Terry Odell's Blog, page 116

Getting a Derailed Manuscript Back on Track

Anyone reading this blog for any length of time knows that I’m not much of a plotter. I have a plan, based on genre expectations, but not much more. I hop on the train and start going.

As I near the end of the book, to make sure it doesn’t just wander off into uncharted territory and fall off a cliff, I start making notes. And that’s where I am in the current WIP. It’s been chugging along, but I need to make sure the train doesn’t get stuck on a siding, or not notice someone has thrown the sw...

I’m Interviewed at Fangirl Nation

I’m in the interview seat today! Come over to Fangirl Nation where they asked me some interesting questions.

 

And don’t forget – the Booklover’s Bench contest runs through May 18th. Don’t tell me you’re not interested in winning a $25 gift card. You know you are, but you can’t win if you don’t enter.

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Character Interviews — Lizzie Leaf’s Emma Grant

Thanks for allowing me to interview you today, Emma. First, a few introductory questions.

Your name:  Emma Grant|
The book you’re in: Beyond Magic
Your author’s name:  Lizzie T. Leaf
Your role: Heroine

And now, on with the interview:

What was your favorite part of being a character in this book?
I enjoyed that the author allowed me to grow into a stronger woman by the end of the story.

Do you have any input into how the story goes, or does your author call all the shots?
She thinks she called...

Character Interviews – Lizzie Leaf’s Emma Grant

Thanks for allowing me to interview you today, Emma. First, a few introductory questions.

Your name:  Emma Grant|
The book you’re in: Beyond Magic
Your author’s name:  Lizzie T. Leaf
Your role: Heroine

And now, on with the interview:

What was your favorite part of being a character in this book?
I enjoyed that the author allowed me to grow into a stronger woman by the end of the story.

Do you have any input into how the story goes, or does your author call all the shots?
She thinks she called...

Writing Retreat Recaps – the Legal Side

This is the final recap from the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Retreat. I hope you’ve found something useful in them.

Previous posts:

Overview    Social Media part 1     Social Media part 2      Editing

Susan Spann, who in addition to being a mystery author is also a lawyer specializing in intellectual property, business and publishing contracts. Her third presentation dealt with managing the legal side of a writing career. Note: These are generalizations and are things authors should consid...

Writing Retreat Recaps – Editing

I’ve been recapping my experiences at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Retreat. You can find my other recaps here:

Overview    Social Media part 1     Social Media part 2

The next workshop I attended was on the writing/editing process. In this workshop, Susan Spann shared her methods. As with everything writing-related, you have to find your own process, and while Spann and I probably have the most diametrically opposed methods of writing, there are always things to consider. You find what...

What’s Cooking Wednesday – Pork Tenderloin With Apples

Pork Tenderloin with Apples

Ingredients:
2 boneless pork tenderloins
2 medium apples (recipe called for Granny Smith, but I had Golden Delicious on hand, and they worked fine.)
3 T flour
1 t ground cumin
1-2 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 T red wine vinegar
c chicken broth
2 T honey
1 T tomato paste
S&P

Instructions:
Core and peel apples; cut into thick slices
Season pork with S&P
Combine flour with cumin. Dredge pork in the mixture
Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Brown meat on all s...

Character Interviews – Adriana Kraft’s Tommy Tower

Thanks for letting me interview you, Tommy. First, a few introductory questions:

Your name:  Tommy Tower
The book you’re in: The Painter is a Lady
Your author’s name: Adriana Kraft
Your role: Son of the heroine

And now, on with the interview.

What was your favorite part of being a character in this book?
I may be only going on twelve, but I know better than to leak a spoiler! Here’s what I can tell you—all the grown-ups around me have huge secrets, and they think I don’t know anything, but I...

Writing Retreat Recaps – Social Media Part 2

Last Thursday, I recapped the first part of Susan Spann’s workshop on social media from the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Retreat. After giving us a general overview of ways to use social media as writers, she gave some specifics for three of the platforms, and I’ll hit her bullet points here. Any errors are mine.

First, though, I want to repeat something she said that I included in part 1 of my recap: Content providers show a better ROI (Return on Investment) than advertising. And I interpr...

Writing Retreat Recaps – Social Media Part 1

On Monday, I gave an overview of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Retreat at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs. Our days started (after breakfast, of course!) with a hour-long workshop. The first was on Managing Social Media, presented by Susan Spann.

Any errors, misinterpretations, or omissions are mine.

Writers like consistency and find comfort in routines. Social media means they have to be willing to accept change (which, on some platforms seems to happen daily.)

One iss...