A.C.E. Writers

This past week, there have been several comments about repetitions and their effect on readers. I’m not personally a big fan of repetitions for the sake of repeating myself, but I don’t have a quandry about using them if the story demands it. And quite often, my stories demand it.

I believe most writers probably turn the keyboard over to their characters and allow the plots to drive the story, including the words and the language into each scene. (Yeah, I know Cec, you plot it, outline it and write what you expect to write, but the rest of us just sit down and give the characters license.)

As Lynn Allen once said, “Butt in the chair time determines your success.” Well, I spend a lot of quality time with my butt growing broader and broader in the chair while I work my fingers to the bone on the keyboard, allowing the characters to write the book.

Where do repetitions work?

In one particular story, I recall writing a line, “He had to die.” in a paragraph format, several times with no other words included. That would be a repetitive statement.

He had to die.

The thought stood alone. Because of the main character’s interaction with the antagonist, the purpose was clear from the beginning and throughout the book, even after the antagonist had met his doom, the line continued. But why? Why was that line a stand alone paragraph, a sentence with conviction and yet no real purpose?

He had to die.

The words tell a story. There’s nothing left to question. He simply HAD to die. It wasn’t optional. There was no clarification needed. I don’t need to explain for the character that he was a worthless son of a buck with no life purpose and no value. He had to die. Says it all.

It also doesn’t tell clearly throughout the story whether he died during the story or was dead throughout the story. The sentence is the only indication and the story starts out, first line, first paragraph, first chapter.

He had to die.

So, what repetitive lines can you remember either in a book you read or one you wrote, published or not, that were effective and purposeful?  Tell me about them.

Have you ever decided your short story should be longer and your story should be a book? A few days ago, I revisited a short story I’d written and decided it really needed to be “something more” so I pulled it off the Internet so I could edit the story.

I’ve added a few characters, inserted some interesting plot lines, and increased the heat of the moments that get the story moving forward. Mostly, I injected the story with LIFE.

Then someone asked me what the difference is between a short story and a novel.

The Difference:

• A Short story includes one major plot line and a few scattered concepts that all come together in the single plot to bring the story from introduction to ending. There are almost never more than three or four characters in a short story. The most significant thing a short story does is create a single conflict and solve a single problem. Life moves fast, and anything not relevant to the short story is left out.
• A Novel includes one major plot line and several sub-plot lines that interact in the primary plot, usually all plot lines are connected, though possibly do not include all of the same characters. There are many characters in a novel, including at least four main characters, two of which are so relevant to the plot that a story could not be written without them. Sub-sub-plot lines entwine with various parts of the story to keep your reader intrigued and interested in readin the next chapter. In any given segment of your book, there may be several things going on, but only one basic setting which includes three or four characters and a specific place.

These specific dynamics make your book flow and eb with the story line, while allowing your characters to develop. Now you can upgrade your story to a book!

“YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY”

By Danielle Simone

“Mr. Hillerman and I didn’t get off to a good start,” recalls Oris Reed, Lamar author, oral historian and writer, who also writes as Oris George.  “In 1968, after my fifth class in Professor Hillerman’s Beginning Journalism, he asked me not to come back.  I was against interpretive reporting and spoke my mind. He was a gentleman about it.”

Tony Hillerman, New Mexico author of 18 fiction novels and other non-fiction works, died Sunday, Oct. 26 in Albuquerque from pulmonary failure at 83.  Hillerman’s fiction novels, filled with Native American authenticity, included “The Blessing Way” (1970), “Skinwalkers” (1986), and “Dance Hall of the Dead” (1973).  The last book won the Mystery Writers of America’s 1974 Edgar Allan Poe award for best mystery novel and the first one won the Western Writers of America’s Golden Spur Award in 1987.   His love of the southwest country showed in his non-fiction works as well, and included “The Southwest with Tony Hillerman” (1991).  He was a journalist for many years.  Eventually, looking for a new direction, he earned a Master’s Degree from the University of New Mexico in 1966; he taught writing and ethnic courses there.  This is where Reed and Hillerman first met. [Read more →]

Have you ever wondered how you could meet the author of your favorite book? It’s not as difficult as you might think, so let’s get right to finding the method of meeting.

