Jacqui Murray's Blog, page 151
May 12, 2014
8 Tips for Historic Fiction Writers
Over the last months, I’ve been writing a series on tips on writing within a genre. So far:
19 Tips for Children’s Writers
59 Tips for Fantasy Writers
18 Tips for Memoir Authors
9 Tips for Mystery Writers
32 Tips for Science Fiction Writers
8 Tips for Romance Writers
10 Tips on Writing Thrillers
Today, let’s talk about historic fiction. I am writing a series (The Evolution Files–my protagonist is pictured to the lower right) still in draft form that could generously be labeled ‘historic thriller’. It includes all the elements of the thrillers I love–superhero who does the impossible, big goals like save the world, flawed good guys who you love anyway–but set far back in time, in my case, 1.8 million years ago. Because this era precedes farming, community living, fire, religion, and the wheel, I concentrate on core strengths that shaped man to dominate Earth, that helped him survive when other species didn’t, that evolved the 21st century man who is spiritual, cultured (in a denotative definition of that word), a problem-solver, with a solid center.
These characteristics are critical in historic fiction.
Here’s the fun part of historic fiction: Writers explore a world far behind us that made us who we are. As Adrienne Morris (author of the Historic Society’s Editor’s Choice selection, House at Tenafly Road) says:
My wires hum when I’m ruminating over the past, digging up shards of history and eternal truths. … Modern fiction is just too sardonic, too grating and too pessimistic for me. I wanted stories about families and memories not infiltrated by post-modern irony. I don’t for a second think that post-Civil War Americans had all of the eternal questions answered, but what they did have was a sense that however wrong they might get it, they were trying to be moral, decent people and there was no shame in it.
If you haven’t discovered her wonderful Middlemay Farm blog, go visit. She shares so much hard-to-find detail on historic life, I find myself constantly engaged by her posts.
If you’re considering writing historic fiction, here are some ideas to consider:
You must like research. Details, settings, characters, dress, events must be accurate in historic fiction. That’s what readers look for. It’s as close to creative nonfiction as fiction gets because the author presents a story that absolutely could be true based on past events.
Verify the authenticity of your setting, characters, and events. Use primary sources–not newspaper accounts or magazines or blog posts. Have a collection of websites that share these details through the eyes of those who experienced them. This is what makes your novel stand out–the realism.
Wherever possible, be your character–walk in their old-fashioned shoes (how’s it feel), work with your hands, wear their clothes (what chafes? what’s harder to do because the hoop skirt is in the way?)
Include the smells of the era. Modern man is effective about blotting out the scent of life, but not so much in bygone days. Smells would assault your characters in everything they do–and they’d get used to them. Share that with readers.
Setting is paramount in historic fiction. It’s one of the few genres where you include minutia of surroundings. Why? It is often the reason readers pick your book–they want to know how life in that world was lived as much as they want to follow the exciting plot. Think of Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire (I’ll review that in June). Sure, the ancient battle of Thermopylae was front and center, but as fascinating was how Spartan soldiers prepared and their wives adapted to a life where brawn and battle was paramount.
Words used and syntax must be accurate. Beware of that. It’s easy to include ’tissue’ when they had no such equipment for stopping a runny nose. Even in idioms. My early man character cannot ‘gird’ himself for battle because those hadn’t been invented yet. Nor can he count. Do research to find out how they phrased common ideas.
Geography changes. Lakes dry out. Rivers get dammed and disappear. Forests shrink. Know what that was for your setting at the time of the story.
Despite the importance of history in this genre, you are a storyteller first. If people want a detailed history, they buy a history book. Your story must include fascinating characters, dialogue, a story arc, crises, climax, subplots and plots.
A warning: This genre requires more research than any other genre (save creative nonfiction), so don’t pick it if you aren’t in love with learning. Lots of other categories allow you to delve into emotion, feelings, characters much more than this one.
If this is your area, what did I miss? I’ll update these tips in about a year and would love to include your ideas.
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–Photo credit: Yuelcalnabi
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: Genre tips Tagged: history
May 9, 2014
Book Review: No Easy Day
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
by Mark Owen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My current WIP, To Hunt a Sub, includes a former Navy SEAL-turned-paleoanthropologist. With two children in the military, I know enough to know SEALs are never ‘former’. They are That Guy regardless current profession, so I have to include the characteristics, thought processes, reactions, voice of that persona, as well as the commitment, patriotism, never-say-die, refuse-to-fail attitudes that make these men unique.
As a result, I read everything I could find on that group:
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10–probably one of the most famous SEALs, thanks to this book and Hollywood
Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy Seal
SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper
Chosen Soldier: The Making of a Special Forces Warrior
The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228
Seal!: From Vietnam’s Phoenix Program to Central America’s Drug Wars
Navy SEALs: A History of the Early Years
American Sniper: An Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in American History
These books are remarkably similar in their voice, description of the men who choose this profession (or are chosen for it), their love of America, countrymen, and their Brother warriors.
One I just finished is Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer’s No Easy Day: The Autobiography of a Navy Seal (Dutton 2012). This is a firsthand account of the mission that kills Osama Bin Laden through Mark Owen’s story–how he grew into the man who ended the reign of terror that was Osama bin Laden. As in other SEAL books, Owens makes it clear early and often that his success is the success of the men around him. He constantly compliments others and downplays his part in events
“Having Charlie back made up for some of it. Fresh off of instructor duties at Green Team, he was sharp, and on this operation he was going to be vital. His experience and calm demeanor under fire were second to none.”
“Without a doubt, our RECCE guys were the best in the business…”
The reader also gets lots of first-hand accounts of superman actions that are the norm in Special Forces–no terrain stops them be it rock face or mud flat. Everything is simply the path to their objective. Stamina, too, is never a factor, always assumed. Sleep arrives if there’s time, as does food.
But Owens story is more than a first-hand account (though that is fascinating). He includes lots of primary source emotions, reactions, thoughts. There’s one particularly fascinating scene as Owens dresses himself for the operating, with detailed descriptions of clothing, weaponry, protection, comms, and more (see it on pg. 202).
Here are some of my favorite lines:
“Our tactics weren’t unique. What made us different was our experience level and knowing when to take violent, decisive action and when to be patient and quiet
“The target was secure, but now we had to do sensitive site exploitation, which we called SSE. Bsically, we shot pictures of the dead, gathered up any weapons and explosives, and collected thumb drives, computers, and papers.”
“SSE had evolved over the years. It had become a way to rebut false accusations that the fighters we killed were innocent farmers.”
“The raid was proof that good planning and the use of stealth was a lethal combination.”
“On the last deployment, we were slapped with a new requirement to call them out. After surrounding a building, an interpreter had to get on a bullhorn and yell for the fighters to come out with their hands raised. It was similar to what police did in the US.”
“We had no idea what the inside of the house looked like. It wasn’t a big concern. We had years of combat experience, and we could apply it to this problem.”
“We also had to battle the ‘good idea fairy’. She shows up on all our missions to some degree or another, and she isn’t our friend. …officers and planners start dreaming up unrealistic scenarios that we may have to deal with on a mission.”
“We needed a reason other than the truth [to capture OBL] in case we were detained.”
“The only evidence I’d slept was the empty baggie that once held a couple of Ambien and a handful of empty bottles now filled with urine.”
Overall, a fascinating look at how America accomplishes the impossible.
You may wonder at my interest in this world? I’m a school teacher, a quiet person who couldn’t physically defend myself if I had to (yeah, I’d try–and fail).
As I was writing my latest WIP, I knew I had to ground myself in military. I don’t have that background. Some would say it is an impossible task, given that I can’t ‘write what I know’. They may be right, but my muse wouldn’t listen. She just kept throwing books at me–read this! Now this! You don’t get it yet read this one too!
