Jacqui Murray's Blog, page 136
May 11, 2015
Writers Tips #94: 9 Writing Tips From James Frey
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you’ve done something wrong? Sometimes–maybe even lots of times–there are simple fixes. These writer’s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make the adjustments.
I have read several of James Frey’s how-to books on writing–How to Write a D*** Good Novel and How to Write a D*** Good Thriller. Although I write thrillers, there are a lot of general rules about constructing novels that apply across the board whether you write thrillers, romance, YA or novelettes. Frey points these out in a pithy concise manner that even those of us with short attention spans can get. Here are some of my favorites from his books:
“For most writers, and certainly all beginning writers, character biographies are a necessary preliminary step in the making of a novel.”
Even though “Human beings sometimes do foolish things… All of your central characters, both protagonists and antagonists, should at all times be clever and efficient in handling the problems you have presented them.”
quoting Raymond Hull: “The strength of the conflict is not just a product of the protagonist’s strength” but is a product of the “strength of the opposition” as well
“The art of writing the dramatic novel is the art of holding the reader gripped in a slowly rising conflict.”
“Does every dramatic story have a premise [a statement of what happens to the characters as a result of the core conflict in the story]? Yes… There is no formula for finding a premise. You simply start with a character or a situation, give the protagonist a dilemma and then meditate on how it might go. Let your imagination run.”
“A story is a narrative of consequential events involving worthy human characters who change as a result of those events. In a dramatic story, the only kind generally worth reading, the characters will struggle.”
“Where…do you start your narrative of consequential events involving worthy human characters? Usually, you begin just before the beginning.”
“Aristotle said in the Poetics that the length of a drama should be such that the hero passes ‘by a series of probably or necessary stages from misfortune to happiness, or from happiness to misfortune.’ Twenty-three centuries later, Egri says the same thing when he insists that a character should ‘grow from pole to pole.’ A coward becomes brave, a lover becomes an enemy, a saint becomes a sinner–this is growth from pole to pole.”
“Think of a climax as the target and the rest of your story as the flight of the arrow.”
If you’d like to purchase Frey’s books on Amazon, here are the links:
To have these tips delivered to your email, click here.
More writing tips from books:
13 Ways and 3 Books to Build Blockbuster Plots
Writers Tip #68: Three Tips From David Shenk
15 Tips From Writing From A to Z
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman
, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today’s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning.
Filed under: words, writers, writers resources, writers tips, writing Tagged: good writing, writers resources, writing tips, writing tricks
May 8, 2015
A Chat with Author, CW Spooner
I met CW Spooner at my bi-monthly critique group. My first inkling regarding this man’s writing prowess was his comments about submittals. They 
were–and are–cogent, pithy, and spot-on. It was another group member who told me he’d published a book so I invited him to share.
Chuck was born and raised in Vallejo, California.�� He is the author of ’68 and a collection of short stories called Children of Vallejo. His writing has appeared in Spitball – The Literary Magazine of Baseball, and The Storyteller. His poems,��memoirs, short stories, and book reviews appear regularly in the Monday Update, a weekly��newsletter. After a��forty-year��career in information technology, he retired to Orange County to pursue his passions for golf,��jazz,��homegrown tomatoes, and grandchildren (not necessarily in that order).
Vallejo’s loss is my gain. I’ve had the great joy of working with Chuck on our mutual love of writing. If you read his blog, you’ll get a good sense of the friendly, approachable style that marks his stories in “Children of Vallejo“.
When did you begin writing ‘Children of Vallejo’ and what got you started?
I wrote the first story, ���The Good Sailor,��� in 2003. Earlier that year, I had confided to my best friend that I���d always wanted to be a writer. The reply was, ���So what���s stopping you?��� I realized I had no answer for that question, and so I sat down at the keyboard and began.
What is ‘Children of Vallejo’ about?
The stories are about growing up in my hometown, Vallejo, California. They begin around 1946 and extend through the mid-seventies. Vallejo was the home of Mare Island Naval Shipyard���the city founded in 1850, the shipyard in 1854���and like many Navy towns, it has a colorful history. I like to say that Vallejo is a good place to be from.
There are thirty-seven stories in your collection. Do you have some favorites?
