Mike Angley

Building a Story

by

Mary Deal

An example of how to begin a new story when your Muse has taken a vacation.

A friend of mine—I’ll call her Judy—had written a novel and was in the process of sending it out to literary agents seeking representation. She and I knew that first-time authors typically needed to have two or more completed manuscripts in hand. Publishers do not make large profits on an unknown writer’s first book but on subsequent publications. Money is spent on publicity for the first book, to establish a reputation for an author and build readership. With these aspects already established, on subsequent books, larger profits are realized. Too, publishers were more apt to believe that a writer was capable of turning out numbers of books if they did so of their own volition.

So, Judy needed to write another story, and fast. She had just completed the rigors of editing and deep polishing the first manuscript and felt burned out. I suggested she take a breather for a week or two; maybe even get away for a vacation. She is not one to shy away from responsibility, so she pleaded with me to help her find a way to conjure another plot because her Muse had taken the vacation for her.

I never thought about how to start a new story. My stories just rolled out whenever I allowed myself to think. Then I remembered a few techniques I used in establishing characters in my first novel and passed those steps along to her. The one presented here is the procedure that worked for her. She took more than a month conjuring characters and, not surprisingly, the story unfolded as she went along. By the end of three months, she had completed the first draft.

But something happened along the way. Her Muse evidently decided she liked the excitement of the new story and returned promptly from vacation. In following the steps given below, Judy came up with an idea for a sequel to her newly finished story and then decided to make it a serial.

* * *

Imagine an image of a person you’d like to have in one of your stories. From that mental image, build a character. She or he will probably be your protagonist. This may change, so beyond recording the character’s physical attributes, do not think further into the story.

If you have written short stories and have a favorite protagonist, you can use that character to help flesh out another one. The technique presented here works best if you start fresh with a character about which you know nothing. Then you’re less likely to follow the plot line of the other story already written. Just have a sort of feel for a person and start simply by listing physical attributes: age, color of eyes, skin tone, hair color and any other details you feel you wish the person to have.

At this point, do not list anything like the fact that the lady changes hair color frequently, or has a nail biting neurosis. This has little to do with establishing the basics of physical image. If something “extra” does come up in creating the character, then your Muse is beginning to feed you details of a story you have yet to consciously realize. How exciting is that? If this extra information may to be pertinent later in your story, then you can add it. Be simple in the primary description and make a separate list of added details as something you may include later.

Next, give the person just enough of a life so that you know what makes your character unique.

~ What does she or he do for a living?

~ How many other family members?

~ What are her or his best personality attributes, and worst ones?

~What other relatives share this character’s life and how does your character interact with them?

~ What SECRETS does your character hide?

Another example: If you give your character habits like a facial tic, or mail biting, try to conjure why she or he has it? Is it the result of some repressed emotion? Is it from some shock long ago? How does this unnerving habit affect people presently in the character’s life? What crisis from her past does she have to work through to eliminate the tic? Who’s involved? If nothing like this comes to mind for your character, don’t worry. Something else is on the way!

I like the part about the secrets most. Most people have things they wouldn’t want the world to know. If you were to draw it out of them, you’d probably find some shocking information, juicy tidbits around which to build your plot, around which to motivate your character.

See where this is going? By the time you’ve got the first character established, you will have introduced us to other people in her life.

Next, choose one of those secondary people and build another character sketch. It doesn’t have to be a love-interest either. The next character can be a public figure she or he is trying to emulate, or someone who has been stalking her or a neighbor, or….

For the next character, you do not have to use any particular person included with the sketch of your main character. You can start fresh again and build a whole new person. Later, something in that creation will tell you how to bring this person together with your main character and the others.

Finally, your characters will tell you a story as you create them. Begin to write about how these people interact. By the time you get this far, you will know where your story is going. You will know your plot!

Trust the process. You will have conjured something important to say about these people, their lives and their impact on one another and the outcome.

Write without editing. Let your mind wander from the rational to the absurd. As you write, you’ll find yourself choosing which path you wish the story to follow.

In the end, you may not use most of the information you pack into your character sketches. However, because you have taken the time to build your characters, you will know how they react in all the circumstances presented in your plot. A morally upstanding person reacts one way to a certain occurrence; a frivolous person reacts a completely different way to the same situation. You will know these people because in building character sketches you unknowingly create their morals, ethics and motivations, which will surely spice up your plot.

Please visit Mary Deal’s website for more wonderful articles like this one: Write Any Genre.

Mike: My guest-blogger today is fellow Rocky Mountain writer, Mario Acevedo.  He writes the Felix Gomez vampire-detective series for Eos HarperCollins.  Mario’s debut novel, THE NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS, was chosen by Barnes & Noble as one of the best Paranormal Fantasy Novels of the Decade.  His vampire character has been spun off into a comic book/graphic novel series by IDW Publishing.  Mario was voted as 2009 Writer of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.  He is the chapter president of the Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America.  Mario lives and writes in Denver, Colorado.

Welcome to the Child Finder Trilogy!  You have an interesting background that preceded your writing career.  Tell us about that.

Mario: The prequel?  It ain’t pretty.  I went to college, got tossed in jail once, was commissioned in the army and got out, called from the reserves for Desert Storm, and was later mustered out for good.  My civilian life zigzagged from career to career as I moved around chasing jobs only to get laid off.  During that time I was churning through manuscripts, which now reside in my closet.

