Expected Unexpectedness

My characters are not based on real people. Sometimes I wish that they were. But then, I would have to fictionalize them, which would make them not at all the same. Since that's so, it's probably best that they live only in my imagination.

I love inventing people. If I were a gamer, I would like the games where worlds of imaginary people are created. But wait - that 's what I do now. It's just that my canvas is the page rather than a set of animated renderings.

Once I know what every character wants, I throw them into a big free-for-all and record what happens as they each try to achieve their goals. Even if we all know that in the end, the hero and heroine get together, their journey isn't predictable. I am always surprised to see the conflicts and alliances that the characters develop along the way. Those who read my stories are also surprised.

Isn't that the way it should be?

Owning It

Photo Credit:   Maa-illustrations, Dreamstime

Each of us sees life through an emotional prism. The light refracted through it colors our every thought and act. It may be that some of the colors are of pain. It may be that some of us are, in some ways, 'walking wounded'.

The phrase, 'walking wounded', is a medical term, originally used to refer to those of the battlefield-wounded whose injuries were minor enough that they were still able to 'walk', or function almost as normal. It was later also applied to those who suffered cognitive impairment resulting from a traumatic brain injury. They appear normal, but require far more concentration to get through the normal tasks of the day than they did before the injury, leaving them with chronic mental fatigue.

With apologies to those in the medical community who may be offended, I'm using the phrase, 'walking wounded', to describe those of us who are survivors of emotional trauma. There isn't a physical injury as in the above two cases, but to the afflicted, the suffering is just as severe.

I've found that writing for the emotionally 'walking wounded' in my stories have surfaced some of the hurts that I bear, and also, some for which I'd like to atone. Calling folks out for having hurt me in the past isn't something that I will do. My hurts are small. So for me, it is up to the ones who inflicted the hurts to own up to them and apologize for them. My only responsibility is to rise above them and live abundantly.

On the other hand, I shall make an effort to apologize for hurts that I know I have caused. I am hopeful that they too, when looking through the prism to the past, now seem small.

So Show Me!

Artists - painters, sculptors, authors, poets, et al - express emotion with their work.

Authors creating characters that show only one emotion is akin to painters rendering on the canvas in only one color, or at worst, only one hue of that color. Making lists of emotional attributes works for some authors; interviewing them works for others. Neither works for me.

My characters have to show me who they are. So I derive two scenarios: a positive one into which I introduce an element of increasingly negative degree, and a negative one into which I introduce an element of increasingly positive degree.

For example, a character, Jake, is at a restaurant with a long-time love. They are enjoying the evening, looking forward to the movie that is to follow.

• Negative element: A man walks by, and Jake sees his love and the man exchange glances. 
• More negative element: After the exchange of glances, Jake hears a TM beep in her purse, and sees a slight, melancholy change in her expression. 
• Even more negative element: The man walks up to the table, sweeps her into his arms, and heartily plants a kiss on each cheek. He is introduced as an old friend.

I write the scene, each time with one of the negative elements and Jake's reactions to that element. The scene will most likely not be in the story. I don't take the time to write it perfectly. I merely want to evoke action from Jake so that he shows me who he is. 

This time, I've tried to write the above scene for the heroine in my new story, but it isn't working. She says she wouldn't ever be in a situation with a long-time love.

Omigosh... Why the hell not?

Spring Cleaning

I've let myself go - neglected my platform. Yes, I've been busy, but that's not an excuse. It needs sprucing, pruning, polishing, and I'm taking time out right now get it all bright and shiny again.

First up - my authors lists. I apologize in advance to those of you who follow them, but 'authors-books, stories' and 'authors books stories too' are a hodge-podge and it's time to bring order. I've already begun TradPubbedAuthors, IndiePubbedAuthors, SelfPubbedAuthors and SoonToBePubbedAuthors. I'll be moving authors into those so please follow them instead. Also please let me know if you think I've put you in the wrong list. WritingBiz and ReadingBiz will stay as they are because they feed my papers. I've also built a paper around my new authors lists - take a look!

I've already updated my social widget to include Pinterest and my papers. Soon, I'll add forums that I frequent. Speaking of the forums, I haven't yet set up my profile and visited some of them. Now that I'm moving solidly on to book #2, I'll have time for a while to hang out with other authors. Joy!