That���s like picking favorites from among my five children, but here goes: ���The Good Sailor,��� because it reminds me of my dad; ���Celebration,��� because it���s about my brother; ���Party Crashers��� was the first accepted for publication; two baseball stories, ���High and Tight��� and ���Game Over,��� were also accepted for publication; and ���Cody���s War��� received strong reviews from people I respect. What I enjoy most is that each reader seems to find his or her own favorites.
What is your marketing plan?
I���ve never had one. Many of these stories were published in the Monday Update, a weekly newsletter that is distributed electronically to about 1,400 readers. The subscribers are graduates of the high schools in the Vallejo area. It is a natural community of interest, and many MU readers bought the book when it was published in 2012. So, Jacqui, your generous hosting will be my first venture outside of the Vallejo sphere of interest.
You have also published a novel titled ���68. What is that about?
I���ve always been fascinated with the many earth-shaking events that took place in 1968���the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, riots at the Democratic National Convention, the seizing of the USS Pueblo by North Korea, and on and on. My novel tracks several families as they live���and hopefully grow���through that chaotic year.
Your blog is titled ���The Rejected Writer���s Journal.��� Why did you choose that title?
Initially, it was tongue-in-cheek. I knew that when I started submitting stories to prospective publishers, I would receive a pile of rejection notices, and I figured that would be my validation as a writer. The very first rejection I received was from The Storyteller, a quarterly publication based in Arkansas. It was written by the editor and encouraged me to keep trying. I was thrilled! My wife actually framed it for me. Later, The Storyteller published ���Party Crashers,��� one of my favorite stories.
Tell me about your writing space.
I am a minimalist and my writing space reflects that. No mess, no clutter. Just my laptop and two cups to hold tools, one labelled ���Oy Vey!��� and one labelled ���Chutzpah.��� They remind me, respectively, of impending deadlines and to always be bold.
To purchase Chuck’s two books on Amazon, choose the link below:
More inspiring authors:
An Interview with Esther��Newton
Katie O���Rourke���s Fascinating New��Book
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
Filed under: authors Tagged: guest authors
May 6, 2015
#IWSG–What Should I Do This Summer?
This post is for Alex Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writers Support Group (click the link for details on what that means and how to join. You will also find a list of bloggers signed up to the challenge that are worth checking out). The first Wednesday of every month, we all post our thoughts, fears or words of encouragement for fellow writers.
This month’s insecurity – will I be productive this summer?
Teachers like me–we’re genetically engineered to push all our big goals into summer. Fall/Winter/Spring are for the children we teach, their parents, and the politics of school. Summer is the time we read our stack of books, take an online course, visit friends we haven’t seen for nine months, and make huge progress on our novels.
Needless to say, by the time we make our summer bucket list, there are far too many goals to accomplish. I want to do it differently this year. I want to include only three goals, with the idea that setting my sights on three accomplishments is minimalistic enough, I’ll get them done. But I need your help. What are your top three goals for this summer? Can I hitchhike on them?
If you’re looking for ideas, here are 6 summer writing tips from TAA and here are Janet Reid‘s (an agent with a wonderfully useful blog) ideas on summer writing goals.
More on summer writing:
5 Top Steps to Market Your Books this��Summer
10 Digital Tricks to Add Zip to Your��Roadtrip
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
Filed under: writers, writing Tagged: insecure writers group, iwsg, summer, writers
May 4, 2015
Writers Tip #93: 16 Query Tips From Agents
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can���t quite put your finger on it, but you know you���ve done something wrong? Sometimes���maybe even lots of times���there are simple fixes. These writer���s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make the adjustments.
When your manuscript is polished, your query letter honed to perfection and you’re ready to contact agents about representing your baby, you still aren’t done. Each agent you contact will have unique requirements, personal favorites as to how to oil your manuscript so it slips smoothly through the gears of their application process. Trust me as a veteran of the query process–they’re all different. Visit an agent’s website. Check out their requirements before submitting. Spend the time to make each contact personal to the agent’s requirements, area of expertise, and current successful publications.
Here’s an example of what�� 3 Seas Agency requires. They’re good basic rules that make sense when seeking representation:
In General:
Your manuscript needs a header on each page. It should include the title, the author���s name and the page number. (Note: If you wish, the page number can be inserted at the bottom of the page.)
��Make sure your entire book flows.
Avoid overuse of flashbacks.
��A slow-moving beginning turns off agents and editors. Write a beginning hook to suck in the reader. Use action rather than narrative.