Mike: Sounds like an edgy beginning, but one that shaped up well.  Your writing career has been marked by some great achievements.  What brought you to write novels in the first place?

Mario: It started in the sixth grade when our semester project was to write a book.  Actually, what the teacher had in mind was more of an illustrated booklet.  I was paired with Stuart Williams.  This was way back when the original Star Trek was on the tube.  Stuart and I were crazy about the show and we decided to write a similar story.  When the projects were due, Stuart and I didn’t have a book to turn in.  Instead we had a three-ring binder thick with descriptions and diagrams, the crew roster, adventure scenarios, drawings of the uniforms and space ships, star maps.  Basically the story got away from us.  Still, our teacher realized we had done more work than anyone else and gave us an A.  Since then, I’ve always got a running narrative of “what if’s” going through my head.  Meanwhile Stuart went into the Air Force and flew Phantom jets.

Mike: Now, you’re dating yourself!  I haven’t heard anyone talk about the F-4 in a long time J.  But that’s an interesting beginning, and I can see the trappings of the fantasy realm you currently write.  Tell us about your stories.

Mario: I write about Felix Gomez who went to Iraq as a soldier and came back a vampire.  My stories are macho hard-boiled noir with a supernatural twist.  In the latest adventure, WEREWOLF SMACKDOWN, Felix gets trapped between rival lycanthrope clans in Charleston, SC, and the impending rumble could doom the supernatural world.

Mike: Goodness!  That’s an intriguing idea for a story.  How did you come up with it?

Mario: The concept of the first story came to me in a flash–a vampire-detective investigates an outbreak of nymphomania at a nuclear weapons plant.  After that I had to flesh out the protagonist, Felix Gomez.  Where was he from?  How did he become a vampire?  These questions took many cocktails to answer.

Mike: I, too, have found inspiration in a cocktail from time to time.  Did you imbue Felix with any special characteristics? Strengths? Failings?

Mario: Felix Gomez has undead powers: super speed and strength, night vision, tremendous powers of recuperation.  He’s got the usual vampiric weaknesses, aversion to sunlight (unless he uses a special makeup), silver, and garlic.  Something that is both a strength and weakness is his sense of honor and duty.  This serves as his moral compass (still skewed nonetheless) but it also means his adversaries know what makes him tick.

Mike: I like the idea of an honorable and sense-of-duty vampire.  You mentioned adversaries…who are they?

Mario: Alien gangsters appear in the first and third books.  They were a lot of fun to write.  A villainous vampire from the second book becomes the main antagonist in the latest.  One recurring complication is the Araneum, the secret world-wide network of vampires, who give Felix tough assignments to crack.

Mike: I know you served in the Army, but I’m sure none of your real-life experiences factored into your plots, or did they?

Mario: I’ve tried but I have yet to develop superpowers or meet aliens, werewolves, and nymphos.

Mike: (chuckling) Okay, I asked for that.  So what’s next?

Mario: I’m pitching new story ideas to my agent.  I’ve also got a comic deal with IDW Publishing that spins off my vampire novels.  The first issue will be out late April 2010.

Mike: Congratulations on the comic deal.  What’s in Felix’s future?

Mario: Felix Gomez is the central character of the series.  Soon you’ll see him in comic book form.  I have characters that pop in and out of the series.  The love interest from the first novel comes back in WEREWOLF SMACKDOWN but the romance doesn’t work out the way Felix thinks it should.

Drop by my website on March 23 for the special two-day promo of Werewolf Smackdown: http://www.marioacevedo.com

Mike:  Mario, thanks so much for visiting with us today.  Congratulations on all your past successes and upcoming comic series.  Folks, check out Mario’s website and be sure to visit during his upcoming promo.

I am honored today to have as my guest, a real Miami Vice detective, Michael Berish.  Mike was born and raised on the banks of the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, New York.  He received an A.A. degree in Criminal Justice, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh on an academic scholarship—with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, and later earned his Master of Arts degree in Communications from Miami’s Barry University, where he took courses in Production, Directing, Screenplay Writing.

MA: I have to admit, I enjoyed the television series, Miami Vice back in the 1980s, so it’s a real treat having you as my guest.  You have a fascinating background that, no doubt, informs your writing.  Tell my readers more about your law enforcement experiences.

MB:  I worked as a patrolman, detective, and supervisor with the City of Miami Police Department for twenty-two years, thirteen of which were spent as an undercover detective in the REAL Miami Vice where I worked everything from Narcotics & Vice, Prostitution, Gambling and Pornography, to Dignitary Protection of President Jose Napoleon Duarte (of El Salvador) and Pope John Paul II.

I became proficient as an expert in the field of obscenity, testified in front of the Meese Commission on Obscenity during the Reagan Administration, and was subpoenaed by the F.B.I. to testify for them in New Orleans—as an expert witness—reference an interstate transportation case.  I’ve lectured in front of numerous civic groups, taught week-long seminars to other law enforcement agencies on First Amendment rights, helped train new Assistant State Attorneys on how to properly conduct obscenity investigations, and made over a thousand cases, mostly against organized crime syndicates, which have the best attorneys in the world.  I have also closed down twenty adult bookstores and theaters in Miami and never lost one obscenity case.