Peace Out to the Spirit Lifter

Photo Credit: Cathryn Louis (me!)

Last week I learned that my car has a transfer case. I don't know exactly what it is or what it does, but I do know that it can crack. Mine did. Perfect. Just lovely. The perfect end to the winter season in which I've struggled to get my novel published - and failed. Many false starts and mis-steps - or as I prefer to spin it 'learning opportunities'. No longer sunny, I was heading down the road toward blue. So what did I do with the lemons (and multiple cliches) suddenly raining down on my head? It's spring - time for lemonade!

It's all a matter of perception, and I decided that I wanted to look on the bright side. So what do I have to be happy about?

1. A recent, chance meeting with someone whose critique I highly value, and who I hope to someday meet IRL (in real life), if only to express my profuse thanks.   After questions and comments about the inciting incident paragraphs gave me the courage to make the change that had to be made, Sparks is significantly better. I had believed in my story before, but now I have confidence. Sparks is **wink, wink** a competitive story. We'll see how it turns out.
2. It's been since November that I've been working toward getting Sparks published. Looking back, I know that my knowledge of the business has grown phenomenally since then. Could I have learned differently? Maybe, but this quote shared by @BeautyOfWisdom says it all. It's the only way I can learn, and have it 'stick' for the long haul.
3. April was a learning month. I am still a working professional in a far different industry and my daughter's dreams must come before my own. Still, I've found a way to learn directly from publishing professionals even though, for me, writer's conferences are still a pipe dream. Duh... Webinars! Those that I've attended are Writer's Digest webinars and I'm sure there are others as well.

So what's up with my new little friend, Mello Yello? It was a loaner during the time that my car was being repaired, courtesy of the extended warranty. We had BIG FUN. I thought about getting a peace sign necklace to hang on the rear view mirror, but a Harry Potter Deathly Hallows necklace works just as well. It has truly lifted my spirits. Peace Out Peeples!

Whine with Character(s)

This is probably the third or fourth time I've whined about my characters, but I truly do wish they would behave. It's extremely rude, I think, that while being intricately painted, they should snatch the brush out of my hand and proceed to paint themselves. I've even had a few paint themselves out of the picture. Imagine that - suicidal characters.


What the characters come up with is never what I originally envisioned and I then have to refashion the story around them. My worst critics, they then start to change the story until it suits them. Sometimes several characters want to pull it in different directions, installing new dramatic conflict that I then have to adjust the story to handle. No wonder 'writing is rewriting'. I may as well just hand them my laptop and have done with it.

Good, Bad, & Not Quite There

Any author who wants their stories to be read has to write good ones. Here's the dilemma - how does one know what makes a good story? I doubt that anyone sets out to write a bad story, but on the other hand, I bet there are few - experts included - who can unimpeachably say what truly makes a good one.

Being an as yet unpublished author, I don't qualify to even attempt an answer to the question. But of one thing I am sure. Readers are a very good indicator of whether or not the story is a good one. If it is, they will talk, and talk and talk about it. Non-stop. They will know the characters, have favorite characters and scenes, disagree with other readers about the finer points of the story, and on and on. When that happens, those who matter have declared the story a good one - no matter what an expert may say.

The corollary to the above has to be that if there is only ringing silence, the story is not - yet? - a good one. Very few will tell an author that a story is bad, or can even point out problems that keep a story from being good. Most of us, careful of the feelings of others, will simply say nothing or avoid situations where we could be asked.

So even though I can't definitively say what makes a good story, we all know it when we see it - readers will be knocking down the door to say how much they love it. Unless they are, there needs to be more work. And another thing we all know: agents and publishers are readers too.

Sunglasses, Sparkle & Scenes of Life

I am now a stalker.

That's a great opening line. Maybe I'll use it in one of my next novels. But on second thought, it's probably already been used. In this case, though dramatic, it's not nearly the truth.

I have, though, become an observer. Instead of sitting in a dark, isolated coffee shop, I now choose those in well trafficked areas, and sit by the - preferably - sunlit window; ostensibly pecking away on my ancient laptop, but instead observing vignettes of life as they unfold on the other side of the glass. Everything looks like a painting to me now; and I sit, eyes hidden behind my prescription sunglasses, trying to recapture it on my digital canvas.

