P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 263
August 31, 2016
Son by Lois Lowry
Dystopian has become an interesting genre to read. Here’s an interesting review of Son by Lois Lowry. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim!
Book Review
Title: Son
Author: Lois Lowry
Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian/YA
Rating: *****
Review: Claire, a birth-mother in the dystopian world of the Giver, forms an attachment to her son that her society never intended for her to have, and which leads her to embark on a quest of over ten years to find him. Claire is chosen at the age of twelve to become a birth-mother. It is not particularly a surprise; most people’s career assignment fits what they have become during their first twelve years of life. She goes to live with the other birth-mothers and receives training. She is told that giving birth doesn’t hurt, and reassured that everything will go well. After a short medical operation, she becomes pregnant with the first of three children she will supposedly bear for her community.
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Mastering Conflict—Hook Readers & Never Let Them Go
Great writing advice as usual from Kristen. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim!
Image via Flickr Creative Commons courtesy of Sharon Mollerus
Last time we talked about how, if we want to sell more books, we need to give readers what they want—an excellent story. Very often writers believe they need to be clever and deep and super different and while all of that is excellent, it must all be built around delivering a terrific story…not simply being clever for the sake of being clever.
This said, we must always remember the beating heart of every story. Conflict. No heart? The story flatlines.
Conflict is not simply a bad situation.
I often get pages where it is almost like, “And this bad thing happens then the next bad thing oh and another bad thing.” It makes me feel like I’m trapped in a bad action movie.
Oh there’s a fight scene, then a car chase, then another car chase and then another…
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Deep POV Tips Pt. 5: Eliminate Narrative Distance
Editing for Deep POV
This writing tips series began after I attended a webinar in late July the subject of which was deep third person POV . Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3 & Part 4 of this series are available if you want to catch-up on the topic. As promised, here are more tips gleaned from the presentation that you may find helpful as I know they will be for me.
One characteristic of deep POV is the elimination of narrative distance. What does this mean? Simply put, the reader lives with the POV character as the events happen instead of being informed or directed by a narrator. In other words, instead of using a narrative voice with tags that cue the reader on activity and dialogue by the main POVC, the deep POV style lets the reader experience the action with the main POVC. For example:
Narratvie usage: When the door opened, Martha turned with surprise and said, “Who’s there?”
Deep POV: The door banged open. Martha whirled. “Who’s there?”
Notice the difference? There’s not a tag for Martha’s question. Also the action is ongoing in the second example which is accomplished by the verb usage and dropping unnecessary conditions and descriptions. In so doing, the narrative excess is removed along with the telling and passivity.
In my next post, I’ll focus on another characteristic of deep POV and how it is applied.
Want more pointers? Try these resources for deep POV:
Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson
Writer’s Guide to Emotion: Fiction Writing Tools by Sherry Soule
Check out Janice Hardy’s Fiction University.
Do you use deep POV? Why or why not? How do you utilize these and other aspects of this technique. I love receiving comments so feel free to leave one via the form. Also, you can receive notifications about this blog by email and even receive coupon to download my award-winning short story for free. Sign-up and download today!
Thanks for stopping by and reading.
P. H. Solomon
About the Author
P. H. Sol
omon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.
To find out more about The Bow of Destiny, click over to one of these online retailers:
Sign-up to receive my free ebooks today.
Filed under: Creativity, Deep POV, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Self-publishing, Tips, Writing Tagged: creativity, Deep POV, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, The Black Bag, writing
August 30, 2016
TEASER TUESDAY
Here’s a recent fantasy release courtesy of Bookwraiths. Looks interesting. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim!
Teaser Tuesday is a meme held over at Books and a Beat.
To participate, all you have to do is:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Genre: Fantasy
Series: The Children Trilogy #2
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (May 31, 2016)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Length: 448 pages
PURCHASE THE BOOK AT AMAZON.