��Make sure the climax isn���t resolved too easily. Be certain to tie up all loose ends that may have drifted throughout your story.
��Double-check for grammatical errors, such as misspelled or repeated words and sentence structure.
��Do not use unusual words more than once in your entire manuscript. A reader will remember them and be pulled out of the story if you repeat them.
Common Manuscript Errors:
Improper use of the word ��� its.
Toward is preferred over towards.
Overuse of the word: that–Read, and then read again all sentences which contain the word ���that.��� Many, many times ���that��� can be omitted, or the word ���which��� can be substituted. Sometimes, however, ���that��� is necessary and must remain in the sentence.��Only by reading the sentence out loud and concentrating on it will you be able to delete all unnecessary usage. HINT: Use the ���find��� for locating all of the times you used ���that��� in your manuscript.
Sprinkle contractions throughout your manuscript in dialogue, inner monologue and narrative. You will notice how the words flow better immediately. NOTE: We talk using contractions, therefore, your characters should too.
Name Dropping: Be sure not to keep repeating a character���s name over and over in a paragraph or even on a page. When more than one character appears in a scene, it���s sometimes necessary to repeat names.
Dialogue is Not Conversation:��There is no room for bad dialogue in a good manuscript. Dialogue���s only purpose is to move the story along. If it doesn���t, and it sounds like conversation, DELETE IT. Try not to have a character answer a question directly. It���s better to answer a question with a question or to refer to something else.
Using too many adjectives and adverbs–Strong writing demands strong nouns and verbs. A verb can be either active or passive. Always choose ���active��� voice whenever possible.
A noun is put to best use when it paints a definite picture of what you���re trying to say.
Be professional! Making a sale depends on it!
Galley Cat has 23 query letters posted that work. Writer’s Digest has 60.
To have these tips delivered to your email, click here.
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
Filed under: writers tips, writing Tagged: writers tips
April 29, 2015
Tech Tip for Writers #63: Don’t Like Double Space Between Paragraphs?
Tech Tips for Writers is an (almost) weekly post on overcoming Tech Dread. I���ll cover issues that friends, both real-time and virtual, have shared. Feel free to post a comment about a question you have. I���ll cover it in a future Tip.
Q: My Word 2010 came with a default for double space between paragraphs, but I don’t like that. I’ve tried to reset it to single space, but it doesn’t fix it. What do I do?
A: I don’t either. What was Bill Gates thinking? Don’t as many people start a paragraph with a tab indent as a double space between paragraphs?
Now I have to fix that every time I open a Word doc. Here’s how to do it (in Word 2010):
Go to Page Layout
Go to Paragraph, Spacing
Make sure ‘after’ is set to 0–not 10.
To make this the default:
Under the ‘Home’ tab, go to ‘Paragraph
Click the little dot in the lower right corner
Change the ‘after’ spacing to 0
At the bottom of the dialog box, click ‘set as default’.
Now the world spins just a bit nicer.
Questions you want answered? Leave a comment here and I���ll answer it within the next thirty days.
More Tech Tips for writers:
Tech Tip for Writers #62: Emailing from��Word
6 Tips That Solve Half Your Tech Writing��Problems
12 Spring Cleaning Steps for Your��Computer
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
Filed under: tech tips for writers, writers tips
April 27, 2015
Writers Tip #92: How to Write Like a Pulitzer Prize Winner
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can���t quite put your finger on it, but you know you���ve done something wrong? Sometimes���maybe even lots of times���there are simple fixes. These writer���s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make the adjustments.
I have never wanted to write like Pulitzer Prize Winners Ernest Hemingway, Saul Bellow, or William Faulkner,. The style doesn’t fit me. Not to say I wouldn’t love to win one of the world’s most prestigious writer awards–who wouldn’t?–but I��don’t��think I can make the compromises to my personal voice to fit into that square hole.
I didn’t understand why until I read Joe Bunting’s article on what characterizes that style of writing (see below). You may see yourself in them. That’s good. There’s room for all of us under the authorial umbrella. If you want more��information, click through and read his article. You’ll love it:
We all know there are novels and then there are ���literary��� novels. When you read Margaret Atwood, it just feels different than when you read Tom Clancy. And for some reason, these literary novels are the ones that win all the most prestigious awards like the Pulitzer Prize, the Man Booker Prize, and the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Literary authors are known for their unique voices and experimental styles. You might have learned not to write run-on sentences in school or to avoid beginning a sentence with ���and,��� but literary writers often seem to flaunt their rule-breaking ways.