A segue... Isn't 'ancient laptop' an oxymoron? But it's true. This baby will never fit into a purse. It demands its own carrying case and can last barely half an hour without being plugged in. And it is sloooowwwww.

...and back. Today's subject: a girl, apparently not yet twenty, pushing a baby carriage, and accompanied by another child slightly older than the one in the carriage. They meander down the street, the girl allowing the walking child to wander, but not too far. How can such a young one find herself responsible for two children and be so happy about it? I was dying to know.

As she approached the bakery, the answer became clear. A women emerged, and lifting the baby from the carriage, swung him? around in a circle; then swooped down to kiss the walking child and then the girl. Had I not been across the street and wearing sunglasses, I would surely have been blinded by the sparkle of the ring on her left ring finger.

After giving her mom a hug, ruffling the hair of the walking child, and kissing the baby, the girl ran off to join friends who appear to have been waiting for her. Still carrying the baby, her packages in the stroller, the mother followed at a slower pace, also allowing the walking child to wander. Their story looks like a happy one. But as I'll never know it, I'll just have to write my own.

Next! ...Year, That Is

It's here! The end of the year. Next up - 2012. An amazing time to be on the planet. I can't believe 2011 went by so quickly. I need two more months! Of course, I've compared to where I was last year. I have much to be grateful for:

Sparks. I had expected to be done in June, but it took almost five months more than I planned. Clearly, my estimator is broken. Still, I'm thrilled. Last year this time, the novel I planned to build from the first draft I'd called Sunrise on the Pier didn't even have a name. I had only spent a little over a month working my way through notes from an extremely thorough editorial critique, which by the way, blew the entire budget I had set aside for editorial services and conferences. For me, it was well worth it, because I obviously needed the help. It's not that the critique itself was a magic bullet - I worked very hard to both learn and benefit from it. From November through March, I used the notes as I developed my outline and scene table. Scene table? Before I started working through the notes, I hadn't known that I wanted one. From April through November, I used the outline and table for a scene by scene construction of Sparks. Why? Working that way just felt natural to me. Along the way, I wrote weekly blog posts about process and craft that I will always use. For me, 2011 was a year of excruciatingly hard work, but I loved every moment. Whatever the outcome, I am now an author.

Unnamed new novel. I had started it in October 2010, and then put it aside for Sparks. This past November I came back to it, and instead of going full bore through a first draft, I now prefer to work with my outline and scene table as writing prompts for the scenes. Getting started with this new story is a bit rocky because I'm trying to figure out how to structure it; spiraling among the various short narratives, the outline and the scene table. It's like working through a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. Every time through, I'm bringing more order to the chaos. Though playing with my puzzle, I still write each day, I'm just not making a cohesive story at this point. I write whatever I choose, and if it fits, I'll use it. If not, it still breathes life into the characters and the story, and provides fodder for my blog posts.

Confidence: This is the accomplishment that I most value. I now know that I'm able to write more than the one book. After invaluable input and advice from a range of professionals and friends, the responsibility for the words on the page lies only with me. I'm the one who decides how to receive and use criticism to improve my writing. Much of it I deem valid and learn from it; some of it I toss to the side. The business of authoring and publishing is as harsh as any other. On occasion, words are meant to hurt and debilitate rather than instruct. I celebrate that I've come to understand that. It's not a matter of having thin or thick skin, it's simply the ability to recognize which comments and criticism have substance and/or are relevant to my writing. The pen finally feels at home in my hand.

Patience. Failure is a hell of a teacher. As I have come to accept, so is patience. An added bonus? It doesn't have failure's public humiliation factor. :-D I badly want Sparks to be published. On the other hand, I want to give it the best opportunity to attract the most readers. So I'm not going to rush it. Will it be traditional or indie? We shall see. The task I've set myself for this year is to learn how to publish. A WHOLE YEAR? Yes - that's where patience comes in. I'm still new to this business and for me, learning to publish is at least as important as learning to write.
Next year this time, I hope to be able to share the publishing date for Sparks, and that being an author is my only profession. Wish me luck - and best of luck to all of you in all of your writing and publishing endeavors!

I have a great feeling about 2012...

Knots? Not!

