Gone to the Dogs

Guest Blogger Maria Hammarblad

Throughout my life, my imagination has been both my best friend and my worst enemy. It helps me write novels, but if I'm alone when it's dark outside, my mind says, "Check out the shadow over there, doesn't that look just like a ghost/monster/vampire/whatever-was-on-TV?" Or, "Hey, we haven't had any break-ins in the area for a long time. Didn't that guy walking down the street earlier look kinda scary, what if he comes back?"

Luckily, dogs cure most self-induced worries. Even if the logic behind it is iffy (in daylight I too know there aren't any monsters) I can't have a saber-toothed evil under my bed, because there's a dog sleeping there. If the guy on the street really is a scary robber, he'll probably pick a house with less barking.

I have a big gang of make-believe friends living in my head too. Some of them have complete lives with long stories, and others are more fragmented. They have one thing in common: they all want to come out to play when I can't do anything about it, like when I'm at the daytime job. I think they like to tease me, because it's really hard to concentrate on mundane tasks with an epic space battle playing out in one's head.

The heroines can be particularly difficult; they like waking me up in the middle of the night with awesome ideas of something cool the hero just did. Luckily, I anticipate it and keep my iPod by the bed. The keyboard is small, but functional. Imaginary people have such poor manners…

From time to time, people ask me if there's something I absolutely need in order to write, besides something to write with, of course. I usually put dogs on top of the list. My dogs are funny and great company, and they're used to me. If I get stuck in a story they take me for a walk, or bring me outside to play.

Right now we have a foster dog, and living with a loopy human writer is completely new to her. To be fair, almost everything is new to her. She has spent too much of her young life locked up, and even the back yard was strange and a bit scary at first. Imagine when the human brings a thick pile of papers, and leaves them on the sofa. Still warm from the printer, smelling funny… You guessed it; doggie turned my manuscript into many tiny pieces of paper. No harm done, she's trying to be a good girl and no one ever told her not to eat paper, but still pretty comical. Everyone's a critic!

Learn more about Maria and her book Kidnapped

Refrigerator Stew

Did you know that writing is like making Refrigerator Stew?

Well kind of...  sort of...

I realize that in our fast paced, throw away society, some may not get the concept of Refrigerator Stew. So maybe we should discuss making Refrigerator Stew First

Which is quite simple really...

Go to your refrigerator and pull out all your leftovers.

Toss out any that resemble a green science project gone wild... (moldy)

Now pick through the rest and choose those items which might lend themselves to a stew. Meats, noodles, beans, vegetables (NOT Lettuce). Old bread is not a good item unless your making french onion soup or bread pudding or something, but you can use the bread in other ways. Like making croutons for the salad you're not tossing in the pot.

Take those lovely food prospects and toss them into a big black cauldron... I mean a pot.

That's right... mix all those leftover components together. You may have to add a bit of broth and seasoning. Then let it warm and perhaps boil and voila, you now have Refrigerator Stew.

If you prefer to have a ghoulash  (error intended)  don't add as much broth and mix your items into a baking dish, layer over with some cheese and bake your concoction instead.

It sounds like you're concocting some strange brew... but before you say ewww, give it go.

*** Historical info tidbit... in the olden days, their form of refrigerator stew was called seven day stew or week stew, they would leave the pot boiling and add to the mixture daily. I suppose after the concoction crusted the pot enough it was time to start a new batch.

Now onto Refrigerator Stew vs Writing

When a writer puts a story together, they are in a sense concocting their own form of stew, only the ingredients aren't kept in a real refrigerator, they are locked in the writer's imagination--erator.

When the writer starts a story they look through that imagination information and begin to add portions of what they find together. Some of those ideas having been setting on the imagination shelf for some time and need to be tossed, or filed away for a horror story.

But the writer begins to draw from that shelf and begins to form a story.

A touch of a heroine here, a bit of a hero there, a dash of imagery, a cup of conflict, a pinch of motivation they toss it all into the Plot. Mixing it together with patience and purpose. Then they add some research and narrative and dialogue, check their POV's and RUE. They continue tossing in this idea and taking out  another, adding more to the mix. Then they stir it all together  and find they have a story.

They let it simmer for a time, read it and edit out some more or add some more flavor, before they send it off into the world, hoping an editor might find their mix as enjoyable as they do.

When was the last time you made Refrigerator Stew?

Writernese

 You have mastered the English language, well, sort of… and you are fluent in three different languages, like me… okay not really. I have a hard enough time with English as a first language. Took four years of German and one of Turkish and remember barely enough to get by.

Then, just when I thought school was over, I had to learn Writernese. What is that you may ask? Simply put… it the language of writers. Writerspeak.

Writernese.

And if you're a writer, you know that writerspeak is often times hard to grasp. Kind of like cyberspeak. IMHO BTW LOL

I thought it would be prudent to take a look at Writernese and see if we can decipher some the meanings behind the words and acronyms to help us speak the language.

Common Writernese Terms and Acronyms. Trying to understand these few aspects of Writernese could be a brief exercise in madness, but it's a start.

EC: External Conflict (oppositions or physical threats to heroine or hero reaching their goals--i.e.: villain, journey, opponent)

IC: Internal Conflict (character's emotional struggles and growth)

GMC: Goals, Motivation, Conflict

Goals-- your character has a goal that he or she needs to reach.

Motivation-- what sends them out to accomplish the goal?

Conflict -- all the trials and thorns thrown in the path of your character to keep him/her from reaching goal. (when established, these set up the premise of a book, the overriding theme)

Climax -- a moment of great intensity that usually brings events to a head and moving toward the conclusion.

Foreshadowing -- adding hints and important information earlier on in the story that tip the reader off to what may come.

Resolution -- can be done on varying levels, like resolving problems in the story. Or resolving the main conflict.

Genre -- the kind of story being written; Gothic, Mystery, Romance, Inspirational, Sci Fi, Women's Fiction, Speculative… etc.

HEA: Happily Ever After (the resolution/ type of ending expected in a Romance novel) Think Fairy Tales. Hello, Prince Charming.

H/H: Hero and Heroine

Protagonist -- the main character

Antagonist -- opposition to protagonist… enemy

MS: Manuscript

WIP: work in progress. Unfinished Manuscript

 POV: Point Of View -- What a character can see or hear. (If it's dark he or she probably can't tell you someone's eye color. If it's behind them they can't give detail.)

1^st person POV -- Spoken and told by one character in their viewpoint alone throughout the story. Uses I to lead sentences and so forth.

3^rd person POV -- Storytelling told using third person pronouns like he/she. This POV can be Limited or Omniscient.

Limited -- The writer sticks closely to one character's feelings, thoughts and viewpoint, while other characters are added externally.

Omniscient -- The storyteller knows all the views and can bring in several character's point of views for the story. POV purest prefer that one POV is used in one scene to avoid head hopping.

Headhopping -- when the POV bounces back and forth instead of staying in one character's POV

Author Intrusion -- where the author puts in little snippets to explain the story or what may come.

CP: Critique Partner


MRU - Motivational Reaction Unit/ Motivation Response Unit 

Plot: the organization of main events

Story Arc: the continuing unfolding of the story. (This is certain to have highs and lows.)

ARC: Advanced Reader Copy.

Narrative: the telling of fictional or real events

RUE: Resist Urge to Explain. 


Showing vs Telling: 


Showing:

Example -- Caroline from Shadowed Dreams...
"There are no buts about it, you ought to be sorry," she howled. "Just look what you've done. Do realize how much this dress cost?" Muddy tears filled her eyes. Caroline lifted her arms from the mud, the sleeves, weighted and wet, hung heavy, like muddy flags in the air. She flapped them. "Look at this mess."

Telling:
Example -- See Jack run. She Jack climb the hill. See Jill join Jack and climb the hill. See how they laugh.

 GUM: Grammar, Usage, Mechanics

Theme: What is the topic of your story? What were you trying to say?

Backstory: Filling in the mystery of your character's past.

Backstory Dump: giving a lot of information about your character that might be better placed throughout the story.

Dialogue: talking, conversation between characters… set off with quotes.

Tags -- he said, she said. Most say not to overuse the tags with fancy words because they can pull a person out of the story, where as he said/ she said seems to disappear. "I don't know where I stand on that. too many he said/she saids begin to drive me bonkers," I declared.

Beats -- action beats to be exact. We communicate with actions. When a person is talking they are also moving. Action beats take away the need to use tags and move the story along with the character's movements. They draw the reader in visually.

Symbolism -- represents a deeper meaning than the words themselves convey.

Epilogue -- the final section of a novel that usually wraps up the tale nice and tidy like. Not all novels have them.

Prologue -- a prologue should reveal significant contributing facts. They can be used to hook a reader. Some would say they should never be used… Not sure I agree.

Euphemism -- word or phrase that stands in for another word or phrase.

Examples:

•    Chronically Challenged

•    Economical with the Truth

•    Collateral Damage

Imagery -- Vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste).

Metaphor -- a comparison of two things that does not use like or as

Examples:

•    "Life is a journey, travel it well."
(United Airlines)

•    "Life is a journey. Enjoy the Ride."
(Nissan)

Simile -- a comparison that uses like or as

Examples;

Like peas in a pod.

As bald as a cue bald

Analogy -- is kind of like Metaphors and Similes, which can be used in an analogy, but an analogy is used to explain and convince.

Examples;

•    "I am to dancing what Roseanne is to singing and Donald Duck to motivational speeches. I am as graceful as a refrigerator falling down a flight of stairs." - Leonard Pitts, "Curse of Rhythm Impairment" Miami Herald, Sep. 28, 2009

•    "If you want my final opinion on the mystery of life and all that, I can give it to you in a nutshell. The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe." Peter De Vries, Let Me Count the Ways

•    "Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo." - Don Marquis

Cliché -- a trite or overused expression. These are to be avoided like the plague… so they say. I say use them sparingly. Have to… I have a character who loves to use them.

Examples;

•    Birds of a feather flock together

•    Kill two birds with one stone

•    Two peas in a pod

•    Stubborn as a mule

•    A submarine with screen doors

•    Like pulling chicken's teeth

Well you get the idea.

Zeugma -- is a figure of speech in which two or more parts of a sentence are joined with a single common verb.

Examples;

•    "You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit."
(Star Trek: The Next Generation)

•    "Kill the boys and the luggage!"
(Fluellen in William Shakespeare's Henry V)

Plotters -- writers who plot out their story, by outline or use of a certain Methodology (i.e., Snowflake Method, Liquid Story Binder, Open Source Novel Writing Software, Scrivener ) to fill in the blanks and plot out their stories. Some people go to great lengths to plot and boast that they can have a story plotted in a day or a week. Then written the following week.

I am not one of these people. I have tried, to no avail. I fall under the next category

SOTP -- Seat Of The Pants -- writers who use no set formula to write out a story, other than where the ideas or characters take them. They may use a bit of an outline to keep certain thoughts in order. Put up some sticky notes and follow a calendar but not much more.

You can mix the percentages of these writing styles and come of with writers on all levels.

SASE -- Self Addressed Stamped Envelope. Important to know when sending in a manuscript. (Yes, even in this computer driven society, sometimes you will send a manuscript via snail mail. Rare but…) Always send an envelope with your information and the proper postage.

Well, we've barely scraped the tip of the Iceberg (oops a Cliché) covering Writernese. Hopefully, it's not as foreign a language as it used to be and I have not led you down the road to insanity. There is so much more, but let this be a starting place on your journey to learn the language.

Faith in Fiction

As a Christian author, my faith play a big part in how I write. Some might ask why faith would matter in writing and especially writing fiction. Isn't that somewhat ironic? First let me remind you that Christ told parables so that people would understand better. Following in the footsteps of Christ the storyteller, I believe that God gave me my imagination and desire to write as a gift that he means for me to use for him.

So I write stories of faith and overcoming through and with God. I want my readers to come away with the truth of God's love and mercy for their own lives.

My faith also plays a part in where I might promote my books and how. It should be a big part of my attitude. But what happens when the Christian writer's faith is shaken? Or does a writer's faith ever take a hit? How does a writer write stories to touch other's lives when they are discouraged in themselves?

I asked the following questions. I wasn't concerned about what they wrote in their stories as much as how faith applied to them as writers.

Is having faith as a writer important to you? 

Many answered Yes. 

Why this was important? 

Most said they would never tackle a book without it. If God wanted them to write they needed to be in tuned to the One who wanted them to write and gave them the story. Because their faith made them who they are.

Does that faith help you when you're discouraged in your writing? 

Most answered yes, some spoke of times when they were down and it took some time and prayer to break out of the discouragement, but God was there. They never lost their faith in him.

Do you pray for God to help you with your stories and promotion? 

Many said yes especially in their stories and many in their promotion.

Has there ever been a time that you wondered if God heard your prayers? 

Most said that they question that from time to time, but as they grow in faith and spend time with the Lord, they don't question as often. Some did say that they didn't really question whether he heard their prayers, but wondered when he'd answer.

Has there ever been a time that your faith in God or your writing wavered? 

Many said yes.  And those feelings can come and go whether they had a lot of books published or none. Writers and perhaps people in general question whether they are ever good enough. As a Christian writer we have the knowledge of a Christ who loves us so much he died for us. And he gives us strength and walks through the valleys of discouragement with us, but that doesn't keep us from wondering.

Do you ever blame God that you're not doing better as a writer?

Most said no, that was their fault. Some said to be honest they did wonder why God didn't help a bit more.

Has God ever told you not to promote in a certain way or place, or write something specific? 

Several said yes. For some he'd even told them to stop writing for a time and spend some time with him. Some were told not to do a certain type of promotion. 

Yes, as Christians we have faith, or should have. That faith does not mean we will be the next best seller. Nor does it mean one writer had more faith or prayed more because they did. Faith does not mean we never know discouragement. Or never have to work at promotion because God will snap his finger and get our books out there.

No, He isn't a genie in a bottle. but he does promise to be with us and carry us through times of shallow faith. Faith gives us something to hold onto and hope in when it doesn't seem like we're getting any where. That is what I want to share in life and in fiction. 

What do you think?  

Tina E. Pinson--

When Shadows Fall http://tinyurl.com/d93p77a  In the Manor of the Ghost http://ning.it/dB0zAj , Touched By Mercy http://ning.it/9OJZ5r BLOG http://tinapinson.blogspot.com/ Website http://www.tinapinson.com 

Twitter @Tina_Pinson "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD... " Jer. 29:11