Thursday, July 30, 2009
Planning
So, as I've mentioned a few dozen times, I took a workshop at the Haliburton School of the Arts last week. The class was called Fiction Writer's Bootcamp and was taught by Barbara Kyle. As expected, we covered characterization, structure, POV, all the basics. What made this better than other classes I've taken, was that the teacher used tons of examples from books and movies to illustrate the points of the lesson...way more informative.
The thing that I found most useful was the lecture on storylining or outlining. I'm a pantster. I get a vague idea and open a new file and hope for the best. It never occurred to me that it was wasteful, but after listening to that lecture, I realized I really was wasting a lot of time and effort. Why? Okay, when I was working on Moving Atlantis, I got about half way through and realized I hated a good chunk of the story. I cut it back to less than half of what I had and man was that painful. Imagine if that was a novel length story? Ouch! Hundreds of pages, months of work, cut out because the story wasn't working. If I had storylined, I'd have worked through those issues ahead of time, and figured out how to make the story work with a proper plot etc.
And how many times have I sat staring at the screen going "what now?" I can get to a point where I have no clue what the next step should be and it stalls me for weeks.
Anyway, so now I'm going back and outlining the stalled stories, or at least a few to get me started. Then I can see what research I need to do and work the little bits into the story properly rather than getting to a spot and realizing "oh crap, I don't know anything about that." then after doing the research realizing I have to cut out a bunch because I'd made a lot of factual errors.
All seems obvious huh? I'm slow that way. It's pretty natural to want to get actual words on a page, to have progress to report. *grin* And I have no willpower, so I'm sure I'll break a bit and start actual writing, but my goal is to start actually planning rather than running into a story blind.
Ta, off to canoe now!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Lots of New Paranormal from Bianca
Check out the hot-off-the-presses cover for my upcoming release with Kensington Brava. It's an anthology featuring the novella I mentioned in my last blog post all those weeks ago. (I missed last month due to vacation and poor planning on my part. Sorry!)Anyway, the story is called SIMON SAYS and it's in the HALF PAST DEAD anthology, which is scheduled for release on 12/29/09. Mark your calendars!
The cover is just perfect, I think. It's sexy and mysterious with a hint of the subject matter - namely zombies. My story features a special forces soldier whose mission it is to defeat the creatures that are the result of an experiment gone horribly wrong. Here's the blurb:
Special Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn’t stopped protecting her. Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them. But soon he’ll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded….
I'd also like to mention that I have a new release in ebook. INFERNO is finally out! It's the sequel to LORDS OF THE WERE, and tells the vampire Dante's story. It's a very hot book, with lots of menage and a sizzling love story. There's also lots of magical action and vamps, weres and even a fey knight in the mix. Here's a little bit more about it:A forbidden union forged in love-and tempered in hellfire.
One last task and Megan will be free of the debt of honor owed by her family. Spying on Dante, a powerful vampire with questionable friends, sounds simple enough. But her mission is complicated by the fact she's got something every vampire wants-tangy, powerful, werewolf blood.
It's easy to capture his attention. The hard part will be getting out with her heart -- and soul -- intact. Not to mention her life, thanks to a crazed bomber.
Dante isn't the kind to forgive or forget easily, especially the grudge he holds against werewolves. Still, he is instantly drawn to the injured lone wolf in his care. When he and his friend Duncan treat her wounds, they discover something that marks her as much more than she seems.
The mark is a neon sign warning to be careful, but Dante can't help himself. He wants her and nothing will stand in his way. Not her species. Not his. Not the strange woman who keeps trying to kill him.
Not even the magical poison in Megan's blood...
Buy now from MBAM
Labels: Bianca D'Arc, New Releases, vampires, werewolves, zombies
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Demonic Attraction out today!
What to do when you get antibiotics that mess with your head...write a wicked story about demons. This story flowed and it was a lot of fun to write too :)
Be warned it's a naughty story with an unusual take on m/f/m, oh and there is an HEA *grin*
Anya Sigurdson is counting down the days.
She works on an array orbiting a distant star completely alone and the isolation is seriously cramping her need for sex. She’s promised herself a wild time on a pleasure planet, but until her remaining thirteen days are up, then her own fingers will have to do…or so she thinks.
Damianos has other plans. Coming from a race of pure energy, Damianos, seeks pleasure in flesh and has an unusual talent. They can fracture into as many lovers as Anya needs. She is a joy, a rare find, and they intend to enjoy her, love her every chance they can. But to keep her they need something else, an anchor, another body for them to fix in her dimension.
And a prime candidate is on his way.
A link to the excerpt is here and this is the buy link
I'll update the link to the Ellora's Cave website when it's up, but here's the link to my author page in the meantime :)
Edited to add the Ellora's Cave link
Labels: demonic attraction, Kim Knox / Kim Rees, New Releases
Friday, July 03, 2009
Deep Point of View: Using it Effectively
Deep Point of View: How and When to Use it Effectively
By Tambra Kendall
Deep Point of View (POV) is close third person, a combination of first and third person omniscient. It is driven by the character's experiences and emotions.
When using deep penetration POV you see the scene through the character's eyes. You never leave his/her thoughts. Deep penetration is similar to first person giving the motivation behind an action. The character's attitude, at that moment is shown, not a memory of his/her feelings as they look back on what happened.
Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization.
From The Elements of Fiction Writing Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card he describes deep POV: "Deep penetration is intense 'hot' narration; no other narrative strategy keeps the reader so closely involved with the character and the story. But the viewpoint character's attitude is so pervasive that it can become annoying or exhausting if carried too far, and the narrative isn't terribly reliable, since the viewpoint character may be misunderstanding or misjudging everyone he meets and everything that happens."
Card says that no one level of POV penetration will be right for the whole story. There needs to be a balance. You need to know when "hot" narration is needed and when to "cool" the scene with light POV penetration.
Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization. Too much internalization can become a form of telling, slow the pace of the story and unravel tension.
Gina from the RWA Craft loop explained deep POV to me in this way: Check to see if your dialogue, tone of voice, body language, facial expression, inner body response, and/or physical reaction shows what is being told.
• Remove filtering devices such as s/he thought, decided, saw, watched, etc. They put a distance between the reader and the POV character. Once POV is established, you don't have to keep reminding the reader that they're experiencing the story through the POV character's eyes.
• Describe things how the POV character would describe them.
• In deep POV, a character wouldn't use her own name when referring to herself. Nor would she, except in very few cases call her parents by their whole names. A deep POV character's narration should contain thoughts that are natural to that character, and what is seen and described should only be things that character would notice.
Anne Frazier Walradt taught this in a workshop for RWA in 2002. Her suggestions began with Show, Don't Tell: Stay out of your character's head. Since I'm a visual learner Anne's tips made all the other posts clearer. She wrote:
• Insert the picture in your head into the head of your reader by reporting action and dialogue.
• Engage the reader by showing her the scene and awakening in her the emotions that your characters feel.
• Abstract words do not evoke in us the emotion they describe. They merely tell. " Nancy was scared. Terrified actually." To evoke the emotion you must create the sensory details that make it read vivid, authentic.
• Document the effect of the emotion on the character. (Her hands shook) The scene must be seen by the readers.
• The character isn't thinking about her feelings ("Oh, I'm so much in love.") She's thinking about what's causing her feelings. (I love his hand on my.whatever.")
• Your job is to convey the emotion by the meticulous choice of specific details that will evoke emotion in your reader.
Author Terri Prizzi says writing deep POV effectively means you must know your character very well since all things are filtered through the character's eyes and emotions. Gender, education level, life experiences all will impact how your character views the world. The fact that the character comments on anything should be a clue about this character.
Learning how to write deep POV takes some practice, but when used in the right way it will keep your readers turning the pages.