This is both good and bad. Literary novels can be difficult to understand, but they can also be beautiful to read, like poetry.
So if you���re salivating to win a Nobel Prize, and just don���t think your diplomacy skills are good enough to win the Peace Prize, here are eight techniques you can use to make your writing more ���literary.���
Write long sentences.
Write short sentences
Be lyrical
Make an allusion to the Bible or Moby Dick or Milton
Use an eponym to name your characters
Be specific
Write a story within a story (or a story within a story within a story)
Have a wide scope
Read the entire article here. Joe builds out each point. I’m glad writers are out there who create this kind of literary prose, but it’s not me. And that’s fine.
Joe wrote this article for Jane Friedman, a publishing consultant who writes a fun, topical blog I follow. Joe’s blog is The Write Practice.
To have these tips delivered to your email, click here.
More tips from authors:
13 Ways and 3 Books to Build Blockbuster��Plots
Top 10 Tips for Writers in��2014
Writers Tip #89: 10 Tips from Janis��Hubschman
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
Filed under: writers, writers tips, writing
April 24, 2015
11 Tips You Don’t Want to Miss about Writing a Novel
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can���t quite put your finger on it, but you know you���ve done something wrong? Sometimes���maybe even lots of times���there are simple fixes. These writer���s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make the adjustments.
Lawrence Block’s (publisher of over thirty books and winner of such prestigious awards as the Edgar Allan Poe award) Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print��provides a step-by-step guide to taking a nascent idea to fully-fleshed novel. It’s packed with ideas (including a bibliography of his recommended books for writers), but I’ll list eleven ideas he stressed–the ones that made a difference in my writing. Add a comment and tell me if you agree:
There’s no such thing as a formula
Some novelists outline briefly, some in great detail… (Block has a funny story which I could so relate to)
If you want to write fiction, the best thing you can do is take two aspirins, lie down in a dark room and wait for the feeling to pass (His book has a light sense of humor writers will appreciate)
The best��seller��list abounds with the work of writers whom no one would want to call polished stylists
Novels…are time and again written with no original central idea to be found (Sigh with��relief��and then read his book for more detail on that provocative thought)
Isn’t it harder to write a novel? No. Novels aren’t harder. They’re longer
I want to (write). What do I do first? what you do first is read (How many times have I read that? Here, yet another successful writer proclaims reading to be the cornerstone of writing).
(To find ideas on what to write) Pay attention. The little atoms of fact and attitude which can link up into the molecules of an idea are all over the damn place.
Writing the novel is an ongoing organic process, and we carry the book with us wherever we go.
When an idea comes along, make sure you don’t forget it.
The reason the reader care what happens next is because of the author’s skill at characterization.
For more writing tips, check out Kristen Lamb’s Warrior Writers and Gotham Writer’s Writing Tips from the Masters.
To purchase Lawrence Block’s great book from Amazon, click Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print
.
To have these tips delivered to your email, click here.
More writing tips:
15 Tips Picked Up From��Twitter
Stephen King���s Ten Commandments of��Writing
13 Ways and 3 Books to Build Blockbuster��Plots
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
Filed under: book reviews, writers tips, writing
April 22, 2015
24 Ways to Describe Pain
Physical pain seems to be part of every thriller I’ve read. The main characters always get stabbed, stomped, smacked, punched, or shot, and that hurts. Of course, the author has to be much more creative about sharing that agony. I’ve collected the ways they do this that resonated with me.
A note: These are for inspiration only. They can’t be copied because they’ve been pulled directly from an author’s copyrighted manuscript (intellectual property is immediately copyrighted when published).
Here’s my list:
His head hurt too much. His body hurt too much. It seemed that everything hurt too much. Slowly, his sense started to send reports back to his brain. There were bruises and cuts and scrapes and maybe some breaks. He kept his eyes closed, not because he didn’t want to see where he was, but he thought it would hurt too much to open them.
Bogier hurt everywhere. His nipples hurt, his toes hurt, his watchband hurt, the elastic in his underpants hurt. His mind hurt. But his chest was the worst.
A dull sciatic ache had settled into Gurney���s left leg.
