It’s easy to get out of the habit of blogging. I’ve really been a slacker, haven’t I? In more ways than one. Hopefully, that will change with the first of the new year. Yes, I’m still alive, and tomorrow I MUST finish up my Christmas shopping–whether I want to or not.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes. Anything here you can relate to?
IWSG: A Blank Mind
Today is IWSG day–the first Wednesday of each month. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can follow other IWSG members here and on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG.
Our purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds.
But unfortunately, I can’t think of one thing to say to you: not one word of encouragement or guidance–no words of wisdom whatsoever. I feel like a blackboard with smears of chalky white. All my ideas and plans have been erased leaving nothing but unidentifiable smudges behind. Ever felt that way?
Obviously, I’m in a funk. Maybe you have a word or two for me.
Christmas Short Stories – MINE!
When Marketing Assistant Bretta Richert helps tie up loose ends for the extravagant Louisiana Wedding Gala held that very night, she’s stunned to come face to face with her ex-fiance. Cory is back in town and worse, he’s a huge part of the Gala.
Bretta has held grudges and nursed hurts for the past five years, but Cory acts as though they’ve never been apart. Can he explain why he never called or sent one measly post card? Should Bretta forgive and forget? Will she accept his gift of a lifetime?
IWSG: Reviews–Gotta Love ’em!
IWSG is the brainchild of our awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you want to become a part of this group, check out our website. I should say, check out our beautiful, informative website. Lots to see and learn there! We’re also on Facebook now. Exciting!
Today, let’s talk about reviews … or should I say, let’s whine about reviews. Actually, I don’t want to talk or whine… I want you to explain them to me. Aren’t reviews a little like voting? Can a bad review cancel out a good one? Does each review stand alone? No doubt, they all confuse me.
I’ve really enjoyed the reviews I’ve received on my novella, The Last Daughter. I have thirty of them. I know it takes time to figure out what to say, so I appreciate everyone (yes, everyone) who took the time to write one.
It thrills me to think thirty people actually read my book … and I have friends who read it that don’t review. Ever notice how weird friends act around you before they read your book? Like … they’re scared it’s going to be crummy and they won’t know what to say to you. I understand that. I’ve felt that way too. And then there are friends who buy it, read it … don’t tell you until afterwards. I understand that too. Better to protect friendships. (I knew a guy who sent his friends detailed critiques of their published books. Ouch!)
I guess my biggest complaint about reviews is when someone writes that there are huge gaps in the story, that it didn’t make sense. That hurts. Especially when I worked hard to create/construct a story that makes sense. I want to know where those gaps are.
A couple of people stated The Last Daughter was a horrible story. For one person, that wasn’t strong enough. S/he said, “Horrible. Horrible. Horrible.” I guess three horribles makes it worse than horrible. Point taken. Stories that have to do with abuse aren’t for everyone. Yeah, it gets a little dark but you read worse in the newspaper.
Oddly, these reviews haven’t bothered me. Seriously, they haven’t, but they have confused me. Were there gaps because of a glitch in the epublishing, the formatting? Couldn’t a reader tell if that happened? Or did I seriously screw up some transitions?
One review that had me really confused was the one that said, “I really enjoyed the book which moved along at a nice pace. The one thing I never like in any novel is when the female allows a man to have the upper hand, as this one did with her ex boyfriend. She should never have allowed him back into her life.”
Ex boyfriend? What ex-boyfriend? She didn’t have one. Still, I’m glad she liked my story and thought I had good pacing. That’s important.
I did get some excellent reviews. Believe it or not, not all of them came from family and friends. Some of the “fun” ones are HERE.
30 Reviews
| 5 star: | (13) | |
| 4 star: | (10) | |
| 3 star: | (2) | |
| 2 star: | (2) | |
| 1 star: |
|
(3) |
Share with me: how do you feel about reviews? Do you learn anything from them? (I’ll be paying closer attention to transitions–just in case!) Some of my friends say they never read them. Really? C’mon, never?
Guest Blogging at Long and Short Reviews
I’m guest blogging on Nov. 1st at Long and Short Reviews. http://www.longandshortreviews.com/category/guest-blogs/ There have been a lot of bloggers during the past four days with each post having its own time slot.
I will appear at 10 A.M. Eastern time. Here’s the link to my post but it won’t work until that time: http://wp.me/p2ZcT9-6fY
Leave a comment tomorrow on that post, and I’ll toss you in the pot for a prize–a mask and beads just in time for Mardi Gras! Believe me, Mardi Gras can be just as spooky as Halloween.
Do you have Halloween parties? Dress up in creepy costumes? Have you ever attended Mardi Gras? Share something spooky with us.
Bayou Writers Group presents 2013 Bridge To Publication
Next month–Saturday, November 9, 2013–is our Bayou Writers’ Group annual conference called Bridge To Publication. It’s a small, cheap conference but we always have quality speakers. Just look at this line-up.
Jill Marr – Agent with Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency: Jill is interested in commercial fiction, with an emphasis on mysteries, thrillers and horror, women’s commercial fiction and historical fiction. She is also looking for nonfiction by authors who are getting their work published regularly in magazines and who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience. Jill is looking for nonfiction projects in the areas of self-help, inspirational, cookbooks, memoir (she especially loves travel and foodie memoirs), health & nutrition, pop culture, humor and music. She will be taking pitches. http://www.dijkstraagency.com/Stella Riley – Aquisitions Editor for Soul Mate Publishing – She will be taking pitches. http://www.bayouwritersgroup.
If you want to drive to Lake Charles, LA for this one-day event we’d love to have you. Go to our blog where you can download the registration form. Did I say cheap? Just look at these prices!
_________ $35 for BWG Members (Must be received by Nov. 1)
_________ $40 for Non-Members (Must be received by Nov. 1)
_________$50 At the Door on Nov. 9
_________$25 Students— with ID
The Last Daughter – FREE
Just a short quick post to let you all know The Last Daughter, my romantic suspense, is FREE today through Friday. I hope you’ll all download it whether you read it or not. Here’s the link:
Blog Talk Radio anyone?
Today is IWSG day–the first Wednesday of each month. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can follow other IWSG members here and on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG.
Our purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!
The past few weeks have been a whirl wind of activity. Standing face to face and eye to eye and toe to toe with promotion and social media has been a real learning experience. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not good at it. The experts tell us to establish relationships on Facebook and Twitter. To say witty things that get attention and make people laugh. Things that make people want to respond. That’s hard. I’m okay with people I know–I can be funny. With friends, my jokes come across as just that–jokes–not rude or hateful sarcasm. How do you distinguish between sounding funny on social media and sounding mean? That has to be an art.
Yesterday I did an interview on Blog Talk Radio promoting my short story, If You Believe, which will release by Helping Hands Press tomorrow, I think. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I felt as if I was using words for the very first time. I can’t imagine how I sounded–wait! I CAN imagine! I’m a Texan who has lived in Louisiana for the past 30 years. You probably know how I sound now too. Remind me not to do radio interviews again–and tack TV onto that too. I don’t think fast enough for either. I’m not a ‘small-talk’ person. In fact, I’m incredibly shy. I think it would have been better if I’d been able to look into the face of my interviewer. A friendly face is encouraging. Right?
Anyway… that’s where I am. Learning how to promote and talk about my books and stories and … I don’t like it very much.
If you want to hear my blog talk interview, you can go to the link below. My mind went blank a time or two. I’m sure you’ll be able to tell. Thank goodness my host was good at covering my silence.
Every Day is a Saturday
Since hubby retired I’ve lost all track of time. All my summer TV shows have ended. Once Upon A Time starts again next Sunday. Can’t wait! Hey, did any of you catch the first episode of Sleepy Hollow? Wow! It grabbed me. I don’t remember Irving’s Ichabod Crane being so cute. Tonight I’ll be enthralled in the second episode. Will you be watching it?
I watch Duck Dynasty periodically–always good for a laugh and a few life lessons. I know of some Louisiana people that are insulted by them, but really, this bunch could be from anywhere. I’m originally from East Texas and I have family members that look, sound and act just like the Duck Dynasty bunch. Come to think of it, I sound a little like them too.
I’m once again wrapped up in Project Runway–the only reality show I’m dedicated to. Odd since I can barely sew on a button much less create something one could actually wear. My mother almost put me up for adoption during my Home Economics sewing project.
Without my TV shows, I never know if it’s a Tuesday, Wednesday or a Thursday. Truthfully, every day feels like a Saturday. Nothing feels real since we left Oklahoma.
And as you know I haven’t blogged.
I suppose all bloggers need a break now and then. Unfortunately, a break can turn into a very long time. I loved my blogging habit. I think I started in 2006 or early 2007. Now, I’m in non-blogging mode. Time to get back on track.
This weekend daughter invited her dad to see the LSU-Auburn game with her. They left around noon and got back to Lafayette around 1:00 A.M.
While they were doing their thing, I met with a couple of very dear writer friends. When we lived in New Iberia, I’d drive into Lafayette to visit Barbara and Ro. We were all members of the Writer’s Guild of Acadiana. That was 27 years ago. After we moved away, the three of us still visited each other, entered contests and went to conferences together. We all eventually got published one after another–books, short stories or poems. Barbara sold ten Silhouette Romances before she quit writing. Ro published poetry and short pieces and ghost-wrote a nonfiction book. Her novel Hero’s Welcome is available now and I can guarantee it’s a wonderful read–about the POWs in Louisiana. She studied under Ernest Gaines and her novel–prepublished–won all kinds of awards. I’ve read it several times but I can still remember my very first reading, and how excited I was that it was so wonderful. You know how you feel when you get hold of a really good book. I read Hero’s Welcome straight through without putting it down.
When hubby, daughter and I moved to Luling, Louisiana, we added another writer friend to our circle: Barbara Colley, author of several romances, a Women’s Fiction/saga and the Maid for Murder series set in New Orleans.
I love these friends. I wish we could go back to the way it used to be–meeting every week, keeping each other motivated, encouraging each other. Sad to say nothing stays the same. Believe it or not, I think I’d like it if things were always the same… as long as ‘same’ was good.
What are you guys doing? Finishing up manuscripts? Blogging daily? Have you sold anything? Let me hear from you.
MEET PAULA MOWERY
I was lurking on one of my writer’s loops the other day and “saw” Paula Mowery talking about deep point of view. That subject always fascinates me so I asked her to be a guest blogger. Paula is also an acquisitions editor for Prism Book Group so she knows what she’s talking about. You can take a look at her editor bio at www.prismbookgroup.com.
I know you’ll enjoy and learn from her post.
DPOV Basics
by Paula Mowery
Through my experience of writing and having books published as well as editing for my acquired authors, I have developed some basic things to look for in terms of deep point of view. POV essentially refers to the character the reader is experiencing the story through at a given time. This perspective can be deepen or honed to allow the reader to connect even more strongly with the POV character. To have the reader feel as though she/he is experiencing what the character is experiencing is what the writer wants to achieve. This is the goal of DPOV.
Here is a mental checklist I use when revising my work or someone else’s:
1. Check for head-hopping. The writer must remain in the same POV
until indicating in some way that they will be changing (insert a wingding or start a new chapter). Please don’t make your reader dizzy by hopping from the thoughts of one character to another. When in a certain POV, write only what that character would do, say, think, observe.
2. Only write what the POV character can sense. The POV character shouldn’t give a physical description of herself/himself. For example: Her cheeks reddened. The POV character can’t see this.
Better: Heat rushed up her neck and into her cheeks.
3. Get rid of telling words and just say it. Even in a POV character’s internal thoughts, she/he wouldn’t think the words thought, felt.
For example: She thought he might be tired. He supposed she needed time to herself.
Better: He might be tired. She needed time to herself.
4. Show in order of occurrence.
For example: She shuddered after the knock at the door and wondered at answering.
Better: A knock on the door jolted her. She shuddered. Was it safe to answer?
5. How would the POV character really be thinking? Would the character use internal questions?
For example: He wondered if he should open the door.
Better: Should he open the door?
6. Show emotion; don’t name it.
For example: She was mad.
Better: She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.
DPOV is a skill in progress. Keep working to give the reader that close-up experience with your POV character.
Some resources that have helped me personally are The Emotion Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi and Rivet Your Readers With Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson.
Her new book releases Sept. 13th and is called Be The Blessing.