By the time I recognized that I had been tying myself up in knots, I was already in a pretty tight tangle. Too happy that the narrative structure of my new story was all sorted out, I was unprepared to find that the plot structure wasn't cooperating. The story was complete, already framed in my mind; and I knew the inciting incident for the part of it that happened in the past. There also had to be cause for the characters to act in the present, and it eluded me. Hence the knots. Depressing.
I tried to create a ground-zero event, but it was obviously only there to be 'the incident'. Then I tried to scrap the story in the past and bring its event forward. Ruined everything - not enough time had passed. Finally I examined the motivations of the hero and heroine. To my intense relief, the tangle started to undo itself. It was clear that each of them had to have their own reason for getting involved in the story.
So in the present, there are two inciting incidents for the action plot. Additionally, there must be an inciting incident for the romantic plot. That makes four plot lines, when I had made myself believe that there would be only two - one each for the past and present. How I could do that when the single-timeline story I just finished had dual plot lines - one each for the action and romantic plots - is a mystery. But for now at least, I am no longer imitating a pretzel.

Jazzed Time

Just as with Sparks, my second novel is in the driver's seat and I'm just along for the ride. For months, when I've had spare brain cycles, I tried to figure out whether or not a portion of it should be shown in flashback. Now that finishing it is one of my main activities, I began to write in earnest and immediately the story showed me that flashbacks won't work. The circumstances are such using them would make it the hero's tale - and I want it to be that of the heroine.

A challenge is that a significant part of the story occurs in the past, so I'm driven to study up on alternatives to the linear narrative. I'm also reading stories such as Katherine Neville's The Eight and Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife. They're helping me out tremendously and inspired me to figure out how to handle time displacement in the way that works best for my story. As soon as I typed the first few words, a scene evolved, revealing what I had to do. Strategically placed snippets - or vignettes - from the past. Not shown in flashback, but used to propel the linear story line of the present. Holy cow - just like that, the narrative structure is in place. I'm really jazzed!

Takin' A Wild Ride & One More Me

For the first ten months of the almost three years it took to write Sparks, I had only one objective - to finish writing it. Then I added blogging. I liked managing both - each cleansed my writing palette for the other. Now though, I find myself with a longer list of activities and no idea how I'm going to get them all done:

•  Getting Sparks published: A primary activity, which will take time, and for which I will need patience. 
• Reviving novel 2: Another primary activity. I had started it before I began revising Sparks, and now need to reacquaint myself with the characters and the story so I can get back to writing it.
•  Updating and managing my web presence: A third primary activity. Geez... I've accumulated a lot of primary activities. Right now, my domain name points only to my blog. I have to incorporate my blog into a broader site.
• Keep up my weekly blogging: The fourth primary activity. I've now finished the character sketches for Sparks - except for very minor characters, and it's time to move on.
• As if four primary activities aren't enough, I've gotten an idea for an e-book I want to put together. Though I don't count it as primary, I have to address it because I've found that when I stifle an urge, I give myself writer's block.
• OMG - there's a sixth one! I have several ideas for short stories. I'll have to write them too, or again, run the risk of blocking myself. 

So... four primary activities, and two others. This is going to be a wild ride. Anybody else juggling multiple major activities? Think I'll need to clone myself.

Who Am I?

Embarrasing but true - I'm suffering through an identity crisis. Not in the sense of real name versus pen name, though that debate rages in some corners of the writing community. As much as I love to read, I don't recall ever questioning the name on a book jacket. However, I have made sure to remember it when I love the book.

My particular crisis concerns my Twitter or ultra-short bio and that I'd chosen to call my writings 'stories where the heroines are masters of technology'. Sounds incredibly cool - or so I thought. But what does it tell prospective readers? Ummm... geez... well... nothing. As far as book lovers are concerned, my artful? description is absolutely worthless.

What now? Back to the drawing board. First thing is to define what I write. That's easy enough. Sparks, and the stories to come, are suspenseful tales interwoven with a love story; or in short, romantic suspense. Some experts say I should compare my work to a known author. But whom? There are many, wonderful romantic suspense authors; each significantly different from another - and from me. After deep consideration, it seemed best to go to the source.

Mary Stewart is widely recognized (sometimes with Dame Daphne Du Maurier) as the defining author of romantic suspense. I LOVE her books. Since Sparks has yet to be published, it is extremely arrogant to compare myself to her. Instead, it's more accurate to say that my work is 'in the tradition' of hers.

Now for the next questions: What makes my work unique? What is different for the characters? A shift in time is the main thing. This is the twenty-first century. The types of problems characters can face have grown by orders of magnitude. Tastes and mores are also far different. Most of us accept that there are no absolutes. I can make scenes of intimacy far more sensual and those of peril far more personally threatening, without leaving the realm of romantic suspense.

After several attempts, what I've come up with is 'A romantic suspense author, in the tradition of Mary Stewart, who writes edgy, provocative, contemporary stories.' I like it for now, but as always, #amwriting #amediting. :-D

Ya Talkin' Ta Me?

Someone asked me - earnestly, sincerely - for my thoughts on writing a book. My first reaction was - who me? I've not yet commercially published my first novel. What thoughts am I qualified to share?

If someone were to ask for my thoughts on software development, I could expound at length. How to immerse oneself in the customers' world and help define their business rules; how to use those rules to determine the best architectural approach; how to develop the application using the best fit for design, implementation, testing, deployment and maintenance. No problem - I strut that stuff.

But my thoughts on writing a book? I'm not as well-versed in the publishing industry as I could be; my degree's not in any writing related field. All I can say is that I had an idea for a family of novels and an overwhelming desire to share it. Maybe that's what I can share - my perspective on writing, as someone who is new to writing and the publishing industry.

Using that point of view, I'll creep out on the limb and share what I've learned so far:

Have Patience. Writing is a profession - at least as demanding as the one you're already in. It is best for newbies - like me - to accept that no matter how long it took to finish the novel, or how many times it was revised and polished; it should still be considered a first draft. Agents are not interested in first drafts. Reputable independent publishers will either refuse or advise against publishing one. Self-publishing an ebook is free and easy, which is why millions are doing it. It's also why readers are extremely discerning about which ebooks they will buy. My 'first draft'? Took over a year. So how to make your first draft the best it can be?

The first step - Learn. Learn patience, dedication, the framework and rules of writing, the ins and outs of the publishing industry. Use the many free resources on the Internet to get an idea of what you need to learn more about; then take online and/or offline courses to learn it. Many writing community sites have recommendations for classes. Many universities have online writing courses. Some professors freelance with online courses and/or non-university workshops.

The next first step - Write. Yes, I meant that. Writing is not second. Learning is not second. They are both first. Start a blog, write short stories, write your novel. Write something for readers everyday, each time using what you have learned up to that point. I've found that writing for others makes me work much harder than writing for myself. That's the main reason for having a blog - to post what you write. The more you write - knowing that someone will read it - the better you will get. What? You don't have the time? If you want to write - really, really want to write - you'll find the time. I found the time by giving up nightly television. Now I write instead of watching what others wrote.

Believe it or not, you must Read. A lot. Literary fiction, genre fiction - all fiction. Over time (the patience thing again), the more you read, the more you will be able to discern the construction of a book. You'll start to appreciate the artistry behind the stories and learn from it. Also you'll start to recognize an author's style and voice, and be able to recognize your own as well. Once you recognize your own style and voice, you can evolve them. It was fun to reread the post on my voice and see that I was (am) spot on. Pay close attention to the second to last paragraph. I address it later in this post. ;-)

Another must do is Participate. Immerse yourself in the writing community - offline and/or online writers' groups, critique sites, any community where you can share the journey with and get feedback from other writers. You'll find that you'll begin to offer feedback as well. Reviewing someone's work and giving them feedback hones your critical eye. Developing a practiced critical eye is very important - you'll soon have to use it to objectively critique your own work. Attend writers' conferences. You can start with local ones. They are a great resource for community and learning. Twitter is a wonderful community builder. As CathrynLouis, I have lists of authors and people in the business of writing. Are they full lists? Of course not. I don't know that there is such a thing. But they are my community. There are also Twitter story and chat hashtags you can participate in when they're live, such as #fridayflash, #litchat, #storycraft, #writechat, #fridayreads and a host of others. If you don't know what that means, it's time for the learning thing again.

Select your Guides - a very small set of printed guides that remind you of writing essentials such as plot, characters, style, etc; and keep them with your writing materials. I only have two. Why just two? Because more than two light volumes is too much to carry - for me anyway - and I've begun to carry my writing materials (in some form) almost everywhere I go. I've always got the laptop, my thumb drive, a journal, a writing pad or something I can use to record a few paragraphs should the inspiration hit - and my guides. I've even begun to make voice recordings on my phone that I later transcribe. If you've got an electronic dictionary/thesaurus, great! Take it with you. Otherwise leave the references behind and use them in your permanent writing space.