MA:  That’s an amazing resume of accomplishments.  Tell us about your writing career since leaving the real Miami Vice.

MB:  My first book is an anthology of stories that take place in Miami, in the Black ghetto known as “the Pit.”  This book, “REFLECTIONS FROM THE PIT,” pulls no punches; it shows you the good, the bad, and the ugly (warts and all), the dark side of police work, both the humor and the tragedy.  I feel my approach to storytelling is unique in that all of these stories contain individual, quirky, off-center characters that focus on their basic character flaws while dealing with the social issues of the day. They are meant to be snapshots into the dark side of police work and deal with segregation, teenage prostitution, crazies who think they have been abducted by aliens, the murdering of transvestites, the lack of compassion and sympathy by the younger generation for their elders, the stupidity of criminals and the cowardice of police officers in the face of danger (the latter of which is rarely seen on TV), hangings from police cruisers, affirmative action, Cuban freedom fighters (a.k.a. terrorists), the callousness of society towards the homeless, drug-dealing cops and corruption, bungled police stings, the “don’t get involved” syndrome, the raping of the elderly, and police brutality and its senseless violence.

“Reflections from the Pit” was awarded BEST FICTION NOVEL (2nd Place) published in 2008 by the Public Safety Writers Association.

“That fellow (Berish) has a real talent for writing a story. That’s excellent work.”
E. Howard Hunt (American author of sixty-three novels, C.I.A. spy, and coordinator of Watergate. President Richard M. Nixon once referred to him as “a prolific book writer.”)

This book reflects the very ’soul’ of honesty as well as the constant corruption involved in working as a beat officer.”
Bill Kelly Special Agent in charge of Obscenity Investigations for the Southeast United States (Retired) FBI, Miami, FL.

MA:  Congratulations on your award-winning novel, and those are some excellent endorsements.  What about the second book?

MB:  My second book, entitled “Bad Cop, No Donut” is an anthology of stories from 15 different cop/writers from around the country and deals with the theme of bad cops and their behavior.  It is due out around April/May 2010.

“A ride-around with some of the best cops and best cop writing in the business!” David Black, author of The Extinction Event and writer for CSI Miami and Law & Order

“Bad Cop, No Donut includes some of the most riveting stories I have read to date.  It’s a top-notch crime fiction anthology.” Donald Bain, author of the “Murder, She Wrote” series

“This collection is written by a squad of fine writers–some of whom are current or retired real-life cops.  Gritty, hard-hitting, authentic, and edgy–and guaranteed to keep you turning the pages.” Raymond Benson, author of the James Bond anthologies “The Union Trilogy” and “Choice of Weapons”

MA:  Once again, congratulations on your great endorsements, and my very best to you on the book’s success when it debuts here soon.  Are you working on anything new in the meantime?

MB:  Currently, I’m working on a new novel entitled: “When Kings Go Forth.” It’s not a cop book; it follows several generations of Hungarians (from 1849 to the present) and their trials and tribulations from Budapest to America.

MA:  I need a moment to get my head around that!  What a shift in direction and concept.  I wish you the very best with this new project.  Folks, please visit Michael Berish’s website for more information about this fascinating writer and law enforcement professional: www.realmiamivice.com

Words and Sounds

by

Mary Deal

Proper pronunciation is a key in remembering names or deciding which name or word to use in your stories.

Count me as one of the people who manage to confuse words in a most curious way. I have always had trouble with when to use “loose” or “lose” until I hit upon the fact that it wasn’t the definition of each word that caused me difficulty. It was the way I pronounced them.

Another difficulty I have is with names. When trying to remember anything, one of the simplest ways for me is to associate it with something else. In try to remember a person’s name, I usually have to say it several times, and associate it with the person’s face, in order to remember. Remembering faces is easier, but names elude me unless I work hard at remembering. Say the person’s name to myself as often as possible while in that person’s presence and while looking at his or her face sometimes works. Still, that’s kind of difficult to do when trying to hold a spontaneous conversation.

Associating a person named Susan to another Susan I know helped. Also associating the person with someone I either liked or disliked, depending upon the conversation at the moment, sometimes works.

Susan was a young oriental girl I met. But how would I remember a typical American name with an oriental girl who was only then learning to speak English? Then an oriental man I once met came to mind. His name was Xzu Zan and it was pronounced like “Su-san.” Xzu Zan being oriental, it was then easy for me to remember Susan, my new oriental friend.

So if I can associate names, I should try it with simple words that are the bane of my writing endeavors. With my incorrect pronunciation of the words “loose” and “lose,” when I repeated “loose/noose” and “lose/lost” I stopped becoming confused. It also helped me to visualize the similarities of the spelling of those four words as I thought about them.

A noose can be loose and has similar sounds. Not having similar sounds but similar meanings is “lose/lost.” If you lose something, it is lost. Similarities exist in each set of words: Five letters in each word in the first example with four in each of the second.

Using this method, also resolved my often incorrect usage of “wretch/retch” and “wretched/retched.” According to the Oxford Dictionary, the meaning of “wretch” is “an unfortunate or contemptible person.” “Wretched” means “in a very unhappy or unfortunate state,” or, “of poor quality.” “Retch” means “to make the sound or movements of vomiting”. “Retched” is simply past tense of “retch.”

