Jacqui Murray's Blog, page 203
October 4, 2011
Tech Tip for Writers #21: How to Make a Small Webpage Window Big
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I'll share one of those with you. They're always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: When I open the internet (or a document), the window is small. It barely fills half the screen. What's the quickest way to make it bigger?
A: There are two easy solutions, one faster than the other
Click the maximize box in the upper right corner of the document.
If you have youngers whose fine motor skills aren't quite there and aiming/clicking that tiny box is really a challenge, here's a better way: Double click the blue title bar at the top of the document. That takes care of it without aiming at the tiny spot.
Questions you want answered? Leave a comment here and I'll answer it within the next thirty days.
To sign up for Tech Tips delivered to your email, click here.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: tech tips for writers Tagged: computer tips, tech tips, writers tips
October 3, 2011
Writers Tips #79: Proofing Your MSS
Great tips for soon-to-be great writers
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.
Here are ten great hints from professional proofer Randall Davidson, cofounder of ProofreadingServices. Us, a proofreading company that offers manuscript proofreading.He shared these with WriterUnboxed (a wonderful resource for savvy writing tips and tricks) and I'm going to share them with you. Enjoy!
Put it away. Proofreading your novel immediately after you have written it can lead to overlooking even the most glaring errors simply because you read what you expect to read. Give yourself a few days or even weeks so that you can review your novel with fresh eyes.
Ditch the distractions. Just as it is difficult to write with the phone ringing or people interrupting, it is also frustrating to try to proofread surrounded by distractions. Find a quiet place where you will be free from interruptions before starting the process.
Take frequent breaks. Most people don't read an entire novel in a single sitting, so you shouldn't either. Proofread your novel in chunks of several chapters at a time so that you don't miss errors due to fatigue.
Use the assistance of others. Ask someone with a solid understanding of grammar and composition and a love of your chosen genre to read your novel and give you an unbiased opinion. Ask them for some of their best proofreading tips as well.
Don't rely too heavily on spelling and grammar checkers. They are handy tools and certainly have their place in writing, but they are far from infallible. There is simply no replacement for the human brain.
Read your paragraphs or chapters out of order. This will switch things up just enough that your mind won't remember what's next and you'll be more likely to catch those little trouble spots.
Be aware of your most frequent errors. Do you misspell words when you are on a roll? Are you a comma abuser? Is your work dotted throughout with ellipses? Print reminders to yourself on Post-its and keep them handy so that you can reign in your most annoying habits.
Check and recheck. Those sentences that already required revisions need to be double and triple-checked for errors. Errors in tense, spelling, or phrasing may have sneaked past you due to the original correction.
Keep reference books handy. No one can possibly keep all the rules for grammar, punctuation, and spelling straight all the time. This is where thesauruses, dictionaries, and style books come into play. You should use them often.
Read your novel aloud. Sometimes your ears will catch the errors that your eyes missed.
These ten tips distill the hundreds of pages in proof reading books I've ordered to the basics. Thanks, Randall.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: authors, writers resources, writers tips Tagged: proofing, writers resources, writing tips
October 1, 2011
Writers Tips #78: 8 Writing Tricks You Won't Read Anywhere Else
I got these suggestions from an internet class I never signed up for. One day, they began arriving in my inbox, bit by bit for the full term of some college's semester. Students submitted stories for grading, essays for peer review, questions to a discussion board of fellow-students. The anonymous professor had a down-to-earth approach to teaching that made sense to me. I found myself looking forward to her tips, then I copied them into my 'How to Write' folder. I've saved them all these years, and now I'll share them with you.
BTW–If you're the writer of these ideas, please send me a note so I can give you credit.
THE POWER OF THREE
Three items in a series, separated by commas that create a poetic rhythm or add support for a point, especially when the items have their own modifiers.
"In those woods, I would spend hours (1)listening to the wind rustle the leaves, (2)climbing the trees and spying on nesting birds, and (3)giving the occasional wild growl to scare away any pink-flowered girls who might be riding their bikes too close to my secret entra nce." (Todd, college freshman)
THE SPICE OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Non-literal comparisons add "spice" to writing and can help paint a more vivid picture for the reader. Include examples of similes, metaphors, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, personification, symbolism, irony, alliteration, assonance, etc.