So I did. That came to about fifty books. I won’t list them all, just a few of my favorites that use a military setting and plot to share experiences we are all of us familiar with:
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailor–to this day, one of my favorite books ever; a military classic
Horse Soldiers: –how Afghanistan started. It involves problem solving and horses
Galloping Ghost–the evolution of subs (particularly important since my book deals with subs); more problem solving
Big Red--life aboard a nuclear submarine (the class of sub hunted in my book); what we do to keep American freedoms safe–it’s all about carrying a big stick, not weilding it
Gates of Fire--the Spartans in Thermopylae–what warriors they were. Amazing how properly inspired, man can do the impossible
Killer Angels--quite human soldiers during the Civil War; a classic. A peek into the ordinary people who protected our Union.
A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh
The Influence Of Sea Power Upon History, 1660 – 1783 – an amazing historic masterpiece on this topic–the essential read
In the Company of Soldiers by Rick Atkinson
If you’re interested in this topic, you’ll love these books.
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: book reviews Tagged: military
May 7, 2014
#IWSG–I’m not balanced–Is that a big problem?
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 like Kate and Rebecca who inspired me to begin). The first Wednesday of every month, we all post our thoughts, fears or words of encouragement for fellow writers.
This month’s insecurity (inspired by Annalisa Crawford over at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep): I’m not balanced in my life. Should I care?
All I really like doing is writing. I have little interest in going out with friends, shopping, exploring new restaurants (though I do like eating), relaxing, taking long walks. I’ve recently stretched myself to attend webinars, tweet-ups and online meetings, but going out for drinks after my Monday writer’s group–still on hold.
My primary daily activity is writing. As a break, I pen articles for ezines. When I get writer’s block, I switch from my fiction book to non-fiction endeavors. If my hand hurts too much to type, I read until I can start again.
I’m not balanced in any definition of the word. Is that a problem?
More IWSG articles:
Am I good enough? Does it matter?–#IWSG
Fear of Saying Dumb Things Scares Me to Death
#IWSG–The World is Changing–Can I keep up
Will I Find Employment if I’m an Older Job Hunter?
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: writing Tagged: insecure writers group, iwsg, opinion, writers
May 5, 2014
8 Things Writers Can Do No One Else Can
There are a lot of difficult parts to writing. I mean, besides the whole write-edit-revise-rewrite thing. That cutting a vein and bleeding on the page can get touch-and-go at times. Channeling your muse at times gets someone you’d prefer to avoid. And it’s well documented that trying to make a living as an author is pretty near impossible unless your last name rhymes with ‘Fancy’ or ‘Brawling’.
Despite all that, it’s a profession people flock to, spend thousands training to be, and wouldn’t give up for anything. Widely-accepted studies show 80% of Americans have a book we want to share–despite that industry stats show it takes five years to hone and deliver an acceptable novel. It may–or may not–surprise you to know that pursuing a writing career has less to do with that magical feeling you get turning words into pictures and more to do with what writers get to do that no one else gets to. Here are eight things we can do that no one else gets to:
Create new words
We can–and are expected to–create words to fit a situation. Did you think only politicians, speechwriters, and Merriam Webster could do that? Writers are the original neologists. We get to turn nouns into verbs and the reverse (called ‘nounizing’ and ‘verbizing’). True, with our excellent command of vocabulary, we usually come up with the perfect word, but when we don’t, we create it. The Global Language Monitor reports that a new word is created every 98 minutes. No one will notice if you slip one in. Just the other day, I added the verb ‘Snowdened’ to the lexicon.
Stare at people with impunity
As a writer people watching is studying our craft. We need to know exactly how everyday individuals react to common occurrences, so we watch them eating, reprimanding their children, walking their dogs, talking to the postman, fighting with mates–everything. When doing this, hang a sign around your neck ‘Writer at work’ so everyone understands you aren’t staring, you’re developing your craft.
Be quirky and call it cute
Have you noticed writers often are quirky dressers? In fact, if you see someone dressed like they’re going to play golf, but they aren’t, they may be a writer. We wear hats, bright colors, hair that’s too long for our age, lipstick that’s too loud for our age. Men can hang out with roomful of women if they’re a writer and no one thinks it’s a pick-up line. With writers, quirky are cute.