Since these two words are only related in sound, it came to me that “wretch” has one more letter then “retch.” Likewise, the pronunciation of “wretched” has two syllables while “retched” sounds like one syllable. When you pronounce these words and pay attention to the syllables, you clearly understand which one should be used in a given situation, but easily mistaken when writing or editing too quickly.

Another example is “who’s/whose.” This one seemed simpler to grasp once I studied it. Anytime there is an apostrophe in a word such as “who’s,” it’s a contraction of two words. Broken down, “who’s” becomes “who is” or “who has.” The usage according to this rule is then simplified and “whose” is used at all other times.

When writing “who’s” or “whose,” read the sentence and see if the meaning is “who is” or “who has” instead of the contracted word. Simply break down the contraction into the two separate words and it becomes clear which should be used.

Proper pronunciation of words and names helps clarify usage in speaking or in the written word.

Please visit Mary Deal’s website for more wonderful articles like this one: Write Any Genre.

Visiting the Child Finder Trilogy today is author Mark W. Danielson.  Mark grew up in El Cerrito, California, overlooking San Francisco Bay.  He received his BA degree from the University of Northern Colorado and earned his MA from Webster University while serving as a Navy pilot.  He currently travels the globe as an MD-11 captain for Federal Express.  Mr. Danielson has published over 100 non-fiction articles in various periodicals since 1978.  Diablo’s Shadow is his third reality-based suspense novel, following The Innocent Never Knew, and Danger Within.  As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, he has participated in numerous author events, including the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Men of Mystery, Barnes and Noble Mystery Author’s Night, Cutting Edge Murder, Hi-Jinks on the High Seas, and Kids Love a Mystery.  His interests include hiking, fine arts, tennis, and restoring cars and boats.  His varied experience and travel is evident in his writing.  He and his wife live in Denver, Colorado, not far up the road from me!

MA:  So how did you end up writing?  Did any of your professional experiences influence you?

MD:  I have been painting and drawing my entire life, and writing is an extension of this.  Writing has always been easy, and it certainly helped in college.  I wrote a few things for the college paper, but never had the journalism bug.  At the time, my goal was to graduate and become an Air Force pilot.  My first published article was in Sport Aerobatics and I wrote several more for them and Sport Aviation.  After transferring into the Navy, my job forced me to become computer literate, and that’s when my writing really took off.  The ability to cut, paste, and spell check, made writing a lot more enjoyable.  After having countless non-fiction articles published in a variety of periodicals, I wrote my first novel, but never sought publication.  In fact, Danger Within may have been my first published novel, but it was the tenth novel I wrote.  Inspired by real events in my current job as an airline pilot, I felt it was important enough to get published.  Thankfully, the readers agreed.

MA:  With all your experience writing non-fiction, why did you ultimately choose to write novels?

MD:  I enjoyed writing non-fiction, but fiction allowed me to tell reality-based stories without being documentaries.  This freedom opened up a whole new dimension in writing.  I continue to freelance non-fiction articles, but I get more satisfaction out of fiction.

MA:  Tell me about Danger Within and your other projects.

MD:  I write reality-based suspense stories.  As I mentioned, Danger Within is about an actual incident within the airline industry.  Except for the names and locations, the first third of this story is true.  While it is not autobiographical, I do share my protagonist’s frustration.  Those outside the aviation community have been as enthusiastic about this book as those within.

The Innocent Never Knew is the true story about the Balkans plane crash that claimed the life of Clinton’s Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.  It is told as a side plot to this girl-on-the-run mystery, which begins with a fictitious plane crash in Albuquerque that claims the life of a US Senator.  This action-packed conspiracy goes all the way to Washington DC.  Those who have ever questioned Ron Brown’s death will love this one.

Diablo’s Shadow is a mystery where an estranged couple must cope when their daughter disappears on an outing with the father.  Full of accusations and twists, this book was inspired by the Polly Klaus kidnapping as well as more recent missing child cases.  Anyone with children will be hard pressed to put this gripping tale down.

MA:  I can certainly see the reality-based nature of your writing!  How do you go about develop your protagonists?

MD:  Without sounding trite, my characters truly write their own stories.  By the time I sit down and start writing, I have formulated the story countless times in my head, but still have no idea who the characters are until the writing begins.  No doubt these characters are extensions of people I have encountered and experiences I have gained in traveling the world as a military and airline pilot.  I have been very fortunate to see so many things; it is great sharing them in scenes.

MA:  I can appreciate that given my own military and law enforcement background.  What makes your heroes tick?

MD:  My characters are real, therefore they make mistakes.  Their strengths would be their determination to see things through.  Their weakness is they are human, but this human quality also allows the reader to connect.

MA:  What about your antagonists…anything you care to let us in on?

MD:  Each story has its own version of a bad guy, and I would be foolish to reveal them.  But the definition of “bad” is as vague as identifying a weed from a plant, or defining the enemy.  It all depends on your point of view.  It is very important that the antagonist(s) be characters with reason for their deeds.  People committing heinous acts without explanation have no place in a story.

MA:  Since your writing style, while fiction, is grounded in reality, I imagine many of your own life experiences come into play, other than what you’ve already mentioned.