"When we first moved into the house on Orchid Street, I didn't like it. My room was hot, cramped, and stuffy as a train in the middle of the Sahara. And the looming skeleton-like gray and white frame of the place scared me." (Teri, grade 7)
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DETAIL
Add vivid and specific information to your writing to clarify and create word pictures. Use sensory details to help the reader visualize the person, place, thing, or idea that you are describing.
"It's one of those experiences where you want to call a radio station and tell your problems to some guy who calls himself Dr. Myke, but how isn't more of a doctor than your pet hamster is, one of those experiences where you want to read a sappy Harlequin novel and listen to Barry Manilow with a box of bonbons as your best friends, one of those experiences where you wouldn't be surprised if someone came up to you and asked exactly what time yesterday you were born. Yeah, one of those." (Ileana)
THE BAM! OF REPETITION
Repeat a symbol, sentence starter, important word, etc. to underline its importance.
"The veranda is your way only shelter away from the sister in bed asleep, away from the brother that plays in the tree house in the field, away from your chores that await you." (Leslie)
THE POTENCY OF EXPANDING THE MOMENT
Take a moment that you would ordinarily speed past, and develop it fully to make your reader take notice.
"But no, I had to go to school. And as I said before, I had to listen to my math teacher preach about numbers and letters and figures…I was tired of hearing her annoying voice lecture about 'a=b divided by x.' I glared at the small black hands on the clock, silently threatening them to go faster. But they didn't listen, I caught myself wishing I were on white sand and looking down at almost transparent pale-blue water with Josh at my side…I don't belong in some dumb math class. I belong on the beach, where I can soak my feet in caressing water and let the wind wander its way through my chestnut-colored hair and sip Dr. Pepper all day long. " (Shelly)
THE SURPRISE OF HUMOR
Whenever possible and appropriate, inject a little humor to keep your reader awake.
"He laughed? I'm nothing. I'm the rear end of nothing, and the devil himself smiled at me." (Andrew)
THE ORIGINALITY OF HYPHENATED MODIFIERS
When you connect two adjectives or adverbs together with a hyphen, it lends an air of originality and sophistication to your writing.
"She's got this blond hair, with dark highlights, parted in the middle, down past her shoulders, and straight as a preacher. She's got big green eyes that all guys admire and all girls envy, and this I'm-so-beautiful-and-I-know-it body, you know, like every other super model." (Ilena)
SKILLFUL USE OF REPETITION: THE FULL-CIRCLE ENDING
When you include an image or phrase at the beginning of a piece of writing and then mention it again at the end, it gives your piece a sense of closure.
Beginning:
"Hey you, with the green and neon-orange striped shoelaces, you who always pulled my old frazzled white one in math. Hey you, who always added your versions of 'art' to my math problems for Mrs. Caton's class so that 9 x 7 = 64 turned out to be a train with Puffs of smoke and two boxcars and made me get an 83 instead of a 93 since Mrs. C. doesn't count locomotives as correct answers."
Ending:
"Now Justin still sits behind me in math with his neon-green and orange striped shoelaces and pulls on my old white frazzled ones. He still draws zombies on my homework, but he hasn't dumped another pitcher of Kool-Aid on me – - not yet at least. Oh, and by the way, in case you're wondering, his first words when he opened his eyes were, 'It was James Kenton who hid your clothes and made you walk around in a chicken suit…I'm not that mean." (Liz)
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: homeschool, teacher resources, words, writers, writers resources, writers tips, writing Tagged: good writing, writers resources, writing tips, writing tricks
September 29, 2011
How Your Characters Might Recognize an Emotion Part I
Emotion, as much as any other part of a story, must be shown, not told. How much more effective is it to say
He clenched is fists until his fingernails dug painfully into his palms
rather than
He was so angry, he saw red.
I've collected a list of actions characters display and participate in to communicate their emotions. Some are culled from other author's writings–how they effectively communicated the emotion (effective for me, anyway) and others from books on body language. You'll find some are in the main character's POV; some from that of one who is watching. They help me make sure my character's body language is in sync with what they're feeling.
Here's emotions A-F. Emotions G-Z are in the next post.
