No writer wants to hear that their characters are “vanilla” or too much alike. We all want our characters to pop so our readers love them as much as we do. Trouble is, that it is easier said then done. How can brainstorming help you to deepen your story and make those characters fly off the page and into a reader’s heart? By highlighting opposites in your novel. I’m not talking about the hero or heroine always being opposites. Rather, the Hero and his sidekick or the heroine and her sidekick. When characters are too much alike, we run into the whole BORING problem. Create characters that are different in habits and personality. This causes natural tension and added interest to your characters. Let’s try this idea out to see […]
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One Thing Marketing: Using the ABCs of journalism to market your book
My reporting days may be behind me, but the ABCs of journalism are still embedded into my brain: Accuracy Brevity Clarity When it comes to marketing ourselves and our writing, those ABCs come in handy. Accuracy: Are your marketing efforts, well, accurate? Are they professional and well-crafted? Think of each marketing piece—whether it’s your website, a bookmark, a business card, even a YouTube video—as a potential reader’s first introduction to you. Make sure what they see is exactly what you want them to see! Brevity: We live in a fast-moving, constantly on-the-go world…which means brevity is always a bonus. See: Twitter. J But it’s totally possible to say LOTS while saying little…whether it’s in a blog post, your author bio, or even a Facebook status. Learn to be pithy and […]
Read the RestTechniques for Layering Emotion into a scene: Other People
“Hi Susie. Um, Susie?” Sally sat down in a chair opposite me, handed me a coffee. “Kathy said you’d forgotten this.” I took it, tearing my eyes from the woman I’d been watching across the room. She wore a pair of sweatpants, the baggy kind, an oversized sweatshirt and a bandanna over her hair. Curled up in a leather chair, she was drinking coffee while buried in a novel. I sighed. “I want to be her. Just take a day off and read.” “That’s apparent, by the look on your face,” Sally said. “I know you’ve been busy these past few weeks – hello, I completely feel abandoned, but you look like you want to go rip that book from her hands, push her out of the chair and take […]
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Featured Fiction Friday Presents: Ronie Kendig
Well, the Frasier Winners have been announced. The hard work of the judges has decided the winners, and today we will take a look at the novel of another of our esteemed judges… Ronie Kendig and her book Trinity Q: Ronie can you tell us a little bit about your story? A year ago in Afghanistan, Green Beret Heath Daniel’s career was destroyed. Along with his faith. Now he and his military war dog, Trinity, train other dogs and their handlers. Though his passion is to be back in action, the medical discharge has forced Heath—and Trinity—to the sidelines. Military intelligence officer Darci Kintz is captured while secretly tracking the Taliban. Only one dog can handle the extreme conditions to save her. Trinity. Only one man can handle Trinity. Time is running out […]
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