S.K. Nicholls's Blog, page 49

Transsexual Crime Scene Ponies and Other Such Stuff

 

Illustration by Tres Maxwell

Chapter Ten and 21006 words. This is my first crime novel.  It is a lot of fun to write. It exercises both wit and intelligence. It is not without challenges though. I decided to list them here. I am open to suggestions BTW.

I am worried that my characters are going to come across as talking heads.  It is difficult to have serious conversations and exchanges of information while at the same time inserting observational clues into the narrative without giving too much away to the reader.
I have a character that is funny, but I don’t really want her to be cheesy or corndoggy, because she is also smart and deep. (She’s probably going to be anyway…that’s just what it is.) She’s a stereotypical character. I can’t help that. It’s who she is. She is inspired by real life people I know.
It is hard to write funny stuff without making fun of people, which is one thing I want to avoid, if possible. (At least not come across as deliberately hurtful.)
Keeping convoluted plot details straight in your head gets tricky.
Balancing action and idleness while keeping up a steady pace that quickly pushes the story forward is more complex than it sounds.

These are my five whines of the day. And it stormed off and on all day, so I didn’t get to swim (that’s my excuse).

Any suggestions? How was your day?
Filed under: Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: comedy, convoluted plots, crime fiction, crime novel, details, narration, observations, talking heads, writng

Cover Reveal

sknicholls:

Cover Reveal! For all you self publishers on Amazon. This is a boxed set you won’t want to miss!

Originally posted on chrismcmullen:

As you know, I have a few books on self-publishing. The first was originally published in 2009. I designed the original covers myself, and felt they worked for nonfiction: The main point was that the titles were easy to read in the thumbnails.

The big problem for me was that my covers didn’t have a unified look. So I hired Melissa Stevens (www.theillustratedauthor.net) to make them more unified and to add an image that might help them pop. We settled on a geometric approach, arranging the covers of my books in a cube, spheres, and a pyramid.

She also designed a matching header (you can see it now at WordPress and Facebook), shaped like a cylinder.

The cover that impressed me most was the boxed set (coming soon) that I used for this cover reveal above. I like this perspective, which shows off the front cover while still…

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Progress Update with Peccadilloes and Celtic Thunder

It wasn’t that long ago that I was whining about being in a pretty deep funk. I thank those of you who beared with me through all of that.

Today I wrote 1740 words which brings the grand total on this project to 16,146. I did manage to kill two people today and blow up a Church.

I also managed to swim 853 yards. That might not put me in the Olympics but, for someone as sedentary as I have been this past winter, it is progress.

Here’s the lyrics to a cute little Irish ditty. You might want to sing along.

God forgive my peccadilloes, I pray.

“A Place in the Choir”

by Celtic Thunder

[Chorus]
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir,
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands or paws or anything they got.

[Repeat Chorus]

Well listen to the bass its the one on the bottom,
Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus,
moans and groans with a big to do,
And the old cow just goes moo.

The dogs and the cats, they take up the middle,
Where the honeybee hums and the cricket fiddles,
The donkey brays and the pony neighs,
And the old gray badger sighs.

[Chorus]

Listen to the top with the little birds singing,
And the melodies and the high notes ringing,
And the hoot-owl cries over everything,
And the blackbird disagrees.

Singing in the night time singing in the day,
And the little duck quacks and he’s on his way,
And the otter hasn’t got much to say,
And the porcupine talks to himself.

[Chorus]

Its a simple song living song everywhere,
By the ox and the fox and the grizzly bear,
The grumpy alligator and the hawk above,
The sly old weasel and the turtledove.

Filed under: Healthy Lifestyle, Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: "All God's Creatures", Celtic Thunder, exercise, hibiscus, orchids, progress, swimming, writing process

Papi Talk!… With Shannon A Thompson

sknicholls:

Young author tells her story to Papi! Two new paranormal romance novels.

Originally posted on The Literary Syndicate:

Good morning my friends! Welcome to the latest edition of Papi Talk! Today I have successful author

Shannon A Thompson

on the couch, so let’s see what we can find out probing and prying, Papi Z style.

A little bit about Shannon from her Amazon page…

“..I’m a 22-year-old author, avid reader, and a habitual chatterbox. In 2007, I was 16 when I published my first YA dystopian novel, November Snow. In 2012, I was featured in a poetry collection, and in 2013, I signed The Timely Death Trilogy with AEC Stellar Publishing, Inc. After releasing the first installment, my young-adult, paranormal romance, Minutes Before Sunset, became Goodreads Book of the Month. My life changed. Since then, my first short story, Sean’s Bullet, was also published in an anthology, and my poem was featured in a Norwegian magazine. My latest novel, Seconds Before Sunrise, released on March 27, 2014…

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Metaphors and Similes: You Have to Love Them

Often what separates a good writer from a mediocre writer is the use of metaphors and similes.

Using them shows imagination and creativity. Our favorite comedians are adept at hitting us with a punchline that is usually a strong metaphor or simile.

One thing is used to represent another. 

Some simple common metaphors:

The snow is a white blanket.
America is a melting pot.
Her lovely voice was music to his ears.
Life is a rollercoaster.
The alligator’s teeth are white daggers.
Their home was a prison.
His heart is a cold iron.
She is a peacock.
He is a shining star.
Time is money.
My teacher is a dragon.
Tom’s eyes were ice.
The detective’s face was wood as he listened to her story.

The problem with metaphors is that people not well versed in the language may not get the meaning.

Similes use like or as.
(They can also use more than or less than.)

Some simple common similes:

(Eat) like a bird
(Fight) like cats and dogs
(Work) like a dog
Like a dream
(Soar) like an eagle
Like fingernails on a chalkboard
Like a fish
(Racing) like a frightened rabbit
(Have eyes) like a hawk
(Eat) like a horse
(Sleep) like a log
(Sing) like an angel
(Act) like an animal

 

As big as an elephant
As black as coal
As blind as a bat
As bold as brass
As boring as watching paint dry
As brave as a lion
As bright as a button
As busy as a bee
As cheap as dirt
As clean as a whistle
As clear as mud
As clear as crystal
As American as apple pie

These are simple and common. They are all cliché.
They have become hackneyed.

A more complex cliche that has become hackneyed is: nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Once they become common in usage they are stale, lackluster and bog down a story more than lift it. The phrases and ideas become time worn or overdone. Eventually they lack significance through having been overused; becoming unoriginal and trite.

As writers, it is best to make your own metaphors and similes.

Unless you are particularly talented, it is not easy, but it’s fun. The old has to be replaced with the new. Yet it has to be something that more than a few can relate to. It also has to fit the context.

For example; as red as a rose, would not be a very good description of the color of blood.

I have a three page backlist of original similes and metaphors for certain situations. There are many I could fit to a sentence with a tweak or two. Today I got stuck on one.

I just spent two hours coming up with the perfect sentence using a simile. I know you might think that is a lot of time to spend on one sentence. This is part of why great books can take months into years.

My sentence concerned the word squirm. The context is a kidnapping. Go ahead. Give it a try.

Worms squirm.

Eels squirm.

Politicians squirm when caught in a lie.

She squirmed like _____________________.  (Fill in the blank.)

I’m not going to share my sentence, but I will say that this is the sort of thing I am striving for in this novel.

It is moments like this when you just have to pat yourself on the back and say, “Brilliant.”

 Small triumphs.

Filed under: Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: as, cliche, hackneyed, less than, like, metaphors, more than, similes

Played With Scrivener Today In My Revised Crime Novel

I have been writing in my WIP for a few days and playing around in Scrivener so I thought I would pop in and do a quick progress report. I have 8593 words on the revised crime novel and things are going very well. I did not write today but reviewed and worked on typing up the synopses. I am not outlining in advance, but keeping notes on what I have already written. This is a fast paced story with a lot of twists and turns, so I need notes that I can refer to easily to recall who did what when. (You can click the images for a close up view w/o leaving the page. it opens in another window.)

A quick overview: This is in editor mode. You can also type in full screen mode where EVERYTHING on either side, above and below the editor panel is blacked out for zero distractions. The binder is on the left and you can move chapters and scenes around in there easily. I don’t have folders set up with several scenes. I have the entire chapter set up as the scene in the chapter folder. Less complicated for me that way. As you can see down at the bottom, your chapter word count is in the center, the little orange bar indicates that I am not quite half way to my target word count. I am not really worrying about word counts as I go. You’ll see that in the outline. This chapter is in Brandi’s POV as you can see from the purple dot on the Inspector panel on the right.

In this next shot, you see the POV (marked by the red X) is in Richard’s. All of the other main characters in this chapter show up as colored keywords below. Above, (circled in red) is the synopsis. Many people write this in advance to cue them along. I wait until the chapter is done and then make notes of highlights in the chapter to help me keep facts straight. It is easier to see it listed here than to try to pick through a whole chapter to find details. The target progress indicator at the bottom is green because this chapter is complete.

In the corkboard mode you can set up index cards with your synopses or, like I did here, character sketch images. It’s just a fun way to see them at a glance if you need that visual reminder. With your synopsis as index cards, you can move them around on the corkboard and that changes their order in the binder if you need to shift scenes around.

 

In the binder to your left the character profiles are listed for a quick click to review details and have reminders of specific traits you don’t want to violate in character development. Brandi’s profile is shown, and as you can see in the binder it highlights in blue (see the text page is blue at the red X) whenever anything in the binder is selected so you know exactly where you are. That’s true for the editor mode also.

Finally, the outliner mode. Again, you can set this up in advance and follow it or just let it happen as you go along like I am. You can see all your word counts here or click on your manuscript button in your binder for the complete word count. The synopses also show here and, again, you can move scenes or chapters around in here, which will also move them in the binder.

When I am all done with the first draft, I can edit with split screens if I need to. I can compile into a number of files; .epub, .mobi, .pdf, .txt, .doc, and a number of other text files I have no idea what to do with. Then, they can be sent off easily for beta readers, editors, or even publishing. There are all sorts of formatting features and compile features that I will show later. There are also some very cool features in tools and options.

That’s all folks! This is what I did today. What are you doing?

Back to writing!

Filed under: Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: basics, Binder, compile, Editor, Inspector, keywords, outliner, POV, progress, revised crime novel, Scrivener update, synopsis, WIP, word counts

CORRIDOR OF DARKNESS, a Novel of Nazi Germany, TAKES BRONZE IN INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS COMPETITION!

sknicholls:

Stop by and give Patrick congratulations on a job well done!

Originally posted on Patrick W. O'Bryon:

My first novel inspired by the espionage adventures of my father,

Corridor of Darkness, a Novel of Nazi Germany

, received a bronze medal today in the Suspense/Thriller category of the 18th annual 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards competition, the world’s largest book awards contest.

Since 1996 this contest has recognized excellence in independent publishing, and this year’s competition received 5340 entries  coming from the US, Canada, and ten countries overseas. The 2014 IPPY Awards medal ceremony will be held on May 28th in New York, on the eve of the BookExpo America convention.

Here’s a shot of Corridor of Darkness celebrating its award on a well-deserved getaway to Florida. The book’s been working hard.

Photo courtesy of Roberta Campbell Lawman

My sincere thanks to all of you who have  given my debut novel your support. Beacon of Vengeance, the sequel, is due for publication mid-summer.

Please spread the word that Corridor of Darkness is available as a paperback…

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The Beach Was Lonely

The beach was beautiful, but isolated.

I drove back to Orlando as the sun was setting.

For those of you who have known me any length of time, you know I can’t decide if I want to be a country girl or a city girl. I will always have the country in me, but Florida is different.

Here, south of the Panhandle, it is city or beach, anything in between is marsh or swamp. While the marsh is a fascinating ecological system, it is not very picturesque. It is also flat.

So here I am, back in Orlando.

Central Florida.

Ten minutes from downtown and one hour from the beach.

The city never sleeps, but the late night photo that I used to have on this blog with the black background was just too dark and depressing. I tried other colors with this image but the busy night lights all clashed.

Maybe I am just a bit weird, but it seems there are people here. I am not alone.