Anger
Photo credit: Jessie Lefkovitz
cold anger,
clenching jaws or grinding teeth
uncovering the teeth
headache
stomach ache
increased and rapid heart rate
sweating, especially your palms
feeling hot in the neck/face
shaking or trembling
dizziness
Emotionally you may feel:
like you want to get away
irritated
sad or depressed
guilty
resentful
anxious
like striking out verbally or physically
Also, you may notice that you are:
rubbing your head
cupping your fist with other hand
pacing
getting sarcastic
losing your sense of humor
acting in abusive/abrasive manner
craving a drink, a smoke or other substances that relax you
raising your voice
beginning to yell, scream, or cry
Anxiety
Photo credit: Peacock and Presley
Sweaty palms.
lip-compressionhttp://members.aol.com/nonverbal2/ten...,
lip-bite,
tongue-show,
tongue-in-cheek;
hand-to-hand, hand-to-body, and hand-behind-head hand-to-face
Astonishment
the eyes and mouth opened wide, the eyebrows raised
Concentration
frown or wrinkle beneath the lower eyelids
Deception
covering the mouth with the hands
rubbing the side of the nose
leaning away from you
micro shrug
voice pitch increases
Liars, he says, use more "negative emotion" words (hurt, ugly, nasty) and fewer first-person singulars
Depression
Recent Loss – through death, divorce, separation, broken relationship, loss of job, money, status, self-confidence, self-esteem, loss of religious faith, loss of interest in friends, sex, hobbies, activities previously enjoyed
forehead is wrinkled in the middle, but not across the whole breadth, as when the eyebrows are raised in surprise.
Change in Personality – sad, withdrawn, irritable, anxious, tired, apathetic Change in Sleep Patterns – insomnia, often with early waking or oversleeping, nightmares Change in Eating Habits – loss of appetite and weight, or overeating
Fear of losing control- harming self or others
Low self esteem- feeling worthless, shame, overwhelming guilt, self-hatred, "everyone would be better off without me" No hope for the future – believing things will never get better; that nothing will ever change
Other things to watch for- Suicidal impulses, statements, plans; giving away favorite things; previous suicide attempts
Defiance
hold body and head erect, square shoulders and clench fists
Disgust
Photo credit: evidence-based living
curled upper lip
narrowed or partly closed eyes;
side-to-side head-shakes;
protrusions of the tongue.
guttural sounds ("ach" or "ugh"), a
nose is drawn up and wrinkled
sneers or snarls at another
Doubt
throat-clear is a nonverbal indication of doubt
Excitement
heart race
breathing quicken
cheeks flush
skin tingles
pupils dilate
Lying
Listen for a subtle delay in responses to questions. An honest answer comes quickly from memory. Lies require a quick mental review of what they have told others to avoid inconsistency and to make up new details as needed.
Be conscious of their wording. Verbal expression can give many clues as to whether a person is lying, such as:
Lowered heads indicate a reason to hide something. If it is after an explanation, then he may be lying, unsure if what they said was correct Look into their eyes. Liars will consecutively look at you and look away a number of times.
People who look away while you are talking to them are thinking about something else.
Using/repeating your own exact words when answering a question
NOT using contractions
Avoiding direct statements or answers
Speaking excessively in an effort to convince
Speaking in a monotonous tone
Leaving out pronouns (he, she, it, etc.)
Speaking in muddled sentences
Allow silence to enter the conversation. Observe how uncomfortable and restless the person becomes.
Change the subject quickly. While an innocent person would be confused by the sudden shift in the conversation and may try to return to the previous subject, a liar will be relieved and welcome the change.
Watch his throat. A person may be either trying to lubricate their throat when he/she lies OR swallowing to avoid the tension built up
Watch hands, arms and legs, which tend to be limited, stiff, and self-directed when the person is lying. The hands may touch or scratch their face, nose or behind an ear, but are not likely to touch their chest or heart
See if they are telling you too much
Fear
Photo credit: Being Latino online magazine
tight muscles
cold hands or feet
fluttery stomach
shortness of breath
diarrhea or frequent urination
lower pulse rate
general feelings of weaknes or in extreme cases, complete freezing-up, or paralysis
trembling lips or trembling body
fast heart beat, sweating
Fear may show in
release of apocrine odor
increase in heart/breathing rate
crouching, crying
faster eye-blink flashbulb eyes , staring eyes with dilated pupils
the fear grin, tense-mouth
hair-bristling, squirm cues
tightened muscle tension
§ sweaty palms throat-clearing
an audibly tense tone-of-voice
Can you add to this list? How do you convey emotion in your characters?
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: characters, writers resources Tagged: body language, characterizations, characters, emotions
September 27, 2011
Tech Tip for Writers #20: How to Add A Link to Word
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I'll share one of those with you. They're always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: I want to link my Word document (or my Outlook email) to a website. How do I do that?
A: Follow these easy steps:
Go to the website you want to link to
Copy the address from the address bar (Ctrl copy or Edit-paste from the menus)
Return to your Word doc or email (from the taskbar at the bottom of the screen)
Highlight the words that you want to use to link to the website
Press Ctrl K
Press Ctrl V
Push enter
The word has turned blue with a line under it, showing it is a link
To use it, your readers will push Ctrl click on the link
There are a lot of sophisticated options that go along with adding links, but this is the quick and easy way.
Questions you want answered? Leave a comment here and I'll answer it within the next thirty days.
To sign up for Tech Tips delivered to your email, click here.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: tech tips for writers Tagged: links, MS Word, tech tips, writers tips
September 26, 2011
Writer's Tip #77: It's OK to Fail Over and Over and Try Again
Great tips for soon-to-be great writers
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.
This one hit home. Sometimes, when my blues become black, I wonder why I can't quit this painful profession called writing. Then, I saw Yuvi Zalkow's video:
Episode 5: Writing in the Cold (I'm A Failed Writer Series) from Yuvi Zalkow on Vimeo.
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Questions you want answered? Leave a comment and I'll answer it within the next thirty days.
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Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice , book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com , Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, an IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education . Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: writers tips, writing Tagged: failing, try harder, writers life, Zalkow
September 23, 2011
Southern California Writers Conference
This weekend, I'll be attending the 9th Annual Southern California Writers Conference in Los Angeles (held in Newport Beach). It's Sept. 23-25, starts early and ends well after dark. The guys who run it don't understand the need for sleep us mere
This weekend, from 8am till well after midnight.
mortals have and have 'rogue' workshops till well after midnight. I tuck in earlier so don't look for me there. It promises to provide 'authoritative guidance to help distinguish material ready for market consideration' and has facilitated nearly $4 million worth of first-time authors' book and screen deals. The last mss I took there (February in their San Diego location), I got essential guidance that changed big parts of my story for the better. I couldn't have been happier with my investment of time and money.
I'm hoping to repeat that. This year, I have an iPad instead of my clunky laptop that was constantly out of power. Where's the closest duplex plug??? Which adage will win out this weekend? Will 'history repeat itself'? Or 'we can't go back' and the reviewers' comments will be a mere shadow of their predecessors foundational guidance?
Either way, the workshops are wonderful so I won't be wasting my time. They are pithy, nuts and bolts, mostly offered by professionals who seem to care that we-all wanna-be successful writers make it. I'm impressed with the presenters usually.
If you live in SoCal and are considering attending, here are my thoughts on the last SCWC I attended.
If you're there this weekend, come find me! I'll be alone, looking for new friends. If you don't go, get some sleep for me.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: writers resources Tagged: writers conference, writers resources
September 21, 2011
Book Review: Cold Glory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Note to Readers: This review is part of my Amazon Vine series of reviews.
B. Kent Anderson's first novel Cold Glory (Tom Doherty 2011) is not the typical mystery/thriller.While the story deals with an unsolved mystery, uses murders and bad guys to move the plot forward, the characters are developed as you might see in literary fiction–with lots of internal pensiveness and personal problems that interfere with the main plot line, but Anderson's prologue does such a good job of drawing readers in that I had to read until I could uncover the tie-ins.
Nick Journey, a small town college professor and expert in the Civil War, is asked to review newly-discovered arms and documents uncovered in Oklahoma. When his story hits the news, someone tries to kill him and his family is threatened. When he decides his best defense is to solve the mystery of why someone cares enough about the documents to threaten him, he ends up on a cross-country chase accompanied by FBI agent Meg Tolman, racing against time to resolve the clues before the shadowy men threatening him can unfurl the fullness of their plan.You get a good sense of the two main characters in this verbal exchange: "I don't know if I can guarantee your safety (Journey talking to Tolman)." "I'll guarantee my own safety (Tolman responding)."