Recognize that Competition is maddeningly fierce. You're competing with a host of people who are writing books; many whose career is writing. So you've got to give it your best shot - and even then, you may not yet be publishable. What to do then? Use what you've learned and go on to the next novel or continue to rewrite and revise your first. That's what writing professionals do. Many of them aren't publishable the first time either. But almost everyone who considers themselves an author tries to publish every book they write; and sometimes, the same one over and again.

So back to that first draft. How do you turn it into a novel that is at least worthy of consideration for publishing?

Choose a developmental Editor. It is highly unlikely you will hear the words "Get a developmental editor." You will more likely hear ringing silence - as in no response. Remember - you are new to the writing profession. It is highly advisable that you get the best developmental editor who will take you on as a client. I'll always be grateful to those who gave me a (not so :-D) subtle nudge to get an editor. But whom to get? If you've participated - immersed yourself in the writing community - there are many you can ask for advice. If you haven't, it's a crap shoot and I wish you luck. Even with recommendations, you have to research the editors and choose the one who looks to be the best fit for you. Then you ask to be taken on as a client. If you are refused, find out why. If it's fit, ask for a recommendation of someone who would be a better fit. If it's quality of the work, then improve your skills (write, write, write some more, read, learn), rewrite and/or revise your novel or start with a new idea; and try again.

If you're harboring a romantic notion about dashing off a quick novel, sending it around until an astute agent recognizes your genius, then being mentored into the author you know you can be; Fagetaboutit! Ain't likely to happen. Developing your talent is your responsibility. That said, you will find help along the way. One example in my case, is the way I found an editor. I took a chance and asked an editor who is highly respected and widely known to recommend a list for whom my book was a good match. After he took a look at the book, he said he would do it himself! I was - and still am - floored. I count myself very fortunate that he is willing to work with me, and am inspired to work that much harder at improving the story. I'd like to call it validation, but I can't. It's far too early. I still have to finish the book.

There are other examples I can give; and you will also accumulate your own. Just be sincere and keep it real as you travel along the road to authorship; and always, always be willing to give back. I have found writing to be personally rewarding and I continue to work toward being commercially published. What do I advise for you? Go for it!

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Note: Since I'm posting this as part of my revision journal, I should probably add something about my progress. How's it going? Swimmingly! I'm at chapter six of twenty one now for the outline and storyboard. Chapter five took a little longer than I expected. Remember the paragraph in the post about my voice?  There was a long scene of exposition thinly disguised as a character's thoughts. No wonder I couldn't figure out what to do with him while he was thinking. I ended up moving him around his condo like a Ken doll. zzZZZZ.... I've now broken that passage into three scenes; one in which he interacts with another character. I've also interspersed another two scenes among them for continuity and easier transition to the next rise in action. Much more lively now.

Goodbye to What Never Was

It appears there's a reason that this sinus, cold, virus thing knocked me out of action. I think fate decided to take control of things since I was obviously letting things get - or taking them - out of control. The bug made my eyes hurt; I couldn't use them for reading or writing. The only thing left to me? Thinking. Lots of random things. L taking her first steps, then finding out she could jump. We were all tired that day - we jumped everywhere we went. Happy memories.

My thoughts turned to writing. Anxiety kicked in. The new novel and its characters; my short stories; my essays; the newsletter. Because I wasn't in any condition to run, reality caught up with me and forced to be honest with myself. With two works in progress (yes two - more on that hopefully in weeks to come), a weekly blog entry and the occasional short story; taking on a newsletter - and doing it properly - is far too much to add. Even just thinking about it caused my stress level to climb.

I have to admit that there isn't enought time for me to devote to a creative, high quality, weekly newsletter. It wasn't just to be an emailing of the newst blog post. I also meant it to have the backstory of how the post came about, a flash fiction story or two and maybe even a guest post from time to time. In other words, doing it correctly would be yet another full time job. I already have two. So sadly, I have to say goodbye to the newletter that never was. Thanks to those of you who have already subscribed; my sincere apologies for ending it so abruptly. But better that than starting something that I wouldn't be able to give the time and attention that it deserves.

Speaking of guest posts - please contact me at cathrynlouis at yahoo dot com if you are involved in any phase of publishing and would like to have a guest post on my blog.

Oh and below, I've reposted last week's #fridayflash from Red Room. Enjoy!

Conversation With Curtis

I'm sure that many of you will agree that inspiration comes from everywhere. Truly - it does. For example, the original thought for the scene that has become the short story, 'Second Best', came from watching a cat stalk a bird in our back yard. The cat wasn't much more than a kitten and I knew he wouldn't kill the bird; but the stealth and cunning with which he stalked it was as serious as though he was hunting for his next meal.

Several readers of 'Second Best' suggested that I expand it to contain the actual confrontation between the two boys. A very good suggestion; but one that had me in a bit of a fix. Showing Curtis' emotional state is the key, but having never experienced such a state, how could I capture it convincingly?

Fate stepped in. Literally - in the form of a chance conversation with someone I've known for a while. Well actually, I discovered that I didn't know him at all. This person is trapped in a situation generated by a number of previous bad decisions - all his. I know this because of earlier conversations. Instead of manning up and taking responsibility for his actions, he chooses to find external causes, entities, and people to blame. So naturally, in his mind, it's the government's fault. It's also the fault of everyone else (including me) who thinks that humanity owes a debt to humanity and that 'taking care' is a natural state of being. He has convinced himself that 'taking care' uses resources that are being diverted from him and others like him. I focused in on his face - his expressions and the looks he gave me while he spewed his nonsense. What I saw was that I am already collateral damage in his mind - and it's okay with him. Chilled me to the bone.

Though still in shock, I found my voice and asked him questions, trying to draw out more of his emotional state. I kept engaging him with more questions and suppositions; committing his answers to memory. Why would I want to do that? Wouldn't a sane person have run screaming from the room? I'm not sane. I'm a writer. :) I stayed because in my mind, I was having a conversation with an older, less affluent version of Curtis.

...And now I'm posting about it. I fear no recriminations for several reasons. First, this person would never recognize himself as the person being described here. From his perspective, his viewpoint is rational, reasonable and the only one worth having. Secondly, I doubt very seriously that he spends time reading anything. He gets most of his information second or third hand - from other like minded individuals. Lastly, I've really not revealed anything about him besides his gender. This post is about an inspiration for Curtis; not about exposing someone with whom I disagree.

I feel no antipathy toward him. In fact, I thank him for the conversation. It illuminated a personality type I never thought to experience first hand. I wish him well and hope that he finds the solutions to his problems.

As always, comment if you like. Peace out.

What Were You Thinking?

That's the question I'm being asked after posting 'Second Best'. It seems there are those who think I've given away the plot of my next novel. Yes, there is a murder - but it is the catalyst for the plot, not the crux of it.

So I have to answer. No, no, no - nothing has been revealed. Actually, my tweets reveal more than the story. :)

You know the commercials for 'The Event'? They all indicate that a particular thing is happening - "but it's not The Event". The same here. The birthday party in 'Second Best' was originally part of the prologue, and much of the story takes place when Curtis (not his name in the book) and other characters are in the neighborhood of thirty. Now my lips are zipped, I'll say no more.

Dialogue and Man Caves - Why Didn't I Think of That?

Dialogue. There are, I'm sure, millions of words written about it on thousands of sites across the net. Well here's my five hundred words or so. :) Why now? Because I've reached the first major dialogue scene in the first chapter of my new novel.

Getting the characters into dialogue in Sunrise on the Pier was a little different. Jarin had a brief conversation with Anna Claire in the prologue, and then talked mainly to himself. Gabrielle carried on an internal conversation for the first several scenes. Conversation got started midway first chapter with Chase.

Conversation starts early in the new book. First in the prologue, then early in the first chapter - at the third scene. Crafting dialogue is my favorite part of writing - informing the reader via natural sounding conversation. Once again, I've let the characters run their mouths and have ended up with reams of it. Now I get to craft it into scenes and rearrange them so that it all makes sense in the flow of the book.

In this case, since the characters are children, I have to make sure they don't sound like little adults. L and her friends are very helpful. "Mom, nobody... who talks like that?" Then hysterical laughter while they tear my dialogue apart. I'm the mom, I have thick skin. I'm the mom, I have thick skin...