What do you think? Is this background too white, too harsh on the eyes?

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: beach, blog update, city, country, marsh

Writing Styles: One or Many?

For most of the last century, America’s cultural landscape—its fashion, art, music, design, entertainment—changed dramatically every 20 years or so. But these days, even as technological and scientific leaps have continued to revolutionize life, popular style has been stuck on repeat, consuming the past instead of creating the new. Like clothing fashion, books seem to have developed their own anticipated styles. I guess you could drop that 2012 guy’s pants below his shorts and put a hoodie and some sunglasses on him. (If you would call that current acceptable style.)

You often hear comments made about a writer’s style. Reviewers remark on disliking or liking an author’s style. I can read a book and say whether I liked the writing style, or not.

Writing style refers to the manner in which an author chooses to write to his or her audience. A style reveals both the writer’s personality and voice, but it also shows how she or he perceives the audience. The choice of a conceptual writing style molds the overall character of the work. This occurs through changes in syntactical structure, parsing prose, adding diction, and organizing figures of thought into usable frameworks.

A WRITER’S STYLE IS WHAT SETS HIS OR HER WRITING APART and makes it unique. Style is the way writing is dressed up (or down) to fit the specific context, purpose, or audience. Word choice, sentence fluency, and the writer’s voice — all contribute to the style of a piece of writing. How a writer chooses words and structures sentences to achieve a certain effect is also an element of style.

Style is not a matter of right and wrong but of what is appropriate for a particular setting and audience.

To read these descriptions of writing style, especially concerning personality and voice, one would think that style is almost innate. That it cannot change. But note what they say about choice.

For several weeks I was awash in stream of consciousness producing sentences of internal monologue, detailed description, and using associations to move from idea to idea.

Recently, I felt that my writing was getting serious and emotional. I needed a break from it.

I picked up my crime novel that I had placed on the back burner and read through it. That prompted a flurry of new ideas and I put down over 2000 words in one day.

The writing style is completely different from my historical story. Totally.

The sentences are shorter, there is humor, and things (especially clues) are plainly stated and described.  It is rational and scientific; there is no literary dallying with side-issues, no subtly worked-out character analyses, no “atmospheric” preoccupations.  There is no method to hold up the action and introduce issues irrelevant to the main purpose, which is to state a problem, analyze it, and bring it to a successful conclusion. I am having fun with it.

Having only written one book in recent years, I went back over some old manuscripts. The writing styles were clearly different.

My published book is a historical novel. There was much setting the time period, and description, character development and some internal dialog.

With all of the talk about building an author platform, I have seriously considered starting a new blog that focuses on crime novel writing or a specific image to that effect. Experts say that you need at least ten published books and preferably a series if you want to make your mark as a genre writer. What do you think?

I can’t say that I am a historical writer, fantasy writer, romance writer, crime fiction writer or any such thing as a defined writer of fiction. I am exploring.

Do you have a style? Could you deviate from it and feel comfortable or have you found your comfort zone? Is it innate talent for you, or do you feel it is a learned skill? Do you feel a genre specific platform is necessary?

Filed under: Writing Process/WIPs Tagged: audience, changes, crime fiction, exploring, historical fiction, innate, learned, platforms, talent, writing style

Bird-of-Paradise: What I Do When I Am Not Writing

People often ask me what I do when I am not writing. I paint, but I am a novice. Most of it I give away to people who express interest in it, family and friends. This is my latest, rather two dimensional, watercolor. The flow of paint on paper or canvas is relaxing. I paint in oils too, but it is messier and takes more time. I also make jewelry. It doesn’t look that great photographed without being on a model, IMO, maybe one day.

It is odd how different it looks in sunlight compared to incandescent light. This last one was taken indoors. Most of the time my studio serves as a storage room. Sometimes I paint outdoors. I don’t care for the background wash in this painting honestly. Better luck next time. The Bird-of-Paradise that bloom all winter are gone now.

 

What are your hobbies besides writing?
Filed under: Healthy Lifestyle Tagged: artsy me, bird of paradise, hobbies, incandescent light., novice, painting, sunlight, watercolors