Ten seconds passed, and then twenty and thirty, and finally the pain started to pull back like the tide going out. It left his fingers first, and then slowly worked its way up his arm. Rowe took a couple of deep breaths and then started to walk again. He needed to find a pharmacy.
Not just pain-tolerant, or pain-resistant���he���s pain-defiant
A harsh half-stifled yell
Every jostle sent ripples of pain through his shoulder, back and neck.
The flesh wound still oozed blood and the entire right side of his body wore a purple-yellow smear of bruise. It hurt so bad he could hardly negotiate the raw landscape that strobed in and out of focus all around him
Pain sheeted through him with a terrible intensity
Pain felt like a sharp-toothed creature eating him from the inside
The pain in his wounded thigh was searing.
Ignoring the pain in his thigh, the blood seeping from the cut in his left arm and tried to move as quickly and quietly as possible
grunted as he shifted, trying to keep his ankles from paining him
in the thick soup of his brain
did her ragged little insults result even in a flesh wound?
didn���t so much regain consciousness as he began sensing pain
He absorbed the trauma, swallowing the pain, then kicked his way slowly back to the surface.
Pain was just an illusory sensation that his mind could shut down if it needed to, he told himself.
Searing pain in his right shoulder
Adjusted his position in the chair and felt fresh pain sear across his stomach
he jammed his knee into my groin, sending shock waves of dull nauseating pain deep into my abdomen
The Russian squealed in pain, dropped his gun and held his hands up to his blinded eyes.
As he doubled over in pain, Carver karate-chopped the back of his neck
he made a low growl again, straining to stand up to the pain
Spider BitesThe black widow spider is identified by a red hourglass on its abdomen. The initial pain is not severe, but severe local pain rapidly develops. The pain gradually spreads over the entire body and settles in the abdomen and legs. Abdominal cramps and progressive nausea, vomiting, and a rash may occur. Weakness, tremors, sweating, and salivation may occur. Anaphylactic reactions can occur. Symptoms begin to regress after several hours and are usually gone in a few days.
The brown recluse spider is a small, light brown spider identified by a dark brown violin on its back. There is no pain, or so little pain, that usually a victim is not aware of the bite. Within a few hours a painful red area with a mottled cyanotic center appears. Necrosis does not occur in all bites, but usually in 3 to 4 days, a star-shaped, firm area of deep purple discoloration appears at the bite site. The area turns dark and mummified in a week or two. The margins separate and the scab falls off, leaving an open ulcer. Secondary infection and regional swollen lymph glands usually become visible at this stage. The outstanding characteristic of the brown recluse bite is an ulcer that does not heal but persists for weeks or months. In addition to the ulcer, there is often a systemic reaction that is serious and may lead to death. Reactions (fever, chills, joint pain, vomiting, and a generalized rash) occur chiefly in children or debilitated persons.
Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders found mainly in the tropics. Most do not inject venom, but some South American species do. If bitten, pain and bleeding are certain, and infection is likely. Treat a tarantula bite as for any open wound, and try to prevent infection. If symptoms of poisoning appear, treat as for the bite of the black widow spider.
More painful descriptors:
37 Ways to Describe��Depression
29 Ways to Describe a��Headache
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
Filed under: descriptors
April 20, 2015
An Interview with Esther Newton
I don’t know how I got to Esther Newton’s blog, but once I did, I spent a good bit of time browsing her posts and enjoying her take on the publishing world. When she launched The Siege, I wanted to share her story with all of you.
Briefly, Esther is a tutor for a British distance learning college. A lot of her students ask to read her work, which is why she decided to put them all together in a book of stories. Despite awards she’s won, she chose self-publishing because short story collections “don’t sell particularly well” (her words). To her surprise, the feedback has been great so far. As I read through her thoughts, here are questions that I just had to get answered:
How do you market this, Esther? Do you require it in your class? Or use it as examples of a particular writing idea?
The idea behind bringing out the book was simply so my students could read my work. A number of them had asked to read some of my stories. A lot of my stories had won competitions or appeared in magazines you can no longer get hold of, so it wasn���t easy for my students to see my work. This got me thinking about bringing out a book of my competition-winning stories so anyone who wanted to read them could.
How long did the stories take you to write?
As they���re all from different competitions, it varies but I find short stories come quite easily. Once I get an idea, it won���t rest until it���s written.
Love the cover! How’d you come up with it?
