Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday. How are you celebrating? Are you reading a great book? More importantly, are you writing something fabulous?
I've got a stack of books waiting to be read and I'm polishing up the last of the HAUNTED WOMEN OF THE APPALACHIANS stories. Will the edits never end? Maybe the Hemmingway method wasn't such a great idea after all. (I jest.)
Let me know your plans in the comments section, and check in next week when I share my birthday gift to myself: Six Terrifying Things I'll Try in 2016.
A couple of days ago, I read an NPR article about the word girl in book titles. The article discussed how publishers promote books by comparing them to other books. While they were talking about the title, comparing books is a tactic authors should consider using when shopping their books around to agents and publishers.
Jane Friedman, Co-Founder and Editor at The Hot Sheet, Columnist at Publishers Weekly and Instructor, Media Studies at University of Virginia, agrees when it comes to comparing your books to other authors in a query letter, "This can be helpful as long as you do it tastefully, and without self-aggrandizement. It’s usually best to compare the work in terms of style, voice, or theme, rather than in terms of sales, success, or quality."
As you can see, the list covers a wide range of genres including, but certainly not limited to, cozy mystery, horror, historical fiction, and young adult. The use of 'girl' in the title is hardly a new trend (Pioneer Girl, anyone?), so why does it work?
"I have talked to other crime writers that have been urged by various professional people in their life to put the world girl in their title," Crime novelist Megan Abbott said in the NPR interview. She went on to say the use of 'girl' in the title isn't about the content, but instead is a kind of shorthand letting others know what to expect.
Maybe it's because, as Cyndi Lauper said, Girls Just Want to Have Fun?
Over the weekend I revamped one of the stories in my largely unpublished short story collection, Haunted Women of the Appalachians, which is still in an editing loop the size of the High Roller Ferris Wheel in Las Vegas, for the WV Writers annual writing contest. The NPR title has me rethinking the story's title. Maybe I should add "girl" to it and see what happens.
What do you think? I'd love to hear your theories in the comments section, below.
Some of the most curious headlines are listed in MSN Offbeat News. This is my favorite section because these headlines inspire the most unique characters for my books. Here are seven recent selections and how I might choose to use them in a book.
1. Pranksters Block Road with 25-foot Triceratops
The Treasure Pines senior class prank involved blocking main street with the rival high school's mascot, a 25-foot fiberglass triceratops. The problem is the next morning when the principal of Treasure Pines High is found impaled on one of the animal's steel horns.
2. Someone Actually Came Up with a Breakup Cake
When Grandma Opal's boyfriend dumps her for the newcomer at bingo, she fuels her angst into a new home-based bakery business offering cakes for offbeat life situations.
3. Rescue Dog Raises a Paw, Gets Sworn in as Mayor of Reno
Harvey Wallbanger, the town's favorite golden retriever, helps find the mayor's missing toddler granddaughter. To show her thanks, the mayor swears him in as mayor-for-a-day.
4. N.J. Mailman Locks Himself in Truck as Wild Turkeys Attack
A flock of wild turkeys has become a menace in Treasure Pines. When they chase the mailman into his truck, nobody expects to find his corpse there several hours later, with an ace of spades playing card taped to his forehead.
What are some of your favorite offbeat headlines? Do you have any sites like Mental Floss bookmarked that you use as a reference? Let's chat about it in the comments section!
If you met me in real life, you would not accuse me of being an athlete. And you'd be right! Aside from NFL games featuring Peyton Manning as the quarterback, I'm just not a sports fan. Give the choice, I'll almost always select Hallmark Mysteries & Movies over ESPN.
The main characters of my books aren't really into sports, either. If they were, then I'd have to know about the sport, which would mean watching it. No thanks!
Eliminating sports from my books, however means eliminating potential readers. Here are five ways that I have either used or plan to use to introduce sports into my books to add interest.
