Sorkin.  Need I say more?
#7 – The Terminator

Why?  Very Original, Arnold is badass,and I kinda dig a young Michael Biehn
#6 – The Pianist

Why?  Incredibly moving, wonderful music, well-acted & scripted.  And, duh!  Adrien Brody!
#5 – The Departed

Why?  Shocking!  Very Smart and incredibly well-plotted.  Plus, Leo was awesome!
#4 - Inception

Why?  Because, damn!  Talk about well-plotted.  Who could possibly think up that $hit?
#3 – The Bourne Identity

Why?  A great thrill ride!  Robert Ludlum at his best!
#2 – Forrest Gump

Why?  Very smart and well-written, not to mention Tom Hanks' performance.  Wow!
#1 – Pride & Prejudice

Why?  Uh, hello!  It’s Jane Austen, man!  And Matthew Macfadyen is yummy.
Honorable Mention – A Perfect Murder

Why?  Michael Douglas as the bad guy and Viggo Mortensen is scrumptious!And it’s a great revenge story gone wrong, and you know how I love those!
What're your favorite flicks?

National Wormhole Day Bloghop

In honor of Albert Einstein’s 134th birthday,Stephen Tremp, Laura Eno, and Luanne Smith are hosting theNational Wormhole Day Bloghop. 
Here’s the lowdown:
What would you do or where would you go if you could traverse a wormhole through space or time just once? One safe, round trip passage. Would you go back in time and talk some sense into a younger you? Go five years into the future and bring back the Wall Street Journal? See just how the heck the Great Pyramids of Giza were really built? View what the other side of the universe looks like? Kill Hitler?
Tell the world, in 100 words more or less, what you would do if you had a two-way ticket to traverse a wormhole. 
Considering all the financial suffering my family has experienced in the last five years, I shouldeither go back in time and invest in Google or Apple, or go forward and see what stock is super hot, ‘cause damn, college is freakin’ expensive. 
But all I really want to do is go back twenty-eight years, five months, and eighteen days and tell myself that, at eighteen years of age, I am strong enough to raise my daughter, that I can do it on my own and don’t need my parents permission or assistance, that her father and I will have the strongest, most loving marriage ever, that even though it might be selfless to let her go so she might have a better life with the adoptive parents I’d chosen for her, what her father and I have to offer is what is best.
If only…