Using deep point of view brings the reader so closely into the story, he/she feels like they are experiencing everything the hero and heroine are. We want to keep the readers turning the pages, not wanting them to put the our books down.
Tambra Kendall joined RWA in 1994. She grew up reading historicals. Her favorites are Scottish and Medieval. Today she combines her love of all things Celtic with the love of paranormal.
Copyright © 2005 Tambra Kendall. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Hugs to all,
Tambra Kendall
Cowboy of the Night-a Recommended Read!
Buy now from Red Rose Publishing
www.redrosepublishing.com
By Tambra Kendall
Deep Point of View (POV) is close third person, a combination of first and third person omniscient. It is driven by the character's experiences and emotions.
When using deep penetration POV you see the scene through the character's eyes. You never leave his/her thoughts. Deep penetration is similar to first person giving the motivation behind an action. The character's attitude, at that moment is shown, not a memory of his/her feelings as they look back on what happened.
Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization.
From The Elements of Fiction Writing Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card he describes deep POV: "Deep penetration is intense 'hot' narration; no other narrative strategy keeps the reader so closely involved with the character and the story. But the viewpoint character's attitude is so pervasive that it can become annoying or exhausting if carried too far, and the narrative isn't terribly reliable, since the viewpoint character may be misunderstanding or misjudging everyone he meets and everything that happens."
Card says that no one level of POV penetration will be right for the whole story. There needs to be a balance. You need to know when "hot" narration is needed and when to "cool" the scene with light POV penetration.
Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization. Too much internalization can become a form of telling, slow the pace of the story and unravel tension.
Gina from the RWA Craft loop explained deep POV to me in this way: Check to see if your dialogue, tone of voice, body language, facial expression, inner body response, and/or physical reaction shows what is being told.
• Remove filtering devices such as s/he thought, decided, saw, watched, etc. They put a distance between the reader and the POV character. Once POV is established, you don't have to keep reminding the reader that they're experiencing the story through the POV character's eyes.
• Describe things how the POV character would describe them.
• In deep POV, a character wouldn't use her own name when referring to herself. Nor would she, except in very few cases call her parents by their whole names. A deep POV character's narration should contain thoughts that are natural to that character, and what is seen and described should only be things that character would notice.
Anne Frazier Walradt taught this in a workshop for RWA in 2002. Her suggestions began with Show, Don't Tell: Stay out of your character's head. Since I'm a visual learner Anne's tips made all the other posts clearer. She wrote:
• Insert the picture in your head into the head of your reader by reporting action and dialogue.
• Engage the reader by showing her the scene and awakening in her the emotions that your characters feel.
• Abstract words do not evoke in us the emotion they describe. They merely tell. " Nancy was scared. Terrified actually." To evoke the emotion you must create the sensory details that make it read vivid, authentic.
• Document the effect of the emotion on the character. (Her hands shook) The scene must be seen by the readers.
• The character isn't thinking about her feelings ("Oh, I'm so much in love.") She's thinking about what's causing her feelings. (I love his hand on my.whatever.")
• Your job is to convey the emotion by the meticulous choice of specific details that will evoke emotion in your reader.
Author Terri Prizzi says writing deep POV effectively means you must know your character very well since all things are filtered through the character's eyes and emotions. Gender, education level, life experiences all will impact how your character views the world. The fact that the character comments on anything should be a clue about this character.
Learning how to write deep POV takes some practice, but when used in the right way it will keep your readers turning the pages.
Using deep point of view brings the reader so closely into the story, he/she feels like they are experiencing everything the hero and heroine are. We want to keep the readers turning the pages, not wanting them to put the our books down.
Tambra Kendall joined RWA in 1994. She grew up reading historicals. Her favorites are Scottish and Medieval. Today she combines her love of all things Celtic with the love of paranormal.
Copyright © 2005 Tambra Kendall. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Hugs to all,
Tambra Kendall
Cowboy of the Night-a Recommended Read!
Buy now from Red Rose Publishing
www.redrosepublishing.com
Labels: craft of writing, deep point of view, romance writing
