Terry Odell's Blog, page 63

Banned Book Week

Banned Book Week

Coming in at the tail end of Banned Book Week (Sept. 27-Oct 3, 2020) to remind everyone that we should treasure the freedom to read.

Here’s a little history from the American Libraries Magazine:

Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s, a time of increased challenges, organized protests, and the Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) Supreme Court case, which ruled that school officials can’t ban books in libraries simply because of their content.

Banned books were show...

Mixed Up Words

Image by Наталия Когут from Pixabay

Mixed Up Words

It would appear that contributors to The Kill Zone Blog have been looking for ways to lighten things up. We’ve  had posts on mondegreens, egcorns, and bloopers. I’m taking a look at mixed up words–what happens when editorial eyes (be they the eyes of editors, authors, critique partners, or beta readers) miss things.

I hope you’ll pop over and join the discussion. How many of these mistakes would you have caught? Or maybe made yourself?

The post ...

Are Your Scenes Pulling Their Weight?

Are Your Scenes Pulling Their Weight?

Image by Ben Landers from Pixabay

I submitted a chapter to my critique group recently, and one of my partners said she found little to complain about, but she didn’t think the scene had enough conflict, that it didn’t really move the mystery along.

That got me thinking about scenes and their functions, and how reasonable her question was. There’s nothing wrong with having a “quiet” scene once in a while. It gives readers a chance to breathe. In this case, Go...

Bulwer-Lytton Winners 2020

Bulwer-Lytton Winners 2020

Since 1982 the English Department at San Jose State University has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose opening sentences to the worst of all possible novels.

The contest (hereafter referred to as the BLFC) was the misbegotten brainchild of Professor Scott Rice, whose graduate school excavations unearthed what he took to be the source of the line “It was a dark and stormy night.” Sentenced...

Is Beautiful Prose Enough?

Is Beautiful Prose Enough?

Image by Mediamodifier from Pixabay

Last month’s book club selection was another “literary” piece of work. Another best-selling author. One I’ve heard speak. I’d read another book by him, so I felt confident I’d enjoy this one. Excellent writing. Beautiful prose. But is beautiful prose—rich language, vivid descriptions, creative metaphors—enough?

For me, beautiful prose won’t make up for characters I don’t care about.I n this case, the protagonist was a 13-year-old boy...

Taking the Day Off

During our family virtual meeting to toast the new year, the sad news that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lost her battle with cancer hit. And it hit us hard.

Given the onslaught of political responses when this should have been a time of mourning and respect, I’m taking today off from the blog.

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New Year 5781

New Year 5781

2020  has been (and continues to be) quite the year. However, maybe thinking of it via the Jewish calendar, where it’s 5781, might give a brief respite.

 

Our family tradition revolves around the meal (which is true for virtually all Jewish holidays–they tried to kill us, we prevailed, let’s eat). Sweet dishes are the norm on Rosh Hashanah, to kick the new year off to a sweet start. At our table, dessert was always Pflaumkuchen (plum cake). The recipe varied, depending on which re...

Indie Publishing and Going Wide

Indie Publishing and Going Wide

I’m sharing my story about how I got into indie publishing, and why I prefer going wide instead of putting all my eggs in one basket. Join the conversation over at The Kill Zone Blog.

The post Indie Publishing and Going Wide appeared first on Terry Odell.

How Real Are Your Characters?

Image by Comfreak from Pixabay

How real are your characters? We definitely want them to be real to our readers, and I think most authors accept them as real beings as we write.

Recently, one of my critique partners had commented to another that a scene she’d written didn’t seem to fit with the police detective protagonist’s job. That the people he was interviewing were too far removed from the “find the killer” plot. The author’s response was that her stories are a combination of police procedur...

Never Forget

September 11, 2001

I remember this day, and a time when the country stood united.

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