Similar help with conversations among men is my dream. I'm constantly trying to make sure they don't sound like male women. Men have a 'when the women and children aren't around' thing going that is very tough to crack. Is that what a man cave is for? To listen in when they think they are alone? Devious...I love it! Got to get me one of those... :)

I'd love your comments on the conversations that men have in Sunrise on the Pier. How do you think they sound? I'm the writer, I have thick skin... :)D

Props, Shouts and Tweepin' Out

Social media rocks. This is probably the millionth article to start off with that sentence - most likely because it's true. I've been fully involved in social media since last April, when I published my first novel, Sunrise on the Pier. Most of my time is spent conversing on Twitter. Love it, love it, LOVE IT! Endless conversation. Every La. girl's dream. How can I hang out on Twitter when I'm supposed to be writing? Tweeting no longer interrupts me. After being distracted for a week or two, I found that what works best for me is to tweet from my cell rather than my laptop. On my laptop, I felt compelled to pay attention to each tweet as it came up. Now that I'm using my cell, I choose when to take a break and tweep out. Odd, I find I write longer now that I have my tweep breaks. Every time I tune back in to the page (or screen, in my case), it feels like a fresh start.

There is a down side though. I get so caught up in spontaneous conversations and interesting tweets that I want to learn from and retweet; I neglect to take care of the etiquette and business aspects of being hooked in to the Twitter network. I need to give props to the highly deserving authors and publishing industry professionals I converse with, share my own news, and tout my published book. How can I do that and still have time for the endless conversation? You guessed it - I've taken advice from social media experts, a few of whom are in my list, and set up scheduled tweets!

Time is a very precious commodity for most of us, and I'm honored by every person that decides to spend a little of theirs by reading my tweets. Now I know I won't forget to respond with a personalized thank you and a shout out on #followfriday. There are also my lists of amazing tweeple, firms and organizations that I follow; some of whom follow me. I know I won't forget to mention them now and again. Oh and by the way, I'm a self-published author, which makes me solely responsible for selling my book. It would help tremendously for me to mention it from time to time - before the lights get turned off. I'm able to address these needs using my schedule twelper of choice, enabling me to enjoy guilt-free real-time conversation. One thing you can be sure of though - whether they're scheduled or real-time tweets, they are all one hundred percent me. TGFT (thank goodness for Twelpers)!
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NOTE: Speaking of giving props, my scheduler of choice is @SocialOomph and the technology for my book sample is courtesy of @BookBuzzr. I may not have been in position to share my published book if not for @Smashwords. The best thing? They're all free! I'm sure there are other self-publishing sites and schedule twelpers. Leave a comment about them if you'd like. If there are other book sharing technologies, please leave a comment about them as well.

I Got a Face Lift!

I admit it - the title smacks of bait and switch. But there has been a facelift - for my Facebook page, not for me.

I started the page in April, just as I published Sunrise on the Pier to Smashwords.com. It's basically just my Twitter and blog feeds. It was hard to get the mechanisms working right - finally, and from a purely geekie point of view, I'm proud of it. Having it all working together is way cool, right? Not!! It's no longer relevant and - I know you saw this coming - time to reinvent. :)D

The page was perfect when I launched myself into the social media community as an author - I only tweeted a few times a day and was just getting into the rhythm of posting to my blog. Since then, I've become a member of the thriving Twitter community of bookies...oops, probably shouldn't use that word. Not the same as techies. Sorry Elliott... I'll just spell it out instead - I've joined the community of authors, publishing professionals and book enthusiasts. There's endless, fascinating conversation. Luckily, I tried to see what it was like keeping up with my Twitter feed on my Facebook page, I nearly got whiplash. Too much information - flying by too fast. Not a good thing.

The old Twitter and blog updates are visible until they get scrolled away. But now, the wall is strictly for news and/or epiphanies - such as this one, or finding my voice. I've also enabled comments so that I can have a conversation with visitors. The facelift even extends to this blog. I changed the widget that links to my Facebook page so that it fits better and shows whats posted.

Any social media mavens out there? Some of you may be nodding sagely and thinking, "I could have told you that you weren't using Facebook properly." But is it that simple? Getting involved in social media doesn't appear to be 'one size fits all'. It also doesn't appear that the same size fits all the time. It seems to me that interaction with social media is intensely personal. I had to evolve to the point where I needed to make a change. Now that I have, enjoy!