Courtney Wendleton's Blog, page 25
October 16, 2016
The Dreaded Synopsis—How to Get Started & Why We Need One BEFORE Writing the Book
All righty, so last time we talked about the dreaded synopsis and covered why we need them and why they are important. Most writers wait until the book is finished to tackle the synopsis, but that isn’t an approach I would recommend. You don’t have to be a hard core plotter to gain massive benefits to writing a synopsis before ever writing page one.
I know all the pantsers groan when I mention any kind of pre-planning. You are squishing my creativity! Stifling my muse!
No. I am not. I am actually going to make you far more creative and I will prove it.
The Benefit of Boundaries
If I said to all of you. Write me a story and it is due next week, at least half of you? Your brains would vapor lock as you stared at a page.
What to write? So many ideas! How to choose?
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Crafting An Authentic Beginning
by Andrea Lundgren
As a book reviewer, I read a lot of first chapters and beginnings to judge whether I want to review a book. Instead of being moved by the cover or hype from other readers, I usually have only the blurb and the words themselves to guide me (I often haven’t even seen the cover until afterwards).
And I’ve come to the conclusion that a book doesn’t have to be flashy to “hook” me. It doesn’t have to start with a bang, and even that much-discussed opening sentence or paragraph doesn’t have to be artistic, original, awe-inspiring, or amazing.
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Beta Readers, It’s About the Book – Not You
by Ashleigh Giannoccaro
For me over the last five (now six) books my beta team has proved to be one the most valuable resources. Sometimes we need that unbiased opinion to separate us from our ‘book babies’ so we can see the faults. These are often the first eyes on your work and they give their time and effort to help you make it better. I want my beta team to rip it to shreds so I can sew it all back together better in the end. It’s not about me, it is about putting out the best book possible.
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How to avoid a car cat-astrophe
The colder months are rolling in, which means that cats everywhere will soon be looking for warm, dry places to stay when they’re outdoors. Unfortunately, cars are often prime targets.
There have already been reports of cats climbing into engines this year. Back in June The Telegraph reported that a kitten had survived a 300-mile journey in a car’s bumper, at the beginning of September the BBC reported that a cat had survived a 60-mile trip under a van’s bonnet and, very recently, Lookers wrote about a customer who had found a cat in his engine.
Of course, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and it’s unlikely to be the last. But, there are a number of precautions you can take to stop your car from being involved in a similar catastrophe. Here are our tips.
Provide an alternative source of shelter
Cats are only going…
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October 14, 2016
Applying the Mirror Structure to Stories
by S.E. Jones
Again, Mirror structure means:
– Finish what you start
– Resolve the relationship questions that you pose
– Fulfill the promises made to the reader.
But how does this actually work? Well let’s look at these points in more detail.
-Finish what you start:
If your story starts as a mystery, then it finishes when the mystery ends. If it starts as a romance it ends when the romance ends. If it starts with children disappearing then it ends when we know what happened to the children. If it poses a question, it ends when the question is answered.
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Writers, Please Eat a Snickers and Chill the Hell OUT—Sincerely, Readers
So today I am going to talk about something unpopular, but hey. Someone has to do it. I really like Facebook. Actually, probably like it a bit too much, LOL. But lately? I just don’t even want to sign on. The non-stop ranting is just too much. Seriously. And it used to just be during an election year but now it is just non-freaking-stop. Everyone has some new thing to be pissed off about.
It won’t matter who wins the election we will likely endure rants about the next topic and the next and ENOUGH.
I work from home, which means I am alone the entire day, every day. The only socialization I get is on-line and frankly? I am getting really tired of being constantly poked with a stick. I am going to just throw this out there….
It actually IS possible to like and love people who are…
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October 13, 2016
Make A Move On Someone’s Prison Bitch
If it ain’t yours, leave it alone. Jealousy is a motherfucker no matter where you’re at.
Back in the mid 90’s there was this punk running around Walla Walla. He went by the name Tiffany.
Tiffany was in a relationship with Shadow. Tiffany is white, Shadow is Mexican. For months the two lived together. Until one day administration broke up the two.
Tiffany got moved into a different cell. Inside his new cell lived Terry. Terry has been in prison for years and has several more to go.
It wasn’t long before Terry was butt-fucking Tiffany and making him suck his dick. Tiffany told Shadow. Shadow was pissed.
Shadow approached Terry out in the yard and said, “Hey man, Tiffany is my bitch. Leave her alone.”
Terry laughed and said, “Her? That punk has a dick bigger than yours.”
Shadow wasn’t laughing. “Just stay away from her, alright?”
Terry’s face…
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October 9, 2016
How Writing Saved Me From Anxiety
By Hannah Joslin
First off, let me just say this: You can’t really be “saved” from anxiety.
You can get better at dealing with it, you can have good days and bad, you can work on managing the unreasonable thoughts that creep into your head. But only you can truly help yourself when it comes to anxiety. That said, writing, for me, has been a savior in its own way when it comes to relieving emotions like anxiety.
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Cursed Cross
I have a friend, call her Lisa. Lisa is not religious, but wears a cross around her neck. She likes what it represents and gives her a sense of…something transcendent that no one can describe.
It is just a simple silver Irish cross on a simple silver chain hanging around her neck. Lisa hates anything too tight around her neck, so the chain is on the looser side with no fear of choking her. At least there shouldn’t be.
Lisa can wear it for months, only taking it off to shower, with no problems. One morning she will wake up because the chain has grown tight. Squeezing her throat shut in her sleep.
She’ll wake up and adjust it, but it still feels tight. The links rub and grind into her skin causing a rash, even breaking and drawing blood in places. No other necklace she owns will do this.
When the cross becomes too tight, she will take it off and hide it but without it on she feels vulnerable. To what she doesn’t know, she just HAS to wear it. So after a day or two, Lisa will put it back on and wait for the next time it tightens and tries to kill her.
At least she used to, Lisa died of strangulation last night. She left a strange note giving the necklace to me…
October 5, 2016
2 Exercises To Work On “Show, Don’t Tell”
by Kelly D. Smith
I have to admit, I’m a descriptive writer, and in turn, I love reading books that are very descriptive! I like to feel like I’m immersed in the book. And for both Rock Stars Are Fun and Summoning the Demon, I’ve been told that I “drew the reader into the book.”
I have to admit, that is something I took a lot of pride in! It was something I struggled with a lot, and always had editors tell me I needed to work on, so, today I want to share a couple tips with you on how to “show” not “tell.”
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