MD:  Absolutely.  As an airline pilot, I was deeply affected by the incidents portrayed in both Danger Within and The Innocent Never Knew, while being a father inspired Diablo’s Shadow.  Polly Klaus was kidnapped from her Petaluma home, a mere two blocks from my sister’s house.  My nieces were close to Polly’s age.  It could have just as easily been one of them.  Events like this never leave you.

MA:  So what’s next?

MD:  I have a new detective series currently under consideration which introduces Fort Worth Homicide Detective Maxx Watts.  A classic murder mystery, Watts investigates the murder of a small publisher in Writer’s Block.  Hopefully I will have some news about this book later this year.  Its sequel, Boxed In, is well under way.  The third in this series is in my head, but it will be a while before I begin writing it.  What I love most about this detective is I can set him anywhere in the world.  The third book is set in France.

MA:  Do you intend to write sequels to your stories, or otherwise feature some of the same characters in future stories?

MD:  While all three of my published stories could have sequels, I prefer writing the Maxx Watts series.  Some characters from Writer’s Block will appear in Boxed In, and other characters from Writer’s Block will appear in the third book.  Once people get to know your characters, it’s good keeping them around.

MA:  As a writer of a trilogy, I have to agree!  What else would you like to let my readers know?

MD:  My web site is full of articles, information, and first chapter previews.  There are posts and photos from some of my international travels as well as articles that apply to some of my books.  As a Murderous Musings blog author, I write a weekly story on whatever comes to mind.  Some apply to the writing craft, some are on travels and experiences, and a few are simply fluff.  Feel free to check them out.

MA:  Thanks for spending some time today on the Child Finder Trilogy.  I encourage everyone to stop by Mark Danielson’s website and blog for more information about his stories and his unique background:  http://www.markwdanielson.com/ and http://www.murderousmusings.blogspot.com/

When Editing Backfires

by

Mary Deal

A lesson in editing and follow-thru, told through a true story.

One of the most ludicrous conversations in all my writing life happened recently.

About a year ago, I edited an accumulation of short stories for a client. Last week he contacted me and asked why his writing had not been accepted anywhere. I told him to bring his CD over and let’s take a quick look at the stories again. Maybe I missed something in my edits. He arrived this morning carrying a thick folder full of rumpled and dog eared paper manuscripts.

For privacy’s sake, I’ll call him Joe. Parts of our conversation went like this:

“Where’s your CD?”

“These are what I submit,” he said. “Some people don’t send them back. It gets awfully expensive.”

What I learned was that he sent out paper manuscripts, which many publishers still allow, but he also had them sent back when they were rejected. More than that, he was resending mangled manuscripts out to the next submission. Gads!

After I explained about electronic submissions, which more often than not these days include whole book manuscripts as well, his shoulders slumped.

Once I looked at his paper copies, I realized he had done little to no editing. I didn’t remember much about the stories from a year ago, but clearly, I had previously seen his glaring errors and recommended fixes in my critiques.

“What’s wrong with my stuff?” he asked. “I’m on all of these writer’s websites and everyone says my stuff is great. So why doesn’t it get accepted?”

“Does anyone on those websites ever tell you what’s wrong with your writing?”

“Not really. They like my writing. There’s a lot of chatter about what’s right and wrong, but no one’s really said anything I can use.”

I nearly choked. So much great advice and information is available on all the sites I frequent, I can’t imagine anyone not learning. “You mean you can’t take some of that advice and bring it back and make it your own? You can’t apply it to your own work?”

“Well, if people say my stories are really good, then they must not be that bad.”

“Joe, all that information floating around those sites, you think it doesn’t apply to you because it’s someone else’s critique? You should be applying any valid suggestion made to others to your own writing too. If it’s good advice, apply it in your work.” I really didn’t know how to explain it to him. He wasn’t getting it and maybe never would. “How can you read all that advice on all those sites and not understand and use it in your own stories?” I could see he was struggling to understand but the synapses in his thought processes weren’t connecting. “I see you didn’t correct your grammar and punctuation. Why not?”

“Well, publishers do that, don’t they? That’s what they’re in the business for, right?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “No, they don’t. That’s why you came for an edit.”

“You didn’t comment on what I wrote about,” he said. “So that meant my stories were good enough. Proofreaders at the magazines would clean it up.”

Shock actually rippled through my nervous system. Once I got my bearings again, I said, “You paid me to edit your stories—these.” I held a few in my hands and sort of shook them at him. “An edit doesn’t include telling the writer which topics to choose.  The edit you paid for was to clean up punctuation, grammar and composition to make the writing understandable to your readers.”

“Well, since you didn’t say anything about my topics, and people liked my stories, I figured they were good enough to send out.”

He wasn’t getting it. “Do you still have the print outs of the edits I did on all these stories?”

No,” he said, looking sheepish. “I didn’t think I needed them after all.” He pulled some pages from the stack he brought. “I was wondering if you could read this new story and tell me if it’s any good.”

Again, I almost fell off my chair. The first paragraph took up nearly the entire single-spaced page. I saw little punctuation and his compound sentences would bewilder the most diligent of editors. I didn’t read any farther. “I’m sorry, Joe,” I said. “I’m not taking on anything new. I’m happy to do this one follow up visit on these older stories, but I’m not editing anymore.”