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Deep POV Tips Part 4: Of Sneaks and Shallow POV
Editing for Deep POV
Last month I attended a webinar the subject of which was deep third person POV and I then started this series. Part 1 (including links to other deep POV resources), Part 2 & Part 3 of this series are available if you want to catch-up on the topic. As promised, here are more tips gleaned from the presentation that you may find helpful as I know they will be for me.
Sam: What are you up to? Sneaking off, are we?
Gollum: Sneaking? Sneaking? Fat Hobbit is always so polite. Smeagol shows them secret ways that nobody else could find, and they say “sneak!” Sneak? Very nice friend. Oh, yes, my precious. Very nice, very nice.
Sam: All right, all right! You just startled me is all. What were you doing?
Gollum: Sneaking.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
There’s often a sneak creeping through writing that hurts deep POV. It’s pervasive and slowly sucks the life, excitement and tension from a book like Gollum with a filched egg.
Gollum: [singing] The rock and pool, is nice and cool, so juicy sweet. Our only wish,
[he whacks the fish on the rock]
Gollum: to catch a fish,
[another whack]
Gollum: so juicy sweet.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Before you know it, the sneak is stealing all the fish in your writing and singing about it while you go blithely along with the story.
Be careful of the sneak! Don’t let him follow you from that log in the river! Beware lest you find your work rife with all kinds of sneaky, thieving, well you know…
So what’s so sneaky in deep POV and how can it be fixed? Prepositions. But not just any old prepositions, just the sneaky ones. Preposition are necessary except for those that express emotion.
Here are some shallow/deep examples our presenter, Delia Latham, used in her presentation, “Demystifying Deep POV”:
Sneaky Prepostion Examples
See the sneaks and how they work little bits of mischief in the narrative? Yet in the deeper examples there’s more lively, creative expression.
Have you got sneaks in your writing? Share how you root them out in by leaving a comment.
Please see my Contact page for ways to connect with me and view my News page for information on my current fundraising campaign for The Bow of Destiny on Indiegogo which ends on 9/5. Also read the companion blog serial for The Bow of Destiny entitled “What is Needed“. New links to reviews for The Black Bag have been post on the Store page so check those out if you are interested in a short fantasy read.
I’m always interested in comments so please feel free to leave them below. Also, remember that followers of this blog via email receive a coupon to download my short ebook, The Black Bag, from Smashwords so sign-up today.
Thanks for reading!
PHS
About the Author
P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.
To find out more about The Bow of Destiny, click over to one of these online retailers:
Sign-up to receive my free ebooks today.
Filed under: Creativity, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Deep POV, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Self-publishing, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: creativity, Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, Deep POV, Gollum, Indie Publishing, Lord of the Rings, P. H. Solomon, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter
August 29, 2016
Amber Sky by Amy Braun
I’m always interested in the genres mixed in this book. It sounds like a good story. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim!
Book Review
Title: Amber Sky
Author: Amy Braun
Genre: Sci-Fi/Steam Punk/Dystopian
Rating: *****
Review: This novella is the prequel to the Dark Sky series; Crimson Sky and Midnight Sky. I have read and reviewed books 1 & 2 and really enjoyed them and couldn’t wait to see what Amy Braun had in store for us next. In this review I will try to keep spoilers out from books 1 & 2 of the series for those of you that haven’t read it yet.
The opening of the story starts with a fight in which Nash is involved. Nash was one of the my favorite characters from the Dark Sky series as his personality and attitude were amazing without being cheesy or cliché. I loved seeing how Nash regrets having to win the fight and feels ashamed about what he has been made to do by his Captain.
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The Lost Bow Tour
Here’s a stop from my recent Lost Bow blog tour featuring The Bow of Destiny. This stop was about a trip across a raging river. My thanks once again to Jennifer Hinsman! Reblogging on Archer’s Aim.
Please welcome author P.H. Solomon to my blog today! I’m thrilled to help him promote his book The Bow of Destiny.
Haunted by his past. Hunted in the present. Uncertain what is real.
