C.A. Keane's Blog
March 1, 2013
I Love Clichés and I Cannot Lie
Writers are often told to avoid clichés, those familiar sentences that spew from your mouth without even thinking about it. It's a rule they say but since I've never really been one to follow rules in general, I tend to use the cliché now and again, both in my writing and when I am speaking. But as a reader, that's another thing entirely.
I admit it, I love the occasional familiar slip of the tongue, old hat, been there, done that, type of sentence. There is safety in clichés, when you are on that E-Ticket ride of a thriller and the author slips a well worn phrase at the end of a chapter to bring you safely back down to earth and give your heart a minute to catch up with the rest of you.
There is comfort for me in that moment...it tells me, yes, the roller coaster might be careening off the tracks in the next chapter, killing you and everyone else in a blaze of glory, but for now, we are safely on the ground.
I admit it, I love the occasional familiar slip of the tongue, old hat, been there, done that, type of sentence. There is safety in clichés, when you are on that E-Ticket ride of a thriller and the author slips a well worn phrase at the end of a chapter to bring you safely back down to earth and give your heart a minute to catch up with the rest of you.
There is comfort for me in that moment...it tells me, yes, the roller coaster might be careening off the tracks in the next chapter, killing you and everyone else in a blaze of glory, but for now, we are safely on the ground.
February 16, 2013
A Room of Our Own
Virginia Woolf said ~ 'A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction'. For me, nothing has ever come closer to the truth. Women, I believe, have more difficultly in compartmentalizing than men. We multitask with the best of them and have trouble shifting our thoughts when we wish to write and create. We need our own room so that we may close the door and open our mind in peace.
The money part, well, no one should write because they need money, not fiction anyway. That writing should come from the soul because to do anything else, would be to deny who we are inside, not because the rent is due.
The money part, well, no one should write because they need money, not fiction anyway. That writing should come from the soul because to do anything else, would be to deny who we are inside, not because the rent is due.
February 14, 2013
Happy Valentine's Day!!
It's February 14th again!
Most people spend Valentine's Day with their special someone, a romantic dinner, maybe flowers, maybe candy, and Hallmark stock rises in anticipation of the holiday.
Writers however, especially horror writers, are cooking up ways to kill someone off amid the roses and tiny pink candy "Hug Me" hearts. Our minds work a bit different than everyone else, we see things just a little askew of what most people consider normal.
We really are okay though, no need to worry.
It's only in our minds.
Most people spend Valentine's Day with their special someone, a romantic dinner, maybe flowers, maybe candy, and Hallmark stock rises in anticipation of the holiday.
Writers however, especially horror writers, are cooking up ways to kill someone off amid the roses and tiny pink candy "Hug Me" hearts. Our minds work a bit different than everyone else, we see things just a little askew of what most people consider normal.
We really are okay though, no need to worry.
It's only in our minds.
February 12, 2013
It's finally done!
After a delay due to a late rewrite, and a whole lot of issues with formatting one page of the entire novella (cut and paste is NOT always your friend) I managed to get my newest work, an eBook titled "The Sandman" uploaded to Smashwords and Amazon.
There were problems with the cover design (I went through several before I decided on one) and several rewrites of entire sections during editing. It wasn't a picnic but it was a journey and I think it's time for a glass of wine or two and a day off!!
Is my publisher watching?
There were problems with the cover design (I went through several before I decided on one) and several rewrites of entire sections during editing. It wasn't a picnic but it was a journey and I think it's time for a glass of wine or two and a day off!!
Is my publisher watching?