Google the author’s name.

Open a new browser page and type in www.google.com then go to the search opening. Type in “the author’s name” and hit the search button. There may be just one person in the whole wide world with that name, or there may be more. Consider the selection of names and look to see if there are any sites with “writer” or the title of the book on them. Either would be a clue that you have the right person.

Search Book Title.

Follow the above procedures, except that you search for the book title instead of the authors name. You might even put the book title in quotes and add the last name of the author outside the quotes. You’ll get results on Amazon, Barns and Noble, and any place else that lists the book for sale, including the authors website.

Search for Publishers.

This method is often the least satisfying, but you might find out something more about the author. Search for the Publishers, by name, then search the site for your author. Information and bios about the authors of various books published on a site may be available on the publishers site, or possibly even a listing for contact information or a personal website.

There are many ways to meet the author. Once you find contact information, don’t be afraid to write the author and tell them you’re interested in meeting or communicating with them. They might surprise you with a phone call or a response. (Authors are known to be real people too.)

So, who do you want to contact?

Taking credit for what you write is important. This past month, I’ve written a lot of articles, internet content, and news releases (or press data). In each case, I’ve included my name as a ‘byline’ which reminds the reader that I wrote the item.

There’s nothing so annoying as reading the newspaper and not having any idea or proof of who has written an article or made a presentation. You may know a particular writer and recognize their opinions in an article, but if their name isn’t on the article, you wonder if it’s their work and opinion, or simply someone who agrees with that writer. But, what’s the point?

As a writer, if you’re anxious to make a name for yourself, you want your readers to recognize you, you want to receive recognition for what you write, and you want your readers to have an option of reading what you write - BECAUSE you wrote it. The byline reminds readers of your name and identity so they will recognize you and your style when you write other articles.

The best part of your byline is in the opportunity for you to be recognized for your work. It’s amazing how effective bylines are when awards are given out for specific accomplishments. It’s also important to have a byline on everything you write so it’s recognized as your writing, for the benefit of other writers. They might be a better writer than you. (Of course, they might also be worse.)

So, what name should you use?

I write many different types of work, so I use various forms of my name. J. Verhoeff, Jan Verhoeff, Janet D. Verhoeff, or Jan D. Verhoeff are all ME. They all refer to my work on various kinds of writing. The best part is, I get credit for writing in all those forms of identity. People recognize my name and my identity or style.

The reason for variable is not to fool the reader, but rather to identify specific styles with your writing type. Look over your moniker and find one that fits your writing style. Let your name brand yout style.

Off to a delightful start, the Muse Conference Online is moving and groovin’. I love the forum this year. It’s the second year and it’s working out quite well.

My portion is on character development.  So, first project is to write yourself as a character and make yourself MEAN. Write the BAD Guy story as you’d really like to portray the ‘other side of you’.

Everyone on the conference has a different way of doing what they do, but we all come together in October to promote the ideas and views of making the business of writing happen. If you missed it this year - consider going and signing up for next year.

Google “Muse Conference Online” - You’ll find it!

Gotta go attend a class - bye for now…

Along with the urge to make a profit from your writing, most of us want to present value - value that means something to us, as individuals, and will influence others.

The key component of having value for writing is to have a purpose. Do you have a purpose for writing? Is there a point to what you write? Consider for a moment, what your purpose might be.

Tell your reader by way of your writing - what your purpose is, what the value is, and why he should read what you write.

Occasionally, I offer some interesting Ebooks that might be of interest to writers of various genre. This particular one will be of interest to anyone who writes dialogue and adds characters in their books, stories or articles.

For more information go to Characters and read about the ebook, “Bring Your Characters to Life”.

Copywriters make BIG Bucks on the Internet. It’s a necessary part of every website. If your copy isn’t  up to snuff, you’re going to miss out on sales, marketing, traffic and visitors.

You can hire it done, or you can learn to do it.

Either way - it’s gotta be good.

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