Yes, that sounds like the fodder of a typical mystery/thriller, but just as the plot is quickening, Anderson stumbles, interjecting plot pieces or descriptions as though he's trying too hard to fulfill the thriller genre. For example, Journey's office is ransacked and Anderson attempts to extend the threat beyond his main character to Journey's handicapped son by saying, "The fissure in the glass slashed directly across the boy's face." This is an obvious reference to the boy's safety, one which is repeated throughout the story with no real result. Anderson has some difficulty fully fleshing out his characters, despite both Journey and Tolman having appealing side-lives, the former raising an autistic son and the latter trying to develop a part-time career as a concert pianist. Somehow, they failed to garner my empathy. Additionally, Anderson has difficulty pacing the story, breaking often from the main plot to delve into side stories. These interrupt the plot's rhythm and thus the tension. Meg Tolman musing over her weekend plans and Nick Journey toddling through the daily events in his boy's life are interesting in their own way, but don't contribute to the rising sense of fear that usually accompanies a mystery/thriller.
Interestedly enough and despite my difficulties with the character development and pace, when I finished the book, I realized I had experienced a wonderful story. It is not the typical mystery/thriller, but one with the author's signature, off-center and appealing in its own unique way. In what other mystery/thriller would you read, "He changed Andrew and popped in a CD for him. It was approaching five o'clock and he needed to start thinking about dinner. It was strange, he thought, how in the midst of secret societies and weapons caches and thoughts about running down that gunman, life could still be rooted in the ordinary, in things every other parent did–finding something their child would eat." I found I liked this approach and Anderson's courage for writing it.
One issue I couldn't resolve was Nick Journey himself. He is depicted as an out-of-shape professor whose minor league baseball days are far in his rear view mirror, but manages to outrun ex-Special Forces operatives, outwit criminal masterminds and out-think his adversary on a regular basis. I liked his cleverness, ingenuity, but was pretty confused by him.
Overall, if you're a Civil War buff, you're going to love the history contained in this story. If you aren't, you'll love the story anyway.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: book reviews, thrillers Tagged: book review, thrillers
September 20, 2011
Tech Tip for Writers #19: How to Activate a Link in Word
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I'll share one of those with you. They're always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q:I see a blue phrase on my page. It's underlined. I'm told that's a link to a website. How do I make it work?
A: Activating a link in MS Word or most of the MS Office products is pretty simple.
hover over the word or phrase
Push Ctrl click to activate
Mousing over a word or phrase displays its tool tips. In this case, it'll tell you to Ctrl click to visit the website.
Click to find out how to add a link yourself.
Questions you want answered? Leave a comment here and I'll answer it within the next thirty days.
To sign up for Tech Tips delivered to your email, click here.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: tech tips for writers Tagged: links, MS Word, tech tips, writers tips
September 19, 2011
Writer's Tip #76: Use a Photo to Develop Characters, Setting
Great tips for soon-to-be great writers
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.
This tip was brought to mind by one of my readers, Penny. My current WIP is so far from its beginnings that I'd forgotten it started with photos to draw character profiles and Google Earth images to create the setting details. But it did. I remember browsing through internet images of paleoanthropologists, staring in their eyes to see if they were Kali Delamagente or Zeke Rowe (my two main characters). Did they have her fragile spirit or his swash-buckling former SEAL-now-scientist persona? Once I found the right image, I read everything I could find about that sort of person and came up with a character that worked. Then, I pasted the pictures to the walls of my office so every time they were in scene, I'd see them, notice how they moved, remember how their head tilted in thought or their brows furrowed in confusion.
Settings were the same. To make them authentic, I searched out every location on Google Earth, then traveled the streets, the towns, the neighborhoods to get a sense of what my characters would experience. If Kali or Zeke walked from Columbia University to her apartment a couple of blocks away (he lives in an NSA safe house in Englewood), I walked it first to see what bodega they passed, how busy were the streets, what type of people visited local businesses. This way, I could add flavor, emotion to my scenes. A few times, I had to adjust the scene because Google Street View told me it couldn't have happened the way I'd written. Anyone with a wide audience knows they tell you all your mistakes, so the less that slip through, the better.
So this tip is a big one. Don't think you can skip visualizing your characters and settings. Take the time to find out about your story's fundamentals and then let your people and locations drive the story.
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Questions you want answered? Leave a comment and I'll answer it within the next thirty days.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com , Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, an IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education . Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: characters, setting, writers tips Tagged: characters, setting, writers tips