1. Cheer for the Home Team - Cozy mysteries take place in small towns. Small towns typically have some kind of local sports team or league that requires participation. A local ball field doubles as the perfect venue for looking back at a childhood memory to show more insight into a character. Or finding a dead body.
2. Opportunity to Create New Sports or Teams - My cozy mystery series takes place in the fictional town of Treasure Pines, North Carolina, which was founded by a notorious female pirate. Of course they'd have a pirate for their high school's mascot. I don't have to know much about baseball to include lines like:
The town was abuzz with everyone talking about the Pirates' win over the Martindale Gophers, a victory that put them in the running for a regional title.
This line shows readers that the Treasure Pines Pirates are on a winning streak and the town of Marindale (whose mascot is the gopher) is geographically nearby without blatantly telling them. It's even better to flesh this out with dialogue.
3. Minor Characters as Sports Fans or Athletes - Just because my main character isn't a sports fan doesn't mean she won't have friends and relatives who are. The less they feature in the book, the less I need to know about sports, right? Perhaps, as long as the ski pole Elmer Jones uses as a walking stick doesn't wind up wrapped around the neck of his lifelong enemy, Cam Livingston. Or if Tucker
4. Include Non-Traditional Sports - Maybe my main character dislikes professional sports but she participates on a bowling league. Other sports and activities in this category include:
fishing
archery
martial arts
auto racing
horseback riding
kayaking
yoga
dancing
There are really too many to list in this blog article, but the activities referenced above can help you get started.
5. Create a New Sport - Make up something new. Include rules for playing and other details in the back of your book. You could unknowingly invent the next big pastime.
Do you like reading books that mention sports and athletics? Are you a fan of sports? If you're a writer, then do you incorporate them in your works? Let's talk about it in the comments section!
During the 2015 MAFWI conference, I attended a workshop led by Jim Rada, an author who hails from Pennsylvania. He stressed the importance of research when writing historical novels. This is also important, however, when writing any works that mentions a real person, trademark, or other type of brand.
I knew this would mean quite a bit of rewriting for HAUNTED WOMEN OF THE APPALACHIANS, my collection of 13 strange and inspired by true stories, but surely I'd be smart enough not to let it happen again. Right? Absolutely!
Imagine my dismay at realizing the way I displayed Blackbeard in my book could bring up some serious issues. The fictional character based on the real person didn't show in the best light. There was only one thing to do.
I kissed Blackbeard goodbye.
Then I went in an exploration into the past to find a new pirate. Hours later, when complaining about the dilemma to my husband, he asked, "Why don't you just make up a pirate?"
Excited, I returned to my research. Because I'm only about 1/3 of the way into my book, I don't need to rip it out and start over. And because my new pirate is a fictional female with a sweet back story, I won't feel obligated to force my plot to follow someone else's facts.
I'm more excited about my book every day, and can't wait to share the final product with you all.
Every writer I know wants to be a better writer. Who wouldn't want to write perfectly polished first drafts that go straight from manuscript form to the New York Times bestseller list? It would save a lot of time and heartache.
Unfortunately that is not the case. Whether you're a seasoned pro with a bookshelf of bestsellers or a budding author struggling to finish your inaugural first draft, there is still room for improvement because, like people, our language is always changing.
You don't have to go back to college or attend an online class to improve your writing. Achieving this is rather easy, but it takes discipline and a willingness to follow through. Here are some easy ways to improve your writing, regardless of your skill level.
1. Own Your Style - Grammar and spelling are the two things readers nitpick the most when reading your work. Some contemporary literary types will tell you it's okay to start a sentence with the word "and" or "but" and end a sentence with a preposition such as "for" or "at".
While the narrator in my Treasure Pines series might state something like "And for the most part, it was true.", you will never, ever hear, "But she wasn't sure where she put it at." The only time you should use these things in your novel is in dialogue.
2. Ditch the Passive Voice - Passive voice weakens literary writing. (It also fills it with zombies.) While passive voice is more accepted in conversational writing, like dialogue or blog posts, try to keep it out of your book. A lot of people don't know when they're using passive voice, but this video helps you learn how to recognize it. Don't let the zombies win!
3. Read - The best writers are also readers. Reading helps you know what you want in your own writing. More importantly, it helps you know what you want to avoid.
4. Join a Writing Group - Look for a group on a site like Meetup or search on your social media network of choice. Put the word out there that you're looking for other writers. You could even start your own group. Trust me. If you build a writing group, writers will join.
5. Do You Plot or Pants? - During a Facebook conversation with Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of Midwives, I asked him about his outline process. He said he doesn't use one. He's a total "pantser", writing by the seat of his pants from Page 1 until The End. It's okay to be a pantser and for some, like Chris Bohjalian, it works great.
Other authors prefer to outline. I'm one of these people. While I've pants'ed every short story I've ever written (and don't see that changing), I'm a die hard plotter when it comes to writing anything over a couple of thousand words. J. K. Rowling is also a plotter.
If you're a die-hard plotter, change things up and try pantsing. And if you're a pantser, then try a loose outline, such as a mind map or a timeline. You don't have to stick with it, but trying something new can take your writing to the next level.
6. Find an Editor - Finish your first draft and put it through a site like After the Deadline to get initial feedback on your writing. Accept that your first draft is probably 35% total crap that's never going to make it to the final version that goes to print, and find yourself an editor. HAUNTED WOMEN OF THE APPALACHIANS would never have reached the beta reading stage without the help of Sheila from Sage Editing.
7. Ditch Your Laptop - Silence your phone. Go somewhere with horrible cell service and no WiFi. Take a notebook and a couple of ink pens, and write. Write whatever pops into your head. Make lists. Write about what you see, hear, and smell. You'll be surprised at what detail you can add to your writing by doing this. As much as I love my laptop, this is one of my favorite things to do.
What other methods to improve your writing would you add to this list? Is there any you disagree with? I'd love to hear what you have to say in the comments!
The Type A and Type B personality metrics date back to the 1950s, and describes contrasting characteristics among people. Generally speaking, Type A's are the successful go-getters while Type B people are slothful fun seekers. That's not entirely true, however.
My to-do list looks more like many layers of subway graffiti art. My desk is rather messy, covered in piles of things I'll get to...eventually. My schedule is as flexible as any master yogi.
The Type A people in my life ask, often with a look of sheer horror on their faces, "But doesn't that bother you?"
Absolutely not! I am Type B and loving it, and here's why:
According to researchers, Type B people are more laid back and patient. That means less chronic stress and a healthier cardiovascular system. It doesn't get me out of eating my vegetables or going to the gym, but it is a big plus.
Type B people are more fun, and we're great at delegating. It means we're more rested and less over-worked. We're also more diplomatic, and more likely to compromise rather than take sides in disagreements between friends or co-workers.
We look at the big picture. Sure, we might overlook small details, but we Type B folks are looking on down the road, past today's petty frustrations and on ahead to bigger and brighter goals.
Type B's use failure as a learning tool. Don't get me wrong. We love success as much as anyone, but if we have to take a step back then we use what we learned to bounce back and try again.
We are positive people. We try to see the good in everyone. Because of this, we are more likely to give someone a second chance. Or maybe even a third. We're awesome that way.
Type B folks are creative. Look at us. We're comfortable in our chaos and thrive under looming deadlines.
We live in the moment and enjoy every minute of life. There's something about a Type B person that puts other people at ease no matter what their personality types.
I'm pretty content being a Type B, even if my Type A husband and I butt heads now and again. And Maggie Sawyer, the main character of my first Treasure Pines mystery series is fairly Type B as well.
What type are you? Are you a well-organized Type A who loves structure and organization? Are you a creative Type B with a free spirit that goes with the flow? Maybe you're a little bit of both. Let me know in the comments section, below. I'd love to hear your take on it!