Choose reading over anything else
The Huffington Post reported that 28% of Americans have not read a book all year. That’s amazing, considering as a writer, it’s part of our skill set. So why don’t people read? As an adult, reading is considered a leisure-time activity. Adults talk about reading as though it’s that finish line of a day they never get to. It’s something they strive for and rarely reach. My reward is to read. I’m going on vacation and planning to read.
Not writers. For us, reading is part of the job. We have to keep up with what others are doing, learn new words, recognize the consequences of flaws, research a topic we are writing about. While others are forced to drink, boy-watch, girl-watch, attend work-related events, we must read. If you love reading, this might be a reason you pick being a writer over, say, becoming a plumber or a politician.
Talk to people who are not there
We’re not talking to No One. We’re talking to our characters. They’re talking to us. We listen and respond. Sometimes, we fight with them, argue, cajole. Sometimes, we’re trying to find out why they did something or what-the-heck their plan is because we have no idea (it would be nice if they’d share it with their writer, but this is more complicated than it sounds).
Talking to individuals others can’t see is in the job description. Get used to it.
Be anyone we want to be
Not quite the same as ‘be all you can be’, but it’s a cousin to that. With a sweep of our pen, we create a whole new world, drop ourselves in as a brains-and-beauty heroine, save the world, or just save a puppy. Doesn’t matter. With words, we can be and do anything we want.
I love that.
Handle rejection
This we do better than anyone has a right to do because we get a lot of practice. Writers finish on average a novel a year (although Russell Blake seems to write one a month, but then, he doesn’t have many rejections to contend with). So every year, we submit to agents who reject us. My goal is one hundred query letters per novel before moving to Plan B. That’s one hundred times I hear No, F*** no, Are you crazy No, Don’t call until I’m dead No, What were you thinking No.There are dozens of ways to say No and I know most of them.
By the time we reach three novels (the suggested number required before new authors can find agents), we can quickly recognize, categorize, and move on with a minimal amount of tears.
I’m sure there are more great reasons to become a writer. What would you add to this list?
More humor about writing:
14 Things Writers Do Before 8am
Labor Day Thoughts: Do You Really Want to Try to Earn a Living as a Writer?
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: humor, writers, writing Tagged: words
May 2, 2014
Book Review: Spy for Hire
Spy for Hire
by Dan Mayland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed as part of my Amazon Vine gig
Dan Mayland’s latest installment in his Mark Sava series, “Spy for Hire”, is spectacular. It moves the main character–Sava–comfortably out of the CIA into his own spy-for-hire company and establishes several others as players in the storyline, namely his live-in girlfriend and one of the guys who works for him. In this book, Sava tracks a kidnapped child who is at the middle of a political and emotional firestorm. As he attempts to find and rescue the 4-year old, he must figure out if his family actually cares for his welfare or just want to use him–and is that any of Sava’s business? The subplots are just as intriguing: Sava’s CIA ties, Decker’s effort to get back to America to see his dying father (Decker is a recurring character who works in Sava’s spy business).
The characters are well-developed and appealing, the plot is clever and demanding, and the pace is unrelenting. For anyone not familiar with the character, Mayland does a great job establishing Sava’s bona fides early in the story:
“Mark took a moment, as he always did upon entering a room., to analyze the situation. Daria was wearing an apron over a nice black skirt and a green blouse, which told him she’d come from a meeting, probably in Bishkek, and that she had more meetings planned for later in the day; her phone was on the counter, and turned on, so she’d likely been trying to conduct business while she cooked; onion skins were scattered all over the countertop cutting board, which suggested she was rushed because she typically cleaned as she cooked; and her brown eyes looked happy but tired.”
One paragraph and we’ve learned volumes about the main character.
I don’t have as much to say bout this book–for all the right reasons. Usually, I jot down my thoughts as I’m reading. This time, I’d be through a hundred pages before I realized I hadn’t written a thing. I guess that tells you a lot, too.
