Terry Odell's Blog, page 84

Dual Protagonists or Primary and Secondary Characters?

Dual Protagonists or Primary and Secondary Characters?

I talked to a mystery writer once about my romantic suspense books having dual protagonists, and he couldn’t wrap his head around the concept. He insisted there could be only one.

I’ve been busy working on the current manuscript, and as I’m approaching the 30,000 word mark, I had one of those wee hours of the morning thoughts that put an end to sleep. The book is a romantic suspense, set in my Pine Hills Police universe. Genre conventions...

You’ll Never Get it “Right.” Accept It.

You’ll Never Get it “Right.” Accept It.

The other day, I was asking my critique partner for help with a clunky sentence. I wanted to show the character using his car’s audio system to play his phone’s playlist. We got bogged down in the steps her car takes when she connects her phone versus how mine operates. And then there’s the whole “depends on your last settings” wrinkle, too. All in all, it means that no matter how I write it, someone’s car will behave differently, and they’ll think I g...

Your Writing Process. Accept That It Is What It Is

I hope everyone had a good holiday, no matter what you celebrate.

I’ve talked about my writing process several times, and I’ve stressed that it’s not a cage you’re locked into. You find what works, knowing that it can change. I thought my next book might be one of those “different” processes.

I’d finished writing Personal Assignment, and had started working on my next project, a new Pine Hills Police book. I stuck to my process, which was to sketch out my hero and heroine and their goals and...

Character Job Application – Meet Ryan Harper

Meet Ryan Harper

This will be my last post over at Booklover’s Bench. I plan to keep visiting, and hope you will too. There are some great authors there, and they’re giving away books every month. I’ve been with the site since it came into being, and I have bittersweet feelings about leaving, but nothing is forever.

Last time I was over there, I shared Frankie’s interview for the job of heroine in When Danger Calls. I thought it only right to share Ryan Harper’s job interview as well.

You can...

Up for a RONE Award. Need Your Help.

Falcon’s Prey is up for a RONE Award.

I was recently notified that, because of the review for Falcon’s Prey in InD’Tale magazine, it’s eligible for a RONE (Reward of Novel Excellence) award. The judging is a three step process. I’ve cleared the first hurdle, which was getting a 5-star review from a magazine’s reviewer. The final cut, where winners are chosen, is made by industry professionals—editors, professors, writers, etc. However, this year, there’s an another hurdle to clear. In years p...

Do Books Become Outdated?

Do Books Become Outdated? Does it Matter?

I received a gift copy of Robert Heinlein’s The Man Who Sold the Moon recently. I used to read a lot of science fiction, including most of Heinlein, so I looked forward to reading these classic stories.

I found it interesting that these were written in the 1930s and 40s, but set in the “future” as perceived by Heinlein. How much of his reality came “true.” While Heinlein correctly predicted space travel, he totally missed creating computers. Scientist...

Tips for Using Apostrophes

Since I returned from the Galapagos, it seems as if the universe has moved just enough so nothing functions properly. One problem: My blog isn’t always getting out to subscribers and the various feeds. My web designer has been looking into why my posts aren’t being sent, and she suggested I send another as a test. Rather than do a “This is a Test” post, I’m rerunning a post on the apostrophe. No matter that I wrote this several years ago, I still see the same issues, so maybe it’ll help someo...

Pro Writers on Writing

Writers on Writing

 

 

Recently, I was asked to become a contributor to a new blog for writers, Pro Writers on Writing. I was flattered to be asked, and will be one of the “Alternate Contributors” which means I’ll be showing up there every six weeks, on Sundays.

They asked all their contributors to start with a post about their writing process. My article runs today, and I hope you’ll not only read it, but also check the blog—you can subscribe via email, too—and see what all the participatin...

My Great Galapagos Adventure – Part 3

My Great Galapagos Adventure – Part 3

In case you missed my first recaps, Part 1 is here; Part 2 is here.

Many of the animals, as I’ve mentioned, are only found in the Galapagos, and some only on specific islands. Over the course of our tours, we saw almost all of them, I think. The only “major” creature we didn’t see was an albatross. We saw boobies: red-footed; blue-footed; and Nazcar.
We saw iguanas, sea lions, penguins, dolphins, sharks, a whale … one of the beauties of being on a small b...

Newsletter Issues, and my Apologies

I learned that my newsletter service had lost the names of everyone who signed up personally after my last newsletter went out on February 12th. They have apologized profusely, but that doesn’t get my names back. If you signed up after February 12th and didn’t get my newsletter yesterday (check your spam filters, too), you can either sign up again (go to the newsletter tab above) or email me (use the contact form) and I will do everything I can to get you reinstated and send you yesterday’s e...