I did one last thing for Joe. I made him wait while I searched through my archives of old CDs. When I found the one that included his edits, every one of them, I burned another copy. When I handed it to him, I looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Make every single one of these changes to your stories. Print out fresh copies and then find another editor who will look at them.” I knew he was about to ask me to see them once he made his changes. I needed to stay one jump ahead. “A fresh pair of eyes is best. Find a new editor.”

The expression in his eyes remained deadpan. No Aha! experience there. It wouldn’t matter how many writing sites he frequented, or how many editors he paid, he just didn’t get it, or he was simply self-absorbed and too lazy to improve.

Please visit Mary Deal’s website for more wonderful articles like this one: Write Any Genre.

My guest-blogger today is Young Adult (YA) author, LM Preston.  Ms. Preston was born and raised in Washington, DC.  An avid reader, she loved to create poetry and short-stories as a young girl.  With a thirst for knowledge, she attended college at Bowie State University, and worked in the IT field as a Techie and Educator for over sixteen years.  She started writing science fiction under the encouragement of her husband (a Sci-Fi buff) and her four kids.  Her first published novel, Explorer X – Alpha was the beginning of her obsessive desire to write and create stories of young people who overcome unbelievable odds.  She loves to write while on the porch watching her kids play or when she is traveling, which is another passion that encouraged her writing.

MA:   Welcome aboard!  Please tell me a little bit about your professional background.

LM:  I am an engineering, part-time university professor, wife and mother of four kids. I love being an engineer and have over seventeen years and a Master’s degree in the field.

MA:  Wow!  I’m impressed, and I can see how that blend of science and motherhood came together to inspire your Young Adult sci-fi writing.  I take it that’s why you chose to write novels?

LM:  I’ve always loved writing, and did it a lot as a teen and college student to express my thoughts and exercise my active imagination.  I’d given it up when I started my career and had kids.  My husband dared me to write a science fiction novel and I was hooked ever since.

MA:  What makes your stories special and unique?

LM:  I write YA science fiction. I usually write stories about kids that seem to be the outcast but through their own struggles learn about themselves and overcome the impossible.

MA:  I don’t write the YA genre, so I can’t even imagine how it is that you develop your characters.  How did you go about creating your protagonist?

M:  Many of my protagonists just pop up in my mind. They find me more so than me developing them. Once the story flows I force myself to outline the entire book before I write. This works best for me and allows me to finish my books in about four months.

MA:  We share a similar technique.  While I use the same protagonist in my stories, I let each story flow, follow it with an outline, and then commit to writing it once it’s fleshed out that way.  So tell us more about one of your heroes.

LM:  In Explorer X – Alpha, my main character, Aadi, struggles with his desire to do the right thing and fights against the temptation to give in to his ability to abuse his powers.

MA:  What about an antagonist…is there a unique “bad guy” or a recurring nemesis of any kind?

LM:  There are several foes in this tale. The main foe is TEGRC, the company that created team Explorer X.  There are also the evil beings that try to torture and oppress Aadi and his friends.

MA:  I almost hesitate to ask, but did any of your real-life experiences factor in to the plot at all?

LM:  Yes. My childhood was challenging, and I was always tempted to make detrimental choices. Yet, each time I struggled and fought my way out of those circumstances.  I believe all kids have the ability to make the choices that allow them growth in their lives.  Also, the ability to do amazing things is a definite possibility for all.

MA:  So what’s next for you?

LM:  The Pack releases this August. It’s an adventurous upper YA novel about a blind vigilante who sets out to save her brother and the missing kids on Mars.  Explorer X - Beta comes out next year.  I just finished writing Bandits which is an upper YA novel about a boy named Daniel’s quest to find his father’s killer and treasure.

MA:  It sounds like you are really enjoying the journey.

LM:  I love writing because it’s my way of letting young people realize that they have a voice, and an ability to do anything.  If I can achieve my dreams so can you.

MA:  Well thanks for taking the time to visit with The Child Finder Trilogy today.  My readers can learn more about LM Preston and her stories by visiting her websites: www.lmpreston.com and http://lmpreston.blogspot.com/.

The Muse

by

Mary Deal

The Oxford dictionary defines Muse as: 1. (in Greek and Roman mythology) each of the nine goddesses who preside over the arts and sciences, and, 2. a woman who is the inspiration for a creative artist.

Evidently the ancients saw the muse as feminine.

I recently read a blog post and responses that said the writer of the post, a male writer, did not believe in such things as muses; that he and only he created what he did and one day he would write something that would be published. Others agreed saying that no outside person influenced anyone’s creativity.

Since mythology is a result of us humans needing to label everything in order to understand it better, so did the Greeks and Romans give the creative force a name.  Muse.

In the same dictionary, another definition of muse is: 1. to be absorbed in thought. 2. say something to yourself in a thoughtful manner.

This definition makes the meaning of muse a very personal one.

While creativity is personal and belongs to the person in whom it courses, how then would we describe what’s going on within ourselves?

My creative ability is active today.

The energy that flows through me surprises me.

I don’t know where all my ideas come from.

You have no creativity.

As a writer myself, besides these sentences being too verbose, long and stiff, they are boring. They call attention back to us in an egotistical manner. As we do with a great deal of our language, why not adopt the ancient mythological name of Muse, relax and have some fun?

My muse is hot today!

My muse always surprises me.

I give my muse free rein.

You need to wake up your muse.

The muse IS creativity. We all have creativity to whatever degree we care to nourish it. We need to be a little more playful, even if it means we seemingly that we turn our abilities over to the muse. She is not a woman out in the universal ether. She is the force inside us that ignites the arts and sciences. If you wish to partake of those types of creative endeavors, all you need do is accept her. In doing so, you accept the creative energies in yourself and they will catch fire.

Please visit Mary Deal’s website for more wonderful articles like this one: Write Any Genre.

Marketing Your Work of Fiction

I authored this article at the request of fellow author Cynthia Vespia.  She has it posted on her blog as well, Cynthia Vespia: Author of Thrills and Chills.  I hope you can benefit from my insights into marketing your work of fiction in the 21st Century Internet and social media age!

Unless you are among the top three or four best-selling authors at a major publishing house, your publisher and agent will expect you to play a significant role in marketing your work.  This is true for many of the well-known authors, the mid-listers, and pretty much everyone else.  The writing industry has always been competitive, and today it is much more so.  Fewer people buy books in a recession, resulting in decreased revenue for publishers.  This translates into smaller marketing budgets all around.  The top horses in the stable will get the biggest slices of a shrinking pie, leaving almost nothing for the rest of us to graze upon!

But all is not without hope.  There are several things an author can do to promote and market that treasured work of fiction.  In this article, I focus on a variety of “virtual world” techniques for creating and maintaining a robust Internet presence to increase your visibility and help you sell more books.

Website.  You have to have one, and this should be the first step you take before considering anything else I suggest in this post.  Think of your website as your base camp.  You want everything else you do to drive web traffic to your website where you have rich content about you and your stories.  I recommend breaking away from a traditional HTML-based website and use a blog platform.  I use Wordpress (www.wordpress.org) because it is easy to use, has thousands of options for things like themes, plugins, and widgets (I’ll explain in a moment), and it is free.  What I really like about Wordpress is that the “control panel” sits on a server, and not on my home computer.  This means I can log-in from anywhere in the world, on any computer, and make changes, post new articles, make comments, interact with people, and so on.

With a variety of themes (visual styles), plugins (applications that perform functions…like search engine optimization (SEO)), and widgets (stuff the reader can see and use, like my contact forms), I have created a site that looks like a traditional website, but has a rolling blog and hidden functions that integrate my content with the major search engines.  What this means is that the search engines crawl my blog every day and pluck new content, resulting in moving my search ranking up on a real-time basis.  As an author, this means I am more “discoverable” when people search certain key words.

Let’s face it, anyone can find you easily enough if they search for you by name.  What you really want is to land among the top ten results when people search more generic terms, like mystery, thriller, author.  The only way to get there is to establish a significant presence in cyber space.  Your website is the most important first step you must make toward this goal.

Social Media.  If you are not on sites like FaceBook or MySpace, create an account soonest and make sure you put your author website on your profile.  Cross-referencing like this enables the search engines to make critical links.  I also recommend you place links to your social media sites on your website so that your fans can find you there and “friend” you later.  Another advantage to having a presence on social media sites is that it gives you an additional platform to market your books.  Some sites like FaceBook even allow you to create a fan page…it may be best to have someone else start this for you so as not to appear vain, but a fan page is definitely something to consider.

Groups.  Many sites like LinkedIn and Yahoo have “groups” you can join where you can post information about you and your work.  Of course, look for groups that have something to do with writing!  Be sure to read the rules for posting to these groups since they are all moderated to a certain extent, and some things may be considered inappropriate.  Generally speaking, announcements like new book releases, a superb book review, or an award you won are great things to mention…and be sure to put your website URL in the post!

Author Profile Sites.  There are many such sites out there, and the following is just a partial list: GoodReads, Authors Den, Book Blips, shelfari, and so on.  Consider creating an author profile on these sites since they are well-indexed in the SEO community.  One you are there, your “presence” will get picked up by search engines, and thereby increase your visibility.  As with the groups, make sure you place a link back to your website.  On my website, I maintain a list of links to my author profiles on every page on my site for additional cross-referencing.

Guest-Blogging.  Seek opportunities to guest-blog on other authors’ websites, and offer to reciprocate (if you have a blog platform site).  When you guest-blog, you will add more grist to the SEO mill that will enhance your visibility.  Your name will be linked in the mysterious virtual world with other authors, so there will be a pathway that connects you with them.  The more visible another author is in the search engines, the more visible you will be as a result of these connections.

Press Kit and Media Events.  Maintain an up-to-date press kit on your website that a reader can view and download.  There’s no prescription for what must be in a press kit, but on my website I have the following items at the ready: Press Release, Biography, Sample Interview Q&A, Praise/Reviews, Media Coverage, and various image files (face and book covers).  I’ve been approached by various media outlets to do stories about me in their publications as a result, thereby increasing my exposure.

Media Pitches.  Cold pitches rarely work, so I would avoid them.  There are some free services that reporters and journalists use that I do recommend.  You simply sign up for the service, create a profile, and on a periodic basis you will receive emails containing lists of queries that reporters are looking for “experts” to interview.  I use three: “Help a Reporter Out” (HARO.com), reporterconnection.com, and pitchrate.com.  If you are able to establish yourself as an authority on a subject the journalist wants to write about, make a pitch and use it as a platform to plug your book during the interview.  I’ve been successful on several occasions with print, traditional radio, and internet radio venues in marketing my book this way.

Good luck and happy-marketing!

Author Jean Henry Mead is my special guest today.  She began her career as a news reporter, later serving as a news, magazine and small press editor. The author of four novels, her latest release is a senior sleuth mystery/suspense novel, Diary of Murder. She’s also the author of eight nonfiction books. Her magazine articles have won state, regional and national awards and have appeared domestically as well as abroad.

Welcome aboard, Jean!  Tell us about your professional career, before you became a novelist.

JHM:  My first professional writing job occurred while I was editor-in-chief of my college newspaper. I worked 35 hours a week as a reporter/photographer for a daily newspaper in California, and drove 25 miles to a neighboring town to carry 15 units of study. At that time I was a divorced mother of four young daughters. We studied together at night and all managed to stay on the honor rolls. I also coached and managed their softball team which went all the way to the national playoffs one year. It instilled the work ethic in my daughters.

MA:  You sound like a dedicated, multi-tasking mom and writer!  So how did you come about to write novels?

JHM:  I wrote my first novel at age 9 to entertain classmates, a chapter a day written with pencil on construction  paper. But when I reached high school I wrote for the school newspaper and went on to become a news reporter. However, there was always the desire to write novels. Raising four children on my own sidetracked that desire until the kids were grown and I remarried.

MA:  I understand fully how difficult it can be to write while pursuing something fulltime.  In your case it was raising your family, but for me it was my USAF career.  Do you have any professional experiences that influenced your fiction career?

JHM:  I was a police reporter so that inspired my mystery/suspense novels, but I first wrote a Wyoming historical novel based on years of research for a centennial nonfiction book. I spent two years behind a microfilm machine for that and had 18 inches of typed notes left over, which I plan to use for a historical mystery series.  And yes, I heavily researched members of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch for my novel, Escape, a Wyoming Historical Novel. It’s based on actual historical events of the late 1890s and is laced with humor.

MA:  Tell us about your subsequent novels.

JHM:  My second and third novels are my Logan & Caffertry mystery/suspense series, which features two 60-year-old feisty widows who solve the murders of their friends and club members living in a retirement village in California’s foggy San Joaquin Valley. Dana Logan’s beautiful journalist daughter arrives in time to help with the investigation but places her own life in danger. The book is titled A Village Shattered.

In the second novel, Diary of Murder, they’ve sold their homes in the retirement village and purchased a 32-foot motorhome to travel the country. On their way to Wyoming to visit Dana’s mystery novelist sister, Georgi, they learn that she has died. Georgi’s husband claims it was suicide, but Dana and Sarah find Georgi’s diary and investigate her murder. Along the way they encounter a vicious drug ring and more bodies. They nearly lose their own lives in the process.

I’m currently working on the third novel in the series: Murder on the Interstate. Dana and Sarah encounter a murdered young woman along I-40 and are targets themselves.

MA:  How did you go about developing your two protagonists?  What are their strengths and weaknesses?

JHM:  I’m a seat of the pants writer who listens to her characters’ dialog. They actually write the book for me. I may have subconsciously adapted some of the characteristics of a couple of good friends for Dana and Sarah but they’re definitely originals with quirks of their own.

Dana is logical, an introvert and determined while Sarah is quirky, old fashioned and outspoken. They seem to balance each other’s strengths while shoring up the other’s occasional weaknesses.

MA:  Considering you write your mysteries in a series, is there are particular nemesis the ladies encounter in each book?

JHM:  Because the women are on the move, they dispatch each antagonist before moving on to the next murder case in a new location. On down the road, a former “bad guy” may escape prison and come after them, but I like fresh villains in each book.

MA:  Did any of your real-life experiences factor in to the plot at all?  I imagine as a former police reporter you’ve got some good fodder for your stories.

JHM:  Oh, sure. You have to write from experience to be convincing, unless you’re writing fantasy. My first freelance interview was with a couple of sheepherding sisters in the Wyoming outback, in their late 70s and early 80s. When I wrote my first novel, Escape, I portrayed them as twin sisters living in the badlands. Not until the novel was finished did I realize the characters had been patterned after the sheepherders.

MA:  So what are your future writing plans?

JHM:  I plan more Logan & Cafferty books because they’re so much fun to write. I’ve also finished a children’s  novel, The Mystery of Spider Mountain, and a nonfiction book to be published by Poisoned Pen Press, called Mysterious People–interviews with other mystery writers, including Carolyn Hart, John Gilstrap, Louise Penny and Rick Mofina, among many others. I’ve also started a historical mystery/suspense series featuring a single woman homesteader in Wyoming.

Thank you for turning the tables on me with this interview. You can access my Mysterious People interviews at: http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com/ and writing advice and book reviews at: http://advicefromeditors.blogspot.com/. Many of the writers I interview are giving away copies of their books to blog visitors who leave comments.

MA:  Thanks, Jean.  I appreciate your visit with us today and sharing information about your life and your books.  I encourage my readers to visit your websites for more about Jean Henry Mead.