Terry Odell's Blog, page 326

Conquering The Short Synopsis

What I'm reading: Make Her Pay, by Roxanne St. ClaireI finished the first draft of a two-page synopsis for my mystery. I used my storyboard tracking, and it was much easier than any other method I've tried. For longer synopses, some will summarize each chapter as they write, then combine them for a rough draft of a synopsis. However, to condense 32 chapters into 2 pages, I found it easy enough to

Criminal Thinking 2

What I'm reading: Feel the Heat, by Cindy Gerard.I'm continuing the repeats of my Nov. 2008 series on Criminal Thinking, taken from my workshop notes. See last week's entry here.A brief recap: Malinowski defines "criminal" as someone who lives a lifestyle of crime. To a criminal, the usual boundaries of authority don't apply. In his presentation, Malinowski also stressed the difference between

Traditons

One of our family traditions:(which contains the answer to yesterday's question)May you all find something to be thankful for, no matter where you are.

Lizards, Turkey and Voice

Thanks to Jessica for sharing her experiences and reminding us that although things might be different, there's an underlying sameness to the basics of our lives.A while back, fellow author Patricia Stoltey mentioned seeing some cow street art in Colorado. I was reminded of a LizArt project here in Orlando some years ago, in which artists created sculptures using basic lizard "templates."As I

A Cultural Divide. Or is it?

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family. Although my daughter can't be here in the flesh, she is my guest today. Please give a warm welcome to Jessica Odell; ju-jistu black belt, first reader, brainstorming partner, fight scene choreographer, and supplier of excellent Irish libations. I found myself moving to Northern Ireland in the summer of 2006, thanks to hubby's job in the UK military. How

Does Size Matter?

I'm a warehouse shopper. A bargain hunter. Warehouse club over boutique store. Large economy size. I read the shelf tags that break cost down to amount per ounce. So when I'm shopping for a book, I'll tend to steer away from the shorter ones. I'm not looking for a 'read in one sitting' book for my money. My typical leisure reading rate is about 100 pages a day. I normally look for a book at least

Criminal Thinking

If you follow writing, you're probably aware of the hoopla surrounding Harlequin's new vanity press and the responses from major writers' organizations, such as RWA and MWA. There's plenty of that to read elsewhere. But bottom line: in publishing, money is supposed to flow TO the author. Vanity publishing exists, and writers should be allowed to choose. However, the Harlequin approach of dangling

Pulling Weeds, Smoking Guns

What I'm reading: An Echo in the Bone, by Diana GabaldonSo, the landscaping is finished. We did lose one nice sago palm along with the native shrubs, but a potential buyer won't know it's gone. It was a case of not pointing it out to the contractor when he took stock of what to do with our yard, so the crew simply looked at the overall result, not the specific individual pieces. Like our sago

Does Your Manuscript Have Curb Appeal?

What I'm reading: Hothouse Orchid, by Stuart Woods. I'm also over at Pen to Paper. And, despite much resistance, Elizabeth's post guilted me into joining Twitter. I'm one of the "Women to Watch" in the Nov/Dec issue of Orange Appeal. Link on my website. And NOWHERE TO HIDE has a release date: August 20, 1020.Curb Appeal: As I mentioned on Monday, we'd had enough comments that our house lacked

A Dog's Life

Welcome to this week's guest, EPIC Award nominee, Teri Wilson.I lost my friend's dog this week.Not just any dog. Madeline is a Champion Toy Fox Terrier. She's less than a year old and already boasts many fancy ribbons and has her own blog. And I'm not just any pet sitter. I have my own dogs, who I adore and show in conformation and obedience dog shows as well. One of my dogs is a therapy dog and