My publisher asked me what I wanted. I opted for a cover based on the first story (a siege in a library). I wanted the cover to have that element of menace to draw readers to it so they were interested enough to want to know about the contents. The publisher came up with this cover and I loved it straight away.
What has been your marketing plan for the book? Has anything worked better than anything else? For example, did blog hops work better than give-aways on Goodreads?
I didn���t have much of a marketing plan to begin with. As I mentioned, the idea was simply to get the book out there for my students to read. It first came out as an e-book and then people began to ask for a paperback, so I listened! People began to find out about it through my blog and then suggested I ought to spread the word as they really enjoyed the book. But that���s been easier said than done. I���ve found the hardest part is getting people to know it���s actually there! Once people know about it and read it, the feedback has been good.
I have had a lot of local publicity. Some retailers have taken the book and offered to try and sell it. A national magazine is also doing a spread about it and my path to publication, so that should really get it out there.
I know I also need to contact reviewers and offer free books. I���m very happy to do that; it���s just looking into it and finding out about the process, who to contact etc.
Blog hops have been a fantastic help (thank you Jacqui!) and I���ve been overwhelmed with fellow bloggers��� support.
Is there any marketing scheme you’d recommend new authors avoid? And why? Or Why not?
I haven���t come across anything I���d do differently ��� so far!
Intrigued? Here’s the link to her book on Amazon US.
More interviews with rising authors:
A Chat with Rebecca Bradley About Her Exciting New��Book
Katie O���Rourke���s Fascinating New��Book
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor of technology in education, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
Filed under: writers Tagged: blog hop, guest authors, interview
April 17, 2015
Book Review: Master and Commander
Master and Commander My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In 1991, The New York Times Book Review characterized Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin naval adventure novels as “the best historical novels ever written”. That’s not why I selected it. I picked up the first in the twenty-book series,�� “Master and Commander”, on the recommendation of my WIP’s main characters. I was hoping by reading at least one, I’d get better insights into the two people who make my book possible.
What I found was an amazing story. The book is set on a British man-of-war during the Napoleonic Wars. The closely-packed 400 pages shows in vivid terms how Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin meet, set sail into the midst of the naval-intensive Napoleonic Wars, and–despite a rocky beginning that centered around classical music–develop the deep, abiding friendship and respectful camaraderie that will take them through decades. O’Brian develops Aubrey’s character as a lifelong seaman and Maturin as a skilled doctor who loves everything about life (including botany and biology), and then spends the rest of the novel showing how these two polar-opposites become close and respectful friends.
If there is a plot, it is loosely centered on spotlighting their ship–the Sophie–in battle. The detail is amazing with dozens of scenes like this one…
“They cast loose the tackles that held the gun hard against the side and cut the spun-yarn frapping that clenched the breeching to hold it firmer still.”
O’Brian does for warships what Michener does for settings, or Matthieson does for nature. I was fascinated reading about life aboard a British man-of-war. Who knew it included poetry shared and appreciated, musical interludes joined by violins and cellos, and a demand for civility and culture I’d expect left ashore when the sailors went to sea.
This book was first published in 1970. The difference in what was printed then and now is stark. For example, here are several traits rampant in this book I think would immediately get any of today’s novels tossed to the trash:
There is little white space on the pages:
Sea jargon is used throughout, to the point it feels like a foreign language. Read this:
“She was in stays; and now she was paying off fast. … the half-seen waisters hauled on the starboard braces like veteran forecastlemen…”
The author often jumps POV between characters within a paragraph.
The dialogue of two people is often within the same paragraph.
There is no effort (like a ***) to separate scenes or show time passing. Readers must be attentive or risk losing track of the timeline.
One great line I’ll share, for all those in the service of their nation’s Navy. That world hasn’t changed:
“The quarter-deck of a man-of-war may justly be considered as a national school for the instruction of a numerous portion of our youth; there it is that they develop a habit of discipline and become instructed in all the interesting minutiae of the service. Punctuality, cleanliness, diligence and dispatch are regularly inculcated…”
This book is highly recommended for those who love sea stories. I’ve found my next great series.
If you’d like to purchase it from Amazon, click the link below:
More military thrillers:
Book Review: Last Stand of the Tin Can��Sailor
Book Review: Trident��Deception
One Hundred Days���the British Military��Mind
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter���s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of dozens of books on integrating tech into education, webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, adjunct professor, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today���s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher���s website, Structured Learning.��
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