At least try to get it right

I’m talking about research. For one of my future projects I’ll need to research DNA, fertility treatments, shuttle re-entry, earthquakes, the Big Bang, extinction. And that’s just for a start. When shows, movies and books have incorrect information in them and I KNOW it’s wrong, it annoys me. I laughed at the scenes they had in NCIS when they went to Timothy’s publisher/agent. Can’t remember which. But I do remember they got a lot wrong. Ditto for Bones. Of course I’m still unpublished so maybe when I make millions of dollars from my books my publisher will buy me a Rolex or a car. And don’t even get me started on the police investigation/forensic stuff they get wrong in TV shows. Check out The Graveyard Shift for Castle reviews.

My pet peeve is the stripper thing. I’ve read ONE book that got it right. There are a surprising number of books out there that include strippers at some point. I knew the stereotypes for strippers and strip clubs. Before I worked in one (as a bartender) I believed them all. But you might be surprised at how they actually work. And the strip clubs where men take off their clothes are WAY worse than the ones where women take off their clothes.

You have to do research even if you write short stories. Who knew? Certainly not me. But then I got an idea for a short story and I can’t write it without researching – of all things – spiders. Shudder. On my short mystery loop someone was asking research questions about guns. Yay for wanting to get the facts right!

I love it when authors at least try to get it right. I know of many writers who have taken citizen police academy classes (me included) so they can get the crime stuff right. Yes, they’ll tweak things for the sake of the story. They might change something because they need to for a plot point or to help with the pacing. When they do that though I like to know at the beginning. A little note from the author saying they changed certain things for the sake of the story is all that’s needed.

So the next time you put something in your book where someone could go – Wait a minute, that’s not how it is – please, please, please research it first. And for anyone thinking of putting a stripper in their book, please do me and my walls a favour and don’t just talk to people who have been to strip joints. Actually go to one and see how it works. You might be surprised.

Off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy

Halfway there

I know this post is really late. It’s been a crazy day. Appointment, work, pick up new laptop, writing meeting. The day just kind of got away from me. I bought a new laptop yesterday and picked it up today. I love getting new toys! But this is not about that. This post is about me being halfway to the finishing line for my current novel!

I finally got all of my random scenes (aka the Nano mess) into my Write It Now software. I also inserted all the chapters I had already written when I was writing in order. I moved stuff around. Figured out what chapters the random scenes needed to go into. Created some new chapters. Chapter ten is currently only two paragraphs so that one will need some work. I was so happy it was finally all there. But then I needed to compile it into one document complete with page numbers and chapter breaks so I could see what I actually had.

I printed up the document yesterday and was pleased to see I had 207 pages. So I’m more than half finished. Now I need to add about 40,000 words. First, I need to read those pages and see where the gaping holes are in the story. I had a writing meeting last night where we discussed my book and I realized by their questions there are things I need to address in the book that I haven’t. I actually can’t wait to go through and read what I have. I can’t wait to fill in the holes and finish this sucker so I can start on the next book.

The reading will have to wait though. It’s past my bed time.

Until next time…

Cindy

Making the time

I know I can write more than I do. When I put my mind to it I can write 2000 words a day. I just have to put my my to it every day. My problem is Writer ADD. There are so many things I want to do when I get home from work. One of them is writing. The rest – spending time with the boyfriend, playing with my websites, email, Facebook, read.

I’m taking two online workshops right now on how to be more productive. Yes, one isn’t enough for me, that’s how much help I need. For one we had to list what gets in the way of writing. After looking at my list I realized the only thing that gets in the way is me. I could be more disciplined. The boyfriend is very supportive. He asks me if I’ve done my words for the day. We share the cooking. He does the laundry. There’s no reason I can’t write more in the evenings. The second had us write out our schedule for the day. I looked at that and realized how much time I wasted on email and Facebook. It really isn’t necessary to hit the refresh on email every two minutes. Or hit the refresh on Facebook every five minutes.

If I want to accomplish my goals of finishing one novel, one screenplay and six short stories I have to get cracking. So far I’ve finished three short stories and submitted one. Which is actually more than I had done in the past year and a half. I’ve got another short story on the go. I have my novel input into my Write It Now software so I can figure out what’s missing. And I’ve got 25 pages of the screenplay done. The goals are still doable.

To help me write more I will be keeping Outlook closed until I’ve written my minimum words for the day. I’m upping my minimum words of 100 per day to 500 per day. Facebook will also be closed until I’ve reached the minimum for the day. The big step is getting my office set up. I need my things around me to write. I need my desk and my printer. I need my office supplies. I need my reference books right there so I can flip through them when I need them. I can’t wait to have that. I know I’ll be able to get lots of writing done that way.

No writing for me right now though. I’m off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy

Add title here

Titles. Blog posts need them. Books need them. Movies need them. Short stories need them. Poems need them. And I suck at them. The only one of those I don’t write is poems. So I have to come up with titles for a lot of different projects. Frankly I’m glad that once I publish my editor will most likely change my title. I don’t get married to my titles because I know they’ll most likely change. If they don’t just come to me in a flash of inspiration I have a hard time coming up with a title. The inspired ones though, I’ll fight to keep. As an example, here are the titles of my complete, still unpublished books.

Highland Deception
Double Deception
Lorelle’s Song (ugh, that one’s really horrible)
Silk Secrets

Highland Deception takes place in the Highlands of course and the hero thinks the heroine has deceived him. In Double Deception my heroine is a twin. For Lorelle’s Song I had no clue what to call it. The heroine’s name is Lorelle and the hero writes her a song to show how much he loves her. The heroine in Silk Secrets owns a lingerie store called Silk Secrets.