Highly recommended–the best in the series (see my review of Mayland’s 2nd in the Sava series, The Leveling).
More book reviews about spies:
Spycraft–Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: Amazon, book reviews Tagged: spy, thriller
April 30, 2014
How to Write Descriptions People Want to Read: an African Landscape
How do you communicate to Western world readers the uncivilized, nature-controlled land that is Africa. If your story includes an African setting, you must get that untamed, mysterious feel across or you lose credibility.
Here are a few books you can read that will drench you in the scents and colors of Africa:
In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall (or any writing by Jane Goodall)
Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind by Donald JohansonandMaitlandEdey (about the discovery of Lucy, but filled with the smells of the habitat)
Letters from the Field 1925-1975 by Margaret Mead (many on Africa, and some on other world locations in which she researched)
The Forest People by Colin Turnbull (about the BaMbuti Pygmies and their environ)
The Tree Where Man Was Born by Peter Matthiessen (about the African Cradle of Mankind)
The Land’s Wild Music by Mark Tredinnick (translates the visual pictures of Africa to the other senses)
The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior by Tepilit Ole Saitoti (the African habitat of the Maasai)
Bunyoro: An African Kingdom by John Beattie (case study based in Uganda)
Here’s a list of descriptions, in part drawn from these books:
Flat, dry, and monotonous, a seemingly limitless scrub waste without landmarks or water or other relief
because of the time and the approaching rain
followed small antelope trails instead of the larger buffalo trails
Oxbow lake
Narrow rocky defile
Beneath the jutting stone ledge, she sat hunched into a ball, knees tight against her chest, her damp clothes about her.
Olduvai appeared like a dark rift
Along its length, cottonwoods had sprung up; young trees little more than twice a man’s height.
Thick grass had carpeted the narrow strip
distant harsh mountains composed of granite, covered with thorny shrubs and acacia trees
mountains, thrusting spires of naked rock into the heavens so high that you would believe the very sky was pierced
thickly scented spruce branches clutched at his clothes, slapped against his chest and shredded his hand
thick forest that carpeted the uplands
dust was everywhere—on leaves, branches, even on my teeth and lips
Easing over humps and trenches, potholes and stone rivers, bashing through the trees where a track is blocked, the bucking climbs up steep eroded banks
the cloud mist lifted, gradually came the dull patches of red glowing far beyond the cliffs. Two active volcanoes
mouth of a thick sulfurous stream
watch the river to see the coiling of its muscular currents, catch the shimmering of waves that caught the sunlight like scales
swallowed up by the jungle
dry creek bed
bounded on three sides by basalt outcrops and partially screened by brush
followed the ridge down toward a patch of grass
back to a rotting log that some long-forgotten flood had deposited crossways on the spit
Cracks like hardweed through a broken sidewalk
Gordian knot of …
he saw its fields, steppes, villages and towns, all bleached white by the moon and bright stars.
the gallery forests of river red gum, various grasses, that lined the channels. Maybe a low-lying area where runoff from high ground collected after rain. Sometimes dense stands of mulga (acacia) woodland would grow there, where water was easiest to find in a desert.
Photo credit: Kibuyu
More Descriptors:
Characteristics That Make Your Character Memorable
How To Write Descriptions People Want to Read: Horses
How To Write Descriptions People Want to Read: Wild Animals
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: authors, descriptors, research, setting, writers resources Tagged: african environ, african landscape, bunyoro, Colin Turnbull, forest people, goodall, johanson, lucy, maitland edey, margaret mead, mark tredinnick, matthiesen, tepilit ole saitoti, tree where man was born
April 28, 2014
Writer’s Tips #64: From Kurt Vonnegut
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.
Today’s tip: Every sentence must do one of two things–reveal character or advance the action.
This is one of eight tips from American short story writer, Kurt Vonnegut, a NYT best selling author who uses science fiction to characterize the world and the nature of existence as he experiences them. From his website:
His chaotic fictional universe abounds in wonder, coincidence, randomness and irrationality. Science fiction helps lend form to the presentation of this world view without imposing a falsifying causality upon it.
Best known for Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), and Breakfast of Champions (1973), he also wrote fourteen novels. These are great tips from this master story-teller:
Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
Every sentence must do one of two things-reveal character or advance the action.
Start as close to the end as possible.
Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
What do you think of #5?
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More Writers Tips:
Writers Tips #58: Torture Your Protagonist
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: characters, writers resources, writers tips, writing Tagged: characters, vonnegut, writers tips
April 25, 2014
Book Review: Everything to Lose
Everything to Lose
by Andrew Gross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Andrew Gross can’t start his latest book, Everything to Lose (William Morrow 2014) any more depressingly than what’s he’s done: Hillary Blum, beleaguered single mom of an autistic child, loses her job. When she asks the boy’s father for help, he’s too busy taking his new family on vacation to pay attention to the desperation of a son he appears to consider ‘broken’ (I might be reading into that, though–I was pretty angry with Dad by then). Hillary tries everything she can come up with to save her small family. As I watched her analyze this dilemma, I couldn’t help but feel she did everything I would have. Without a doubt, I could feel her trauma, her need to protect her child, and her hopelessness. When a windfall falls into her lap, albeit a morally challenged and legally-dangerous one, she struggles with whether she should take it. She comes to the conclusion she didn’t want to make, that she has nothing to lose because she’s about to lose everything, so she takes it, hoping it will work out.
I suppose it does work out, but that’s the story–how it all works out.
I’ve read several of Gross’ other books–enjoyed them all–and I continue to be impressed by his strong, authentic voice and unerring ability to pace a story while building to an unbeatable climax. His main characters are believable, with both good and bad characteristics that make their flawed choices understandable as they try to solve their problems, ultimately, causing themselves as much trouble as they cure
It’s interesting to note that Hurricane Sandy is a recurring theme throughout the story. At first, I thought it would be simply a backdrop for the story, but Gross made it much more.
Overall, another excellent story from this author. It’s no wonder he was selected to co-author Eyes Wide Open with James Patterson.
More Book Reviews:
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Follow me .
Filed under: book reviews Tagged: thriller
April 23, 2014
How To Write Descriptions People Want to Read: Wild Animals
This is the third in a series “How to Write Descriptions”. As writers, we have only words to communicate some of the most complicated images in life. The trick for writers is, how to pick just the right words. That’s what I share here: inspiration for succeeding in your quest.
Most of the following descriptions are from Peter Matthiessen. You can’t write about nature and not read Matthiessen–The Tree Where Man Was Born, Sand Rivers. But there are others. The incomparable Colin Turnbull who lived among the pygmies and wrote The Forest People, among others. You’ll recognize Mark Tredinnick, author of A Place on Earth: An Anthology of Nature Writing and the innocence of Tepilit Ole Saitoti, a western-educated Maasai Warrior who wrote The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior .
I’ll do ‘Nature’ as a general topic later. Right now, I’ll concentrate on Animals in Nature. This can’t fail to inspire you.
the hippos heaved their great bodies out of the water and opened their gaping mouths wide, snorting and grunting before they sank back beneath the surface heads resting humbly on the mud
revealing a large, open gash on his hind quarter
tremendous splash that sent waves rolling to the shore
two bulls fighting, but only half in earnest
hippos—a quake and rumbling from beneath the surface, then a roar and wash as the huge bodies surge, and way is made for two pink-eyed gladiators the fearful cacophony of groans, blarts, roars and grumbling, interspersed with deep watery gurgles
a shiny hippo rose and walked away among low trees in a sedate manner
only the tips of their noses poking above the surface of the water
The night before, hyena and lion howled and roared; hippos resounded from their pools deep in the forest
the air was filled with engaging dung smells
sweat dripping from their steaming bodies
Urban fauna (cockroaches)
squinting toward the dim shadows at the wood’s edge
Wart hogs, tails whisking and manes shivering as they snouted and rooted in the baked earth
Delicate tall stalk of a giraffe
a family of bush pigs setting out on the evening forage. The big boar was gray with a silver mane, but the sow and young shoats were rufous red with clean white manes
a large group of elephant and buffalo were moving peacefully toward the shining water
poking and snuffling as they went
the foot-dragged prints of a waterbuck, the ancient hand-prints and serpentine tail furrow made by a croc
A herd of impala picked its way around the pool, their harsh tearing snorts would warn a procession of almost every type of animal one after the other, picking its way with unhurried grace to the water’s edge
bounding along a barrier of silver deadwood at the edge of the wood
It was now mid-afternoon and large groups of elephants moved peacefully toward the shimmering water
overhead so it falls with a fine splat upon his back;
the matriarch stands guard, trunk high
the bull begins to flap its ears and paw the ground
picks up a trunkful and hurls it
a young bull standing in the grass of the river margin
testing the air with lifted trunk, he steps down on to the river bed, then swings around
cow’s trunk stiffened as she got our wind, the trunk rose in an awkward question mark
dig a hole under the bank. When the water wells up, he sprays himself behind his ears and under his belly
noble expectations
swampy depressions, lowland basin, lowland plains between the crater and the Serengeti plateau
Can’t you just see these wonderful creatures, living their lives as man can no longer do?
More descriptors:
How To Write Descriptions People Want to Read: Horses
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: characters, descriptors, nature, setting, writers, writers resources Tagged: animals, Colin Turnbull, descriptions, matthiessen, setting, tredinnick, wild, writers resources
April 21, 2014
Writing Process Blog Meme
My dear friend (in the real world as well as the virtual), Shari Pratt, nominated me for this writing process blog meme.If you haven’t visited Shari’s blog, she is quite a verbal artist. The mental images she draws with her words are stunning. She doesn’t post a lot, but what she says is so worth listening to.
The rules of this meme require I answer four questions about how I write and nominate three others. I haven’t done one of these in a long time–I’m generally an award-free blog zone–so bear with me as I stumble along.
What am I working on at the moment?
Too much! Here’s a run-down:
my primary WIP is To Hunt a Sub . I’m editing it–final edit (yeah right), with a goal of publishing this summer
a series of non-fiction books on integrating technology into the classroom
summer workshops for teachers and students (two separate workshops)
several articles for ezines I write for
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I write thrillers, but mine include a lot of tech and science as the plot engine. It’s challenging to simplify for everyone, but provides ample twists and turns I can adopt. I have a few typical characters (a struggling grad student, brilliant undercover cyberwarrior, and a retired SEAL) and an AI named Otto I just love. He’s trying to take over the story. I’ve got control of him pretty well in this book, but the sequel–he breaks out.
That’s my long way of answering your question–my work is different because of this AI character.
Why do I write what I do?
I love the characteristics of mysteries and thrillers. They are always good plots and interesting characters. I enjoy trying to solve the problems ahead of the characters. Plus, their very nature–strong but damaged characters, fragile and superhero in equal measures, who fight the good fight, always growing by the end of the story and always a happy ending (indicating time well spent on this endeavor) appeals to my reading nature.
How does my writing process work?
I sit down. I write. Always on the computer. Usually between 7am and 8pm. I’m too tired by later. I jump between topics, focusing first on what must be completed by the earliest deadline.
That’s it! Time for nominations. I would like to nominate these three writers to participate in a Writing Process Blog Meme:
Random Rose–Rose
Confessions of a Writer--James
If you accept my nomination, you will write an article prompted by the following four questions and post it on your blog on Monday, April 28, 2014. You’ll also nominate three writers of your choice to post their articles on their blogs on May 5, 2014 (Tess: If you’re not back from China yet–and settled in–do it whenever you can!). The four questions:
What am I working on at the moment?
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Why do I write what I do?
How does my writing process work?
I completely understand if this ‘isn’t your thing’. No obligation. Just having fun!
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 webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, 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. In her free time, she is editor of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: blogs, interview, writing Tagged: about me