Athson has seen things that aren’t there and suffered fits since being tragically orphaned as a child at the hands of trolls and Corgren the wizard. When a strange will mentioning a mysterious bow comes into his possession, he’s not sure it’s real. But the trolls that soon pursue him are all too real and dangerous. And what’s worse, these raiders serve Corgren and his master, the hidden dragon, Magdronu, who are responsible for the destruction of his childhood home. Athson is drawn into a quest for the concealed Bow of Hart by the mystic Withling, Hastra, but Athson isn’t always sure what’s real and who his enemies are. With Corgren and Magdronu involved, Athson must…
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Deep POV Tips Part 3
A few weeks ago I attended a webinar the subject of which was deep third person POV and wrote Part 1 & Part 2 of this series shortly after that time. As promised, here are more tips gleaned from the presentation that you may find helpful as I know they will be for me.
Avoid these types of words: These are divided into two categories and should be avoided as forms of telling rather than showing. With deep POV using these words is inconsistent with the perspective of the character and jars the reader out of their experience with the story’s flow.
1. Narrative words about character activity:
Editing for Deep POV
Thought
Realized
Wished
Felt
See/Saw
Heard
Knew
Speculated
Questioned
2. Words telling the POV character’s emotional state:
Anger
Fear
Nervousness
Fury
Joy
Shyness
Doubt
Despair
There are many more commonly used words that could be added to these lists. Take time to edit these types of telling out of your deep POV to gain maximum effect from this style of writing. Again, deep POV will eliminate most telling/showing issues from your manuscript since it is like zooming in on the character.
About the Author
P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.
To find out more about The Bow of Destiny, click over to one of these online retailers:
Sign-up to receive my free ebooks today.
Filed under: Creativity, Deep POV, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Self-publishing, Tips, Twitter, What is Needed, Writing Tagged: Deep POV, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, Twitter, What is Needed, writing
August 28, 2016
Sale ends 8/28! What readers are saying:
Sale ends 8/28!What readers are saying:
“Unique, complex and riveting..”
“…one can almost see the trail, and fear the Trolls.”
” a mixture of the classic fantasy past with new ideas mixed in”
“I love the story. Started it and could put it down. I am anxiously awaiting the next book.”
“by the time I had reached the very last page, I was taken completely and utterly surprised”
Haunted by his past. Hunted in the present. Uncertain what is real.
Athson has seen things that aren’t there and suffered fits since being tragically orphaned as a child at the hands of trolls and Corgren the wizard. When a strange will mentioning a mysterious bow comes into his possession, he’s not sure it’s real. But the trolls that soon pursue him are all too real and dangerous. And what’s worse, these raiders serve Corgren and his master, the hidden dragon, Magdronu, who are responsible for the destruction of his childhood home. Athson is drawn into a quest for the concealed Bow of Hart by the mystic Withling, Hastra, but Athson isn’t always sure what’s real and who his enemies are. With Corgren and Magdronu involved, Athson must face not only frequent danger but his grasp on reality and the reasons behind his tragic past.
About the Author
P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.
Sign-up to receive my free ebooks today.
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August 27, 2016
#RRBC, U Sure Know How 2 Throw A Party!!!
I must confess that I haven’t registered yet for the RRBC Book Expo. There’s so much to choose from I just don’t know what I’m going to do yet but I am looking forward to it! Reblogging on Archer’s Aim!
WRITERS' CONFERENCE & BOOK EXPO
We’re coming to you from all around the globe!
2 Giveaways today:
(1) $25 discount off conference Author or Vendor Booth
(1) $5 Amazon Gift Card
***
I’m so glad you know that I’m referring to you. Look at that smile!
Since Nonnie was too tired to put up an actual blog post, she asked me to do it, and God knows I’m lazy, so if this isn’t acceptable to you, deal with it! I’m on a new diet plan and it is killing me!
(I already told you I was lazy, didn’t I?)
So, December is rolling around and that is when we will be hosting our 1st Annual (Virtual) Writers’ Conference & Book Expo! Dec. 1-3 to be exact! Put that on your calendar!
This event is going to be so amazingly awesome, that Beem (Reviews Co-Ordinator), will be taking a break from logging all our reviews
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