Titles are important. In an article in the Huffington Post about what motivates readers to buy books titles are on the list. A good, catchy title means a lot. For me that’s the first thing that usually attracts me. If the title sounds intriguing I’ll pick up the book and read the back cover copy. Then I read the first page. If everything sounds good I’ll buy it.

I was looking at the Chapters list of NYT bestsellers and I gotta say, based on the titles alone I wouldn’t have picked up a lot of those books to even get to the back cover copy. For example: Charlie St. Cloud: A Novel. It’s just not speaking to me. The Passage. Also didn’t speak to me but it was a recommended read by Stephen King in his Entertainment Weekly article so I read the blurb. It sounds like an awesome book. I will be buying it. Maybe even before it comes out in paperback. Swimsuit. I love James Patterson but that title doesn’t grab me either. Not like his older ones – Kiss the Girls, Cat & Mouse, Cradle and All.

Of course if you’re a well known author readers will buy every book you write. I would buy Dean Koontz’s grocery lists if he ever decided to put them into book form. Other authors have to grab me first. And they do that with the title. Publishers know this. That’s why they usually end up changing the title the author originally thought up. Sometimes titles just don’t grab me though so I’ll have to buy those books based on recommendations from other people.

I’m off to work. Maybe on my way I’ll come up with a title for the first book in my urban fantasy series. I love the idea, love the character. Can’t come up with a title for it to save my life.

Until next time…

Cindy

Plot or character?

What came first? This is the chicken and the egg question for writers. Even though I’m 85% pantser the plot comes to me first. I’ll get an idea for a story and it’s always the plot that plays out in my head. Then I have to come up with characters to populate my story. I’m an action/plot reader. I love lots of action and plot driven stories. Not so much for character driven stories. Yes, I know character drives the plot, but that’s the point. There has to be a plot. There has to be something going on. They have to be doing something. I’ve read books where nothing actually happens. The plot is so thin my two and a half year old niece could blow it away. I keep asking myself when is something going to happen. I like involved, complicated plots. That’s probably why I love spy stories and suspense/thrillers.

Even for my new urban fantasy series the first story came to me first. After I knew the bones about the story the character sprang fully formed complete with angsty backstory. But I had the idea first. I just needed the right character to fill it.

I’m thinking about all of my story ideas. All those half finished, only a proposal, just one chapter stories I have and none of them are character driven. They all have meaty plots that I’ll get to one of these days. Even my historicals had spies and traitors in the mix. My characters had to be searching for something while all the romance stuff was going on. Actually the spying and traitors in the mix helped build the romance.

Maybe that’s why I don’t name my characters right away. Or feel the need to name them right away. The plot comes first for me. So when I first start writing I put in generic names until I really get to know the characters. Then I go back and give them real names.

So what comes first for you? Plot or character?

Until next time…

Cindy

Points of View

Point of view. Everyone has one. But I’m not talking about those points of view. I’m talking about character. Every story needs to be told from someone’s point of view. The author has to decide if first person or third person is best for the story. For me that’s an easy choice. I’m not a fan of first person so all of my stories are in third person. Even the urban fantasy I came up with is third person. That surprised me because most urban fantasies lend themselves to first person. The only thing I write in first person is my diary. Maybe that’s why I have a problem with it. Who knows? My friend is writing a book that takes place in the past and the present. She’s using first person in the past and third person in the present. I liked the idea of keeping them separate. Using first person in the past gives that part of the story an immediacy you might not get if the whole novel was third person. Even though I don’t read first person much I’d read her book to see how she pulls it off. But first person, third person those weren’t the points of view I was talking about though.

I’m talking about how many POVs you have in your story. Who gets one? Do you stick with just one or do you have multiple POVs? And it doesn’t depend on if you’re writing first person or third person. My friend isn’t the only writer who uses a combination of first person and third person in their novels. James Patterson writes a number of his books using a combination of first and third. It all depends on the kind of book you’re writing.

A mystery might only have one point of view. The ones I’ve read have been first person. A lot of category length books will only have two points of view. You don’t have a whole lot of pages to tell the story so five points of view is probably not your best option. Category suspense might incorporate a third point of view for the antagonist. Again, they’re short books so you don’t have a lot of room for lots of points of view. Mainstream and single title novels have more wiggle room. Bigger stories, more plot, more characters, .more opportunity for more points of view. So how do you decide?

The ghost story I’m working on now has the protagonist’s point of view of course. The next victim of the serial killer has a point of view because I want the reader to understand how unthreatening the killer seems. The killer might have a point of view. The protagonist’s best friend has a point of view. The lead investigator for the murders has a point of view. I’m trying to decide if the protagonist’s boyfriend should have a point of view. So far I can’t come up with a reason to give him one. The reader won’t get any new information about the murders.

My post apocalyptic suspense has heroine point of view, hero point of view, various and sundry secondary character points of view – the waitress who has a secret, the antagonist who also has a secret, the law enforcement officer bent on capturing the heroine, a teenager in jail who has information for the heroine. I think that’s it. So far. The book’s not finished yet so there’s no telling how many more there will be.  Seriously, though they’re all needed. They all give vital information to the story and it would be confusing if I took them out.

So how many are too many? Do you like only one? Only two? Do you like a lot of different points of view?

I’m off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy