The "Me Too" novelist

There are multiple books devoted to the subject "What to write". I imagine many of those tomes meet established sales goals for the "How To"/"DIY" genre, and, as a result, drive the author's names ever higher on various best-sellers lists.

I'm sure those books are full of lovely information and formulaic devices. And, as with everything in life, I'm sure that sometimes they help and sometimes they don't. But, do they answer the question at hand? "What am I going to write?"

 I've touched on this subject in the past, but I hope this will inspire you to approach your project anew.

The first clue for what to write is simple:

What do you read?

If your answer is "I don't have time", my response is "Good luck. I hope you find your way out of the jungle." What you read, the subjects that interest you, the style and point of view you find most compelling, will influence your work more than you might readily admit.

Many writers begin as copycats. That's not a bad thing. I'm not speaking of plagiarism. I'm speaking of emulating the style and flow of a favorite author. One thing to keep in mind is this: There is nothing new under the sun.

Every idea has been used. Every relationship has been examined. Every plot twist has been previously devised. What makes each story different is the unique personality of the writer.

Vampires have been a topic for literature since before Bram Stoker. The past decade and longer has witnessed a flourish of storylines, adult and young adult, illustrating the capacity of vampires for love and life. This is direct opposition to the frightening, though somewhat romantic, notion of vampires extending through the advent of Ann Rice, et al.

There are hundreds of "me too" storylines and the market will support the most compelling. The secret is found in discovering what drives your own unique passion.

So again, what do you read?

The Hospitality Girl

I've recently published The Hospitality Girl using KDP.

The story concept began as a recollection of one of my former patients. She needed a listening ear, I allowed her the chance to tell her story. 

She called herself a hospitality girl. She was available to escort visitors, including some notables, around Chattanooga and the surrounding area. It is a similar concept to what is employed on college campuses across America today. Today, when an athlete visits a college, a pretty girl or handsome guy, cheerleader or otherwise, is there to give them a tour and help them get a feel for what the university has to offer. It was the same with my patient as a young woman. She was an escort, with the hopes of convincing dignitaries/convention reps/etc. that Chattanooga had a lot to offer.

The portion of the storyline that takes place in Hollywood is fictional, imagined as a possible reality for a young woman in 1954 Hollywood. It was written long before the revelations regarding Harvey Weinstein and others, but was conjectured as a possible reality. That the fictional storyline may mirror some young woman's reality during that, or any other time period, is a sad statement on some inequities in our society.

Storyline opportunities arise daily. They borrow their existence from the people around us. It is up to the writer to develop the ability to listen and convey what we've heard to an interested audience.

I hope today reveals a good storyline. I hope you as a listener, and those to whom you lend an ear, both benefit from a moment shared.

Good luck, and, whatever else you do, keep writing.

After the hiatus.

I've passed the last six months by devoting 65-75 hours a week to my career as an RN. I've worked on a few writing projects and entered a few contests, but haven't had many spare moments to blog.

As of the second week in October, I hope to return to a schedule which allows more free time in my days.

I hope my past readers will comment and new readers will join in and read my blogs from the beginning.

As always, if any content has been removed from "click here" selections, leave a message via the Contact section and I will make the pages available.

I look forward to the next year and what it holds.

The Backstory.

The characters in a novel have to earn the connections to their back story, otherwise, they risk coming off as cliche. A few overused and cliche characters are: 1) The nice guy who always finishes last.  2) The brooding bad-boy.  3) The trophy girlfriend.  4) The Anti-girl who is good at typically "guy" things without explanation.

When building a backstory, a writer should add intrigue and uncertainty. How will a character's template (the model learned from family and childhood associations) effect the present?  Does the nice guy have a dark side?  Is the bad boy faking it through life? Does the trophy girlfriend have substance to effect the plot line? How and why did they anti-girl become good at guy things and what happens to her personality if you put her in a dress?

Finally, what has the character learned from their parent's example and what do they expect, based on past relationships?

Sometimes it is convenient to add a character that fits a certain mold. Maybe you need a snapshot personality type to progress the story. They appear and are gone. But they can have more depth than what you've given them in their scene.

The solution comes in the main characters reactions to those cameos. A good example of this comes from the screenplay for Jurassic Park. The movie lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes, and there were only approximately 4 minutes of Dino cgi. The reason it feels like much more is due to the main character's set up and reactions. Through inference and conversation, the cgi on screen time is greatly enhanced.

In the same way, main characters can refer to the actions of drop-in cameo characters. A small bit character can have more impact than the writer had imagined. In this way, a writer can make every character memorable in their own way and give them more substance and relevance.  

I hope this has helped.  Thanks for reading.

Going back to your core.

I've stated in the past that a writer should step outside their comfort zones in what they read and in what they write. It is how we grow and mature in our craft. But, when times are tough, we need to find our center.

Last week, I wrote about setting the mood for work. Often, when we're tired or unhappy, we go back to our core. To those things that have always held our interest.

I've always been a fan of horror movies and novels. I was fascinated by Clive Barker's Books of Blood, by "The Exorcist", "The Fury", "Halloween", and I never missed a film that featured one of the top five monsters: Werewolf, Vampire, Mummy, Frankenstein, Zombie.

I love ghosts. Stephen King, Bag Of Bones helped me deal with my brother's death from cancer. I love witches. Anne Rice, The Mayfair Witches, was an incredible work of fiction; and I've had the pleasure of spending time with the Wiccan author/practitioner Silver RavenWolf.

Life can be tough, but, whatever my mood, I always find my way back to my core.

I imagine that's why I loved the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, which hosted an elite group of "monsters". I imagine that's why I subscribe to Horror Block. I imagine that's why I'm writing "My Dead".

The story behind "My Dead" is unique. I've set the story in Brettinger, Tennessee, the fictional town I created for "Shadowman", and have used as the setting for "The Hospitality Girl" and "The Box Collector".

I'm including a click here at the end of this post with another excerpt from "My Dead".

Everyone has a core, whether romance, literary fiction, biographies, or histories. Work your craft to the best of your ability. Let your prose sing and your poetry flow. Be the best you can be, and, no matter what else, keep writing. 

I'm In The Mood For...

     I’m amid another long stretch at work. This is day twelve out of Twenty-nine days (with three days off in the mix). This includes four twelve-hour days, one fifteen-hour day, and the rest averaging 9 hours, but on split shifts. With this work schedule, I call myself a full-time Registered Nurse and part-time writer.

     Therefore, when I sit down to write, I must be in a mood for the story. It’s the same when I sit down to read. Some days are Dean Koontz and Peter Straub days. Some days are for Chang-Rae Lee and Kristen Hannah. Others, such as Ed McBain and Robert Ludlum, fill the gaps as needed.

     I often read several books at a time (my downstairs book, my upstairs book, my bathroom book, the book I listen to while driving). The same is true for my writing. I’m currently working on “My Dead”, “Assuming Room Temperature”, and a modern-day romance, yet to be titled.

     Music helps set my mood for each genre. It allows me to imagine the scenes and characters I’m going to create. I take this mental screenplay and change it to fit the genre I’m writing.

     Whatever helps set the mood, whether binge watching a television series or listening to anything from classical music to grunge rock, find what works and go with it.

     I’ll include more Click Here pages next week. I’ve removed the links from previous Click Here pages, but they are still available through the Contact icon. Be sure to include the Blog date and Click Here title with any request.

     For now, find your inspiration, and, no matter what else, keep writing.

RwriterN

The inconsistent author. Problems with credibility.

Consistency can be a problem for every author, including those on the New York Time best sellers list.

I've just finished listening to an audio book by such an author. This particular person has published over thirty books in as many languages, world wide. With those credentials, who am I to make comments on their style?

Simply put, I am a reader, or, in this case, a listener.

The story was decent. But the use of worn out cliches, followed by $37.59 words, was a distraction. This dichotomy of phrasing left the impression that a novice writer had searched a thesaurus to wedge in a few "look at how many words I know" tidbits. This attempt to lend credence to the manuscript didn't work. 

There was a full cast of characters (fifteen introduced in the first three chapters) of varying ages. The use of so many players is problematic at best. The author had kids doing kid-speak and adults doing adult-speak. But the author lost themselves in the writing and sometimes the adults used kid-speak. However, the author balanced these misuses with $37.59 words and one that was worth well over $63.00.

This person has devoted followers. This person has written good books. It is easier to gloss over a bit of inconsistency when the words are on the page and not being heard. But, no agent and no publishing house will forgive this indulgence from an unknown.

If you must, record your text and listen to the playback. Strive for consistency. Dream big dreams and reach for your goals. And, whatever you do, keep writing.

As promised, I'm including the first chapter of "My Dead". You can read more about this story in the current projects section of this site. Site navigation made easy by clicking RwriterN at the top left of this page or the site map at top right. 

Riding the wave. Seeking trends in popular fiction.

Pop culture references have always influenced society. Whether gleaned from politics, music, movies, sports, or literature, such references find their way into conversations, social media, and even our daily thoughts.

Each generation has had pop culture icons. Each decade has seen the ebb and flow of ideas. Each year has had its champion, a winning notion with multiple coattails for writers to grasp.

We’ve all heard joking references to the coming Zombie apocalypse. We’ve all been influenced by the notion of monsters invading our world. Vampires (the most popular monster) have always had their part in terror and in the sensual. But their roles are now largely changed.

The first Vampire tangent was through the writings of Anne Rice. The next shift was thanks to Joss Whedon, with his “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” movie and television series, and the series “Angel”.  Add Stephenie Meyer, add dozens of “Me too” book and television series, and pop culture regarding Vampires has evolved.

Once horrific, Vampires have become heroic.

Many writers have found a good living in writing about Vampires. But, like all good things, success is often found in what the market will bear.

When a new writer decides to write popular fiction in a “Me too” genre, they should look at current trends in literature and film. They should be aware of pop culture. They should be aware of the current tastes of the everchanging public.

So, let’s look at the top genres of popular fiction with their market share.

#4 – Horror 2.25% of book sales

#3 – Sci Fi 16.5% of book sales

#2 – Crime/thriller 20.5% of book sales

#1 – Romance 40.5% of book sales

Is it any wonder that the notion of Vampires in love has become so popular?

Dividing these genres are books on Religion and Inspiration with 20.25% of book sales. Throw a bit of theology in the mix and you have wonderful works such as Showtime Entertainment’s “Penny Dreadful”.

What is the public hungry to read? What is the next thing to be popularized? What will be the topic of conversations in the coming months?

Perhaps we have too many foci in society of today. Politics, religion, nationalism, espionage, monsters – real and imagined – the little terrors in the night, the bright moments in the day, all can claim a share of our social media and entertainment.  

The writer, in the end, must make a choice. Will they be a “Me too”? And if so, what will be the next popular subject?

That’s why in previous posts I’ve said I like to people-watch, and I recommend every writer do the same. Watch for the ebb and flow. Listen to the hustle and bustle. Keep an ear to the ground.

A stampede is coming.

Next month I’ll be posting “Elena Patrova”, a new short story I’ve added to my collection. And, with my next blog post, I will sample a portion of “My Dead”, my new novella.

Until then, find your center and comfort zone, find the wave that fits your style, and, whatever you do, never stop writing.

Useful emotions. Happiness, contentment, and everything in between.

The December-February “days of doldrums” are hard for many writers. The instinct to hibernate, to find a safe place, away from the world during the dark days of winter, is a psychological reality. Seasonal depression effects several million people each year. It effects every profession. Some people burn out, drop out, and consider a new vocation.

For some writers, depression is a daily norm. Some seek medical help. Some go it alone. One factor effecting a writer’s psyche, and, to be honest, a writer’s income, is the search for happiness.  Happiness comes when everything in life is as it should be.

Happiness is the ideal we strive toward. But a writer knows a truth that eludes many others:

People often mistake contentment for happiness.

Contentment is the realization that while life isn’t perfect, there are enough good things to keep us going. A good cup of coffee or hot chocolate, a good story, no matter the genre, can give us the contentment to face each day.

Writers feel emotions deeply. We channel those emotions into our tales of love and woe. We help people find contentment when happiness eludes them.

The life of a writer has ups and downs, disappointments and successes. It is a noble profession. A writer uses their gifts to share some hidden part of themselves. They pour their emotions onto a page so others can benefit.

For all of this, during this days of doldrums, take heart. You are needed.

This month, my day-time employer lost five nurses to burnout. As such, I’ve worked thirteen out of the last fourteen days, including three twelve-hour days and one that started at 6:15a.m. on a Tuesday and ended at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Nevertheless, in the past two weeks, I’ve written three short stories and entered two writing contests.  As I’ve stated before, writing is often an act of will.

Once the contests have been concluded, and the prizes awarded, I will be posting my short stories here for your enjoyment.

I hope this has been of some small inspiration. And, despite the cold gray days and cold dark nights, whatever you do, keep believing in yourself, and keep writing.

The part-time writer, Part Three. Open a door to the possible.

To begin,

Hooray for a return to normalcy (thank you Warren G Harding for the popularization of the word) in my nursing schedule. 

My two previous blogs concerned time management and manuscript length. A third piece of the puzzle is the open door. 

What things do we need when we write?

I am a lover of all things coffee. I have my Keurig. I have my Cuisinart. I have a selection of coffees to suit my moods. Without my coffee, the doorway to the possible is difficult to open. I also have an array of simple toys that free my mind ("Ideas From the Toy Box" July 18th, 2016). Today is a marbles and snow globe day.

I have note cards. I have scratch paper and journals. I have prints on the wall of my office (September Morn by Paul Chabas among my favorites) that allow for "what-if". I have music. Some days it's Disturbed. Some days it's The Moody Blues. Today it's light jazz.  

For every writer, there is something necessary. A key to open the door. 

I don't always write in my office, but I always have some of my necessary things: a pen I like, a notebook, some physical thing - a rock or twig sometimes does well - that takes me past the threshold. Every writer has some thing(s) that allows them freedom of expression. Identifying those things isn't always easy. They are born in the subconscious. In the "Why do I feel better with this is nearby?" moments.

We are all pampered in one way or another. For some, the mundane is a creature comfort. Others require an emotion, whether wrapped in the guise of sadness, or exhilaration, or other torments and joys we bring with us, there is always something that provides the proper mood.

Writing can often be a lonely thing. But perhaps that is a key that opens the door. 

To succeed as part-time writers, we have to make the most of the time we have. We have to be be flexible and let our stories end where they will, no matter the length. And we need to have those things that inspire us, that meet our unspoken needs, close at hand. Things that take us back to that place of love, or horror, or loneliness.

This is not necessarily the case for nonfiction writers. They keep close at hand the things that help them be comfortable and efficient. But if a writer is creating lives and worlds, they are more often lost in the work.

Keep a bag of goodies nearby. I have something in every room of my house that can inspire me to write. I have an old wooden box, filled with evocative things, that travels with me. I keep my favorite snacks on hand. I have my coffee.

There will never be enough free time. You will always have lofty goals, but can allow your stories to end as they should, no matter the length. Now, find what it is that helps you write; or perhaps better said, allow those things to find you.

In February, I will, once again, add Click Here selections at the end of my weekly blogs. Many  of the previous Click Here postings have been removed, but are still available. Simply click the site map at the top right of the page and select Contact. Make sure you include the date of the selected excerpt. Click RwriterN at the top of the page to access the home page.

I hope you've enjoyed, and, as always, keep writing.

RwriterN: the Writer inside.

We are the ones who open the door. We are the ones who close the door.

The Part-time Writer, Part Two. Story length.

Last week I wrote on the investment of time. This week I want to consider material length. This is usually decided by subject matter.

Being Christmas, I’ll use “A Christmas Carol” as my first example.

Charles Dickens wrote with the hope that society would enact social change. A reformer, he wanted a better world for children and the downtrodden.

At just under 28,000 words and seventy-one pages in length, “A Christmas Carol” is a perfect length for a novella. It tells a complete story, incorporating the main character’s past, present, and future, and has had universal appeal for one hundred seventy years.

Other Novellas that have been loved for years are “The Old Man and The Sea” (Hemmingway), “Animal Farm” (Orwell), and “Of Mice and Men” (Steinbeck).

It is most widely accepted by the pundits that a Novel is greater than forty thousand words in length. A Novella is from approximately fifteen to forty thousand words. A Novelette is approximately seventy-five hundred to fifteen thousand. A Short Story is from thirty-five hundred to seventy-five hundred.

Flash fiction is generally considered to be fifty to one thousand words. Works from one thousand to three thousand words, though not generally classified, are sometimes considered short-short stories.

When a part-time writer decides on a subject, they usually don’t think about word count or page length. They sit at their desk and flow their thoughts onto the page. This is where I will give a suggestion…

Start small and allow the idea to grow.

I’m not saying to aim for flash fiction, although flash fiction is becoming very popular. What I am saying is to write a scene that can stand alone. Write something that can be satisfying if there is little or no time to return to the desk in the foreseeable future.

I love the challenges offered by contests. I love 24-hour short story contests, where the word count and subject are not revealed until twenty-four hours before the deadline. Writing small is not thinking small. Writing small is an excellent way for a part-time to fine tune and improve their craft.

Happy Holidays, and I hope this has given food for thought.

I’m including my short story “Gabriel Simmons” as part of this post. If you’ve seen it before, I hope you enjoyed. I wrote it one Saturday morning after breakfast and before lunch. I’m not sure where the idea originated, but it felt right. It took two and one half hours to write and do a first edit. I hope you enjoy.

“Gabriel Simmons”

The window blinds were open a slit, allowing Gabriel Simmons to peek into the out there. Out there, people were killing. Out there, people were dying.

Shoot you, stab you, hit you with a car, beat you up, make fun of the clothes your mom bought you, laugh behind your back, laugh in your face, push you down in the hallway, trip you, knock the books out of your hand, make you feel bad, scare you on purpose to hear you “scream like a girl”.

People doing bad stuff, making you die a little bit every day from shame and fear and the almost certain fact that nobody would ever understand anything inside your head because you were just a stupid crazy twelve-year-old kid.

In here was better.

In here was a bed and a table and a night light. In here was a closet, which didn’t have monsters, but had shelves for books and a chair he’d had since he was seven, and an overhead bulb with a cotton pull-string, and a door to close so he could hide from all of the out there’s and read. With the door closed, it was the in here of the in here

The in here of the in here was always safe.

But tomorrow was Monday. Monday was the worst day. Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays and Fridays were all bad, but Mondays were make up for the weekend days.

The Tommys and Bobbys and Rickys and Jimmys and Brads loved Mondays. Especially the Brads.

Brads liked Mondays because Brads were bigger and meaner and said bad things and used the “N” word. Brads liked Mondays because Mondays meant lunch money.

Sometimes Mondays meant you had a whole weeks’ worth of lunch money. Sometimes Mondays meant your mom gave you extra ‘cause she wanted to make sure you had it.  If you had it, the guy next door, who came over some days and went with mom into her room, and shut the door, and sometimes made her laugh, and sometimes made her cry, and sometimes saw you and smiled all creepy-like, wouldn’t take the lunch money for himself.

But now it is Sunday. And now is when you finally learned to put the extra money your mom gave you in a book to hide it away. The man wouldn’t get it ‘cause he doesn’t like books. He likes television, which could be okay sometimes, even though books are better.

And Brad wouldn’t get it because he doesn’t like books either. And besides, he doesn’t know where you live, maybe.

Sometimes, on the way home, you feel that somebody is watching and you think it might be Brad or one of the Tommys or Jimmys, and you start walking faster and you trip on your own stupid clumsy feet and the somebody behind you gets closer and you know they’re going to push you down and hit you in your stupid face and take the money you didn’t spend on milk ‘cause today you didn’t feel like drinking milk. But when you turn and look there isn’t anybody behind you.

Or maybe they’re just hiding.

So you close the door to the in here of the in here and you count the money in the third book on the fourth shelf and you count it again, just in case you were wrong about Brad and the guy next door, and you're glad it’s still there.

Then you take the book you’ve been reading for two days and open it to page one hundred seventeen ‘cause you want to finish reading it and start another one. Not that there’s anything wrong with the one you’re reading.

The one you’re reading has pirates and beautiful girls and a heaping chest of gold that could pay for all the lunches you could ever want for the rest of your stupid life, with or without milk.

And you start reading and you feel like a pirate.

If you were a pirate, Jenny Maddeaux would like you. She’d smile back when you smiled at her and she’d eat lunch at your table, maybe even giving you half of her fudge brownie instead of giving it to one of the Bobbys or Rickys.

Stupid Bobbys and Rickys always getting the stupid fudge brownies and the banana pudding ‘cause they're so cute and funny, and you know that one day they’ll get all fat and that Jenny and all the rest of the girls will probably still like them more than you anyway.

Stupid fat Bobbys and Rickys.

And you know if you were a pirate you could beat up Brad and take his lunch money. Even though you wouldn’t do it because you don’t want to be anything like Brad.

But maybe you could scare him.

You have the knife your dad gave you when you were nine years old.

He gave you a knife and a watch with a second hand. And you still have them both, even though the watch doesn’t work anymore ‘cause it needs a stupid battery and batteries cost money and sometimes you do like milk with lunch and your mom says there isn’t enough money for milk and a battery for the watch that your no good deserting father gave you when you were nine.

And you put down the book and you get the knife from inside the box where you keep the picture of your dad and the watch that doesn’t work anymore. And when you pull open the knife blade you know it is way too small to scare Brad, or anybody else for that matter. Except it might scare your mom. And you remember your dad telling you not to let her know you have a knife ‘cause she’d want to take it away, thinking you might hurt yourself.

So then you get the other thing.

The other thing belongs to the man next door and he left it on the living room table when he was in the bedroom with your mom and you took it before he came back out.

And you heard him get mad and he hit your mom one time and you thought he was going to hit her again and you were about to tell it was you who took it and give it back to him, but then he decided he’d probably left it somewhere else and called your mom “Baby” and went back in the bedroom with her.

And you look at the other thing.

The other thing would scare Brad.

It would scare all the Tommys and Bobbys and Rickys and Jimmys and you’d be a pirate and you could keep all your lunch money and you could keep all your fudge brownies and Jenny Maddeaux and all of the other girls would like you ‘cause you’re a pirate.

And it’s decided.

And you read the book and it's one hundred fifty-seven pages long and the pirate buries his treasure and sails off with the pretty girls and you know he is happy.

And you pick another book, this time from the end of the third shelf.

And this book has a bunch of very short stories, and some that are longer. And the stories are about ogres and witches and huntsmen and little people. And the people are happy. But sometimes they aren’t happy. And you know that the bad people are the ones who end up not being happy and it makes you feel better. So you close the book and put it back exactly where it was.

And you straighten all of the books and you put the box in the corner, making sure the lid is on tight.

And you pick up the other thing again and you take it outside the inside of the inside and you put it under your pillow.

Tomorrow is Monday.

Brad won’t take your lunch money and Jenny will eat lunch with you.

You are going to be a pirate.

Gabriel Simmons leans toward the window again, looking through the slit in the blinds.

Out there people are killing. Out there people are dying.

Tomorrow will be better.

The Part-Time Writer, part one. Time management.

This blog was intended for the first weekend in December. However, my work schedule has prevented me from spending much time at my writing desk. My duties as a nurse have seen me working split shifts, swing shifts, weekends, all which makes for good pay, but robs me of productive time through exhaustion, etc.

But here it is, and it seems very apropos for the season.

Most writers of today don’t have the luxury of planning their day around a writing schedule. They have full-time jobs. They have families to care for. And, when those responsibilities and demands are met, there are other mundane tasks of life that seek a slice of time. But there are effective strategies to cope with a busy life.

The first is the decision to write something every day. This is a promise the writer makes to themselves. It requires a commitment of precious free time that is often in short supply. It is the get up a half hour early, put off that chore until tomorrow, skip the news and sit at a writing desk mindset.  

Sometimes it’s a matter of finding the time.

Dale Brown made the decision to write “Flight of the Old Dog” in 1987. An officer in the USAF, he used snippets of time while he sat standby. He wrote his manuscript in longhand on legal pads while fellow officers read or watched the news. Similarly, J.K. Rowling wrote her first book in long hand and in small snippets.

Sometimes it’s a matter or organizing the time.

The problem here is that there are far more distractions than there have ever been. And now, with the holidays in full swing, there are a bounty of distractions. Time slips away, unless the writer has set a plan in motion. For example, “Today, in a free moment, I am going to write a scene that takes place in the woods, just outside the old cottage.”

Always be prepared for the next idea.

Ideas come at inconvenient times. Most writers keep a pen and pad at their bedside. Many travel with a voice recorder. Many use their phones to send themselves notes. Ideas come while driving, while in a meeting, while doing the daily rote. There’s no guarantee the idea will hang out, waiting for a convenient time.

Never freak out.

There are going to be days, possibly even weeks, when you won’t get much done. My normal day starts at 5:45 a.m. My normal time to arrive home is between 4:45 and 5:00 p.m. That’s my M-F schedule with weekends off. But weekends aren’t a given. Some work weeks are between 60-70 hours. But that’s how it is in nursing, and in teaching, and in so many other professions that involve direct and active interaction with the public.

There are days I’m simply too exhausted to write. The pundits speak on the necessity of the daily write. I mentioned it myself early in this blog. But, all too often, that isn’t reality.

The only fix I can give is: Make[mm1]  the plan, execute the plan as able; revise the plan as necessary, execute the plan as able; streamline the plan as warranted, execute the plan as able. Nobody said it would be easy.

RwriterN, the name attached to this site, has a two-fold meaning. The obvious is “The writer inside the nurse”. R-writer-N. It seemed a catchy name and led to the primary purpose for this site and blog.

It’s my hope that the ideas and information I share are beneficial to others. If I can help new writers find their niche and can assist them to improve the quality of their writing, I count myself a success.

Thanks for reading, and, as always, keep writing.

Do The Research

First a few statistics.

Per Forbes Magazine (2013) between 600,000 and 1,000,000 unique book titles are published in the United States each year. This vast increase in number includes traditional publishing, vanity publishing, and the incredible array of self-publishing outlets.

Per Berrett-Koehler, the average non-fiction book published by the average author of today will sell up to 250 copies per year with a lifetime total sales volume of 2000 books.

Per Quora, the sales volume for fiction titles is much worse. A print copy might sell in the low hundreds to the low thousands, depending on cover art and bookshelf presence. And, given the glut of titles and the ease of publishing an e-book, they estimate a new authors e-book will sell from a few dozen to a few hundred copies.

The sales volume for fiction writers is almost entirely dependent upon the authors willingness to self-promote and their coverage in traditional and social media. If they can get people interested, their sales can soar into the thousands and above. If not, no matter how well written the book might be, their sales volume might never climb above a few hundred copies.

I haven't and might not ever touch on book promotion. How much time an author is willing to devote to sales is a personal priority. There are huge numbers of companies trying to hawk their marketing tips. The title of their ventures might best be called "How to make a million dollars by convincing others to buy your system on how to make a million dollars". 

With that business aside, I want to concentrate on what matters: How to make YOUR book the best it can be. This week, as the title of the blog relates, I want to focus on doing research.

First, some projects begin with people watching. The holiday season makes it easy for people watchers. We study the way people walk. We notice expressions. We see how people interact. We watch them cut their eyes when they see someone handsome or beautiful. We wonder about their thoughts and create lives and intrigues for them in our imaginations. This is an excellent way to begin research for a romance novel. But it is also a basis for understanding human nature. To write about people, we must observe people.

Next, the believably of a novel is determined long before the author begins the project. I began my novel "Assuming Room Temperature" (hopefully to be released late 2017) three months after I watched a true crime show on A&E. There was one aspect of the crime that I found particularly fascinating. It involved the way the killer removed all potential tell-tale signatures of his weapon before committing murder. His plan worked, the police were baffled, but the killer left his DNA signature at the crime scene.

I was so fascinated, I spent the next two months studying murders that had been committed, what signs had been left behind, how the killers were finally identified, and what, if anything, the killers could have been done to make it a "perfect" crime. That was before I had any writing project in mind and that study led to some very strange nightmares. But, in the end, it gave me an idea for an unexpected and excellent plot twist which I used in Assuming Room Temperature.

When Tom Clancy wrote "The Hunt For Red October", he said he studied hundreds of volumes on missile systems, on naval combat tactics, on combat fleet maneuvers, as well as playing war games and simulators of the PC. He also spoke at length with ex-submariners, he looked at schematics and blueprints, and then he told a story. 

He referred to himself as a storyteller and not a writer, because he created these people and they took their own personalities. As they developed within his manuscript, they put themselves in situations. Mr. Clancy stated he was simply told the story they revealed to him. 

Let me clear about a few things. Research for a romance novel doesn't mean you should have an affair. Research for a thriller doesn't mean you should commit murder. And it is not possible, outside the realm of imagination, to transport yourself at will to another reality. But what is possible, and even mandated, it that you do the work.

Talk to people. Watch people. Join discussing groups. Read non-fiction books on your topic. Some might be dull as dirt, others fascination reads, but all will have information that can be used as thesis or antithetically. 

Look at the statistics I’ve quoted above. There are too many people who don't do research and flood the market with crap. I've read it. You've read it. It is easy for anyone to self-publish, but I ask one thing of anyone reading this...

Even if it takes months of conjecture, research, and planning, don't publish crap. And whatever you do, keep writing.

Today’s Click Here is a short excerpt from Assuming Room Temperature.  If you had a chance to read previous excerpts, you know that the novel begins in the year 2000 where the FBI is hunting “The Chatroom Killer”, a serial killer named for his method of targeting his next victim.

In this excerpt, we fast forward to modern day. The Chatroom Killer was never caught. One of the FBI agents involved in the case has retired. The other is married with a family. Part one ended with the Chatroom Killer promising to complete the work he started.

New beginnings. Start your second novel without self recriminations.

One of the first suggestions I made after developing this website, creating the RwriterN brand, is that an aspiring author should join a local writer’s group. Peer groups provide assistance and critiques from engaged individuals. The exchange of ideas and information can prove invaluable.

But todays Blog isn’t about editing and assistance from others. It’s about writing a second novel.

To begin, some writers are constantly plagued with ideas on how they could have improved their first work. They should have had the characters do this instead of that. They should have concentrated on a small cast of principles and not tried to write such an expansive work. How the writer handles these notions (whether correct or not) will mark their writing style far into the future.

A select few authors have produced winning manuscripts their first time out. Perhaps they had an excellent idea. Perhaps they had a professional editor(s) to correct mistakes. Perhaps they had professional readers to point out tangents and distractions from the manuscript’s storyline.

The notion of this type of publishing “dream team” is far from common. Reality for most first-time writers does not include the funding to pay for that level of help. For most, the act of producing something worthwhile is both hard work and a learning process.

An author has get past their mistakes. This might sound obvious, but some novice writers can’t concentrate on a second project because they can’t get over the should haves from the first. My favorite mantra for this comes from Emile Coue and has been quoted countless times (including several times in The Pink Panther movie series) “Every day in every way I’m getting better and better”.

      It's as simple as this: If something didn’t feel right in the first book, don't repeat it in the second. If the storyline was too expansive, tighten the focus.

      One way to accomplish this is with marker notes such as date, time, and location. Consider the television series "24". A wide variety of action and emotion was packed into a small space. It used time markers to help the viewer keep sense of the action and to keep them on the edge of their seats.

      Not every writer likes marker notes (although they are a useful device to firm up timing.). Markers can be removed after they've served a purpose.

      While a debut novel is an outpouring of the writer’s love, fear, pain, and creativity, a second novel is an act of will. The reader will be looking for something new. But that doesn't mean everything should be different.

      If writing a series based on a set of characters or a specific location, it's best to keep a notebook or a card file of characters and actions. Who isn’t familiar with references to Derry, Maine, the fictional town presented as home base for many of Stephen King’s novels? When reading his books, references flow and add realism to a fictional location and a familiarity to fictional characters.

      There are things that worked in a first novel that should be repeated. Perhaps characters were introduced in interesting and engaging ways. Perhaps descriptions of places or emotions felt real and alive. Repeat only the stylistic items that felt right. If a phrase felt awkward when it was written, it felt awkward when it was read. 

      Every writer has a voice of their own. There is something unique in style and structure that differentiates them from other writers. This won’t change in a second book unless the writer decides to change style.

I have a different style for different genres. In order to see and feel the emotions of my characters, whether good or bad, I listen to music that gets me in the mood to write. When I write literary fiction, I listen to music from the 1950’s and the 1980’s to transport me to a different time and place. When I write short stories like Gabriel Simmons and The Wyman Initiative, both of which had dark themes, I listen to whatever is current of the radio, but I make sure to watch an hour or two of FoxNews and CNN to get in the proper mood. When I work on a thriller, I’ll listen to Korn or Disturbed to get in the mood for mayhem. 

 In a first book, the mood is already set. It’s the clumsy excitement before the first kiss with someone you desire. In a second book, it’s a deeper longing where knowledge and expectations meet precision and timing. In the second book, the writer brings the reader further into the world of their imagination. It might still be clumsy at times, but that’s handled in the edit.

I’ve read debut novels that were brilliant. I’ve read debut novels that were mostly fluff. I’ve read second books of the former because I was sure they’d be good. I’ve read second books by the latter because friends and family asked me to give them a second chance. To paraphrase Stephen King in On Writing: A fluff writer will likely never be competent, but a competent writer can become a good writer.

The abilities and successes of new writers depend on their willingness to listen to criticism and learn from their mistakes.

The click here from today is a section from Brettinger where I’ve used markers. There are three actions taking place in quick succession. The markers help define the passage of time and tie the actions together.

Click here passages are periodically archived, but are still available. Select Contact Me from the home page or click on the menu icon at the top right of this page and select Contact. Make sure you reference the posted date when requesting archived files.  I hope you enjoy. And whatever you do, keep writing.

The rewrite. Part three.

How many times should an author go through a read/rewrite process?

The best way to answer this is to pose another question. Is there anything about the manuscript that seems out of place, cumbersome, or was written with a “They’ll know what I mean” attitude?

There is no “They’ll know what I mean”. The reader won’t know. Or, if they realize an author’s intent but don’t see it expressed in the pages, the work might be labeled ham-handed and poorly written.

I’ve purchased books by celebrated authors and couldn’t bring myself to read past the first one hundred pages. My exact thoughts were “This is crap” and “They had a high school freshman write this, didn’t bother to edit it, and then slapped their own name on the cover to connive money out of everybody’s pocket.”

It’s better to delete a scene or a plot twist than to alienate readers. Those unwieldy plot twists and extra scenes, the ones we fell in love with when we wrote them, often come from subjective knowledge. My post from June 11th, “Passified Steel and the 5.3-million-dollar box of donuts”, touches on this subject.

If something feels wrong it probably is. But how can the author fix the problem? What if they fell in love with this unwieldy bit of prose as they wrote it and don’t want to let it go? It’s always better to remove a scene and suggest the notion in narrative.

Make notes on what felt a bit odd, wrong, or out of place. Become a reader once more instead of a writer. This might take days and it might take weeks, but it needs to be done.

A writer knows his or her owns flaws. Look for them. Is a notion repeated over and over using a variety of synonyms? Are there too many details given on minor subjects. Is the writer so averse to “he said/ she said” they will do anything to avoid it? Does the novel translate as a Sergio Leone “Spaghetti Western” from the 1960’s with a continual montage of facial expressions – cutting of eyes, smirks, etc.

The writer must be comfortable with what they’ve written. This goes back to the target audience. Most readers of a genre are tolerant of minor flaws if the story makes sense and flows.

Most writers self-publish. They don’t have to pass inspection by an agent or professional editor, but this shouldn’t excuse them from putting out their best work.

My Click Here post is a section from Brettinger. It had been written as two separate scenes with a combined twenty pages. I chose to rewrite these scenes as a short bit of narrative that I believe helped the flow of the book.  I hope you enjoy.

*Note Some Click Here documents have been removed from the queue. Click on Contact Me from the home page or the site navigation icon in the upper right of this page and request and items that might have been removed. Thanks for reading.

The rewrite. Part two.

Last week, I wrote that a new author needs to allow space between themselves and their work before beginning the process of the read/rewrite. Whether days, weeks, or even months, time away allows for a fresh perspective. They can read what they’ve written, not what they intended to write.

Minor things, such as misspellings, have been corrected. Everything else has gone into margin notes.

All the margin notes should be read before making changes to the manuscript. This ensures a flow of ideas. It also allows for fine tuning of thoughts and any further modifications to the story before the rewrite begins. There are several things to consider.

1)      Is the reader inundated with introductions to new characters? Is the storyline so broad that the reader doesn’t know which scenes are integral and which are transition? Are some scenes too subjective and even boring? A good reading of margin notes will help answer these questions. Some ideas can be handled in a short bit of narrative.

2)      It might help to see the manuscript as a movie. The writer can storyboard the novel using notecards or post-its. This is a good practice to ensure flow. Scenes might be cut completely or moved within the storyline. Important ideas can be fully developed depending on the flow of the storyboard.

Tackle one scene at a time. Make the necessary changes, then check the flow of the manuscript. Read the scene(s) immediately before the change through immediately after the change. It shouldn’t read as if it’s been shoehorned in.

Once all the margin notes have been incorporated and the flow ensured, it’s time to read through the manