Can YOUR MC see what no one else has noticed?

MAY IS HOSTED BY WRITING TIPS BY WRITERS, DONALD MAASS'  TWEETS ON CREATING THE PERFECT NOVEL ;)  & SECTIONS INSPIRED BY THESE:

“Write even when the mood isn’t right. You can’t tell if what you’re writing is good or bad while you’re writing it.” ~ Cory Doctorow

DONALD MAASS WRITE TIP 76

Character-drive WIP? How can your MC’s family, friends, town, times or way of seeing become odd, unique, less ordinary?

“Yes, we butt our houses up together to cling on but while we shine up our windows – supposedly so we can see out – we hang our curtains facing in to give us something safer to look at. But the shadow of the mountain falls over us, tree roots break our best laid foundations, springs erupt, the roads crack, weeds push through wherever they please. Can’t you see what’s happening? It’s only a matter of time Earth claims back what we took.”

Are you writing character-driven fiction? How did your MC notice s/he notice his view of the norm was not in step with everyone around?

How does the Big Problem affect YOUR MC?

MAY IS HOSTED BY WRITING RULES BY WRITERS, DONALD MAASS'  TWEETS ON CREATING THE PERFECT NOVEL ;)  & SECTIONS INSPIRED BY THESE:

“Write every day. Anything you do every day gets easier. If you’re insanely busy, make the amount that you write every day small (100 words? 250 words?) but do it every day.” ~ Cory Doctorow

DONALD MAASS WRITE TIP 75

Plot-driven WIP? How does the Big Problem affect your MC in ways that it doesn’t affect others? What’s the ultimate cost?

“Thank you, I appreciate the not being unconscious part you pointed out. And, I can tell you think this Welcome to my Space ship speech is going well – truly, I’m prepared to listen if the alternative is terminal – but, for decades, people from my town have been going missing: of the never-seen-again variety – so, mostly it's a Thanks but No, thanks from me. I’d be happy if you just pointed me towards the door.”

Are you writing plot-driven fiction? How does the Big Problem affect your MC in ways that it doesn’t affect anyone else?

Zzzz...SNOOZE - A to Z CHALLENGED

Z is for Zzzzz ....
snooze.

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself.

When he gets to Castle Haw, 
Hal can sleep too.

Z is for zzzzz snoozing. It could be that after a month of trying to get around all 2,000 linked blogs, I’m ready for some serious sleep. But, no! Z is for Zzzz because when I find a book I LOVE I forget I’m supposed to include sleep in my life.

I love being so engrossed in a book I can’t put it down. This has been so since back in the day when I sat on the window ledge, in my bedroom, reading by street light to my new spot on the sofa when the house is all quiet… except the creaking.

Books I lost sleep over:

Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien

Harry Potter – all of them - JK Rowling

The Assassin’s Apprentice – Robin Hobb

Angels and Demons and Deception Point – Dan Brown

Glass Houses – Rachel Caine

The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett

Shiver – Maggie Stiefvater

Game of Thrones – all of them – George RR Martin

The Twilights and The Host - Stephenie Meyer 

The Tale of the Body Thief – Anne Rice

Divergent – Veronica Roth

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

Edith’s tightened her lips. She was quiet for a moment. “The crusader asked Lord Courtney to free you from his service.”

Hal shivered, his head ached.

“All tall and brave, the crusader stood by the fireplace.” She grinned as she stepped back a pace. She planted her feet wide, chin high, placed her hands on her wide hips. In a few moves she transformed from a kitchen maid to the very image of something much more powerful. She looked nothing like Sir Ralf de Moreville, Lord of Ravendale, but Hal could see how the knight must have looked. “I made a promise to those who died so I could live!”

Even playing the character, Edith shook her head when Hal did. They both knew Lord Courtney wouldn’t be interested in promises made to dead men.

“It is a debt of honour,” she said, raising her hand until her finger pointed to the heavens. “I promised the men who saved my life that I would find and train their sons.” She deepened her voice and continued, “I must make them my pages.”

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

   Or sleep ;)

FOR Z, I CHOSE Zzzz AND CHANGED IT TO Zzzzz anyway ;) WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR Z POST?

YELLING - A to Z CHALLENGED

Y is for YELLING,
and how to punctuated it.

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself.  

I'd yell if someone
made me wear that hat.

Y is for Yelling and how to punctuate it.

There are a variety of words to say someone shouted but if you have already put an exclamation mark (!) it is telling the reader the character shouted.

Most of the time, if the speaker is obvious, it is fine to omit the redundant word: screamed, shouted, bawled, bellowed, hollered, howled, roared, whooped, yelled etc.

These words are useful if the speaker is screaming a question.

“You want me to put your food on a silver plate?” shouted Hal. “If I find one, I’ll be happy to do that. And,  drop it on your head!”

The exclamation mark is not used for sarcasm. It is not used in the narrative either (eg All day, the wind had cut through the courtyard and bitten at Hal until hands were red and raw!) This is author intrusion. Yelling only takes place in dialogue.

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

•           year in, year out

•           you can bet your last penny

•           you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink

•           you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear

•           you can’t teach an old dog new tricks

•           you can’t win ‘em all

•           you could have knocked me down with a feather

•           you pays your money and takes your choice

•           your guess is as good as mine

•           you’re only young once

FOR Y, I CHOSE YELLING AND ITS RELATED PUNCTUATION. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR Y POST?

WEEKEND WRITING WARRIORS - 8 SENTENCES ON SUNDAY

If you are interested in follow this link: WWR

As I am a weekend-only writer of romance, Hale is still having trouble with Darrah. 
This section continues on from last week. Hale has been observing Darrah since she pinned him to the ground to teach him a lesson - to prove she could fight him without causing herself harm. But once she had him pinned she kissed him. Darrah initiated skin contact? The experience has left Hale intoxicated and raw.

Her relief was obvious as she relaxed when she identified the man who stood behind her. Observing this, he experienced what felt like a skewer snake burrowing into his flesh, but was probably something more barbed instead. Envy? Need? Hunger?

Hale needed no breeze to carry the warm scent of her to him. After all this time, stranded on this world, allowing the chemicals that created the aroma of her aura to flood his open pores was intoxicating. She was woodland and ripe fruit and sweet, sweet sugar.

X-TREME EDITING - A to Z CHALLENGED

X is for X-TREME EDITING
with a big red X

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself.  

Hard work around the house
 was the first x-treme sport ;)

X is for X-TREME EDITING. For the editor (and the teacher in me) who prints out a final copy and uses red pen and large Xs to remind me which sections I need to re-write.

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

There have been a lot of different versions of the hook for this book.

1^st VERSION:

Hal hid in the shadows by the stable door. He hoped no one would notice him standing back from the competition. He didn’t know why the challenge had been called but everyone knew that the knight, de Moreville, had named the prize.

2^nd VERSION:

Hal hid in the shadows by the stable door when everyone else crowded forward to get a better view. He chewed on his grubby fingernail. He rubbed the top of the short nail against a tooth. It scraped and clicked and filled his head with noise.

CURRENT:

Hal hid in the shadows by the stable door when everyone else crowded forward to get a better view. He was as quick, and thin as a hungry rat, and ready to dart back inside if anyone came to find him. 

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

I don’t have a lot – my xiphias gladius clichés are thin

•           X-rated

I PRINT OFF A RED PEN COPY FOR MY FINAL EDIT. FOR X-TREME EDITING, I CHOOSE THE X – for not good enough – AND USE IT, A LOT, TO DRAW ATTENTION TO SECTIONS THAT NEED WORK. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR X POST?

WORK and WONDER - A to Z CHALLENGED

W is for WORK
and WONDER

Each post for the A to Z Challenge is the challenge I set for myself. 

Writing is a different kind
of labour intensive work.

W is for Work because, although it's great fun, I would be delighted to consider writing as work too. That would be a new and novel experience. W is also for Wonder because when I read my head is full of questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? And, How?

HAL LONGLEAT AND THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

The knight’s arrival made the castle folk move back , and quickly, as he strode up to the stable door. The light and air didn’t last long. White and billowing, his cloak settled into folds near his boots. The knight reached out his hand. “Arise, Henry. You are now a page entrusted to the house of de Moreville.”

Hal shook his head. That was life! After all that work, the crusader had won himself the wrong boy. Embarrassed, Hal turned towards the stables. His disappointment made him desperate. He had to hide.

Could YOU have been gifted with the ability to identify and eliminate weak and brittle phrases from your work? To the uninitiated, these interlopers look like quality imagery.

CLICHÉ RAIDERS: REWRITE!

•           warts and all

•           well-earned rest

•           wheels within wheels

•           when the going gets tough (the tough get going)

•           with all due respect

•           with bated breath

•           with malice aforethought

•           without a shadow of a doubt

•           wonders will never cease

•           work my fingers to the bone, I

FOR W, I CHOSE WORK AND WONDER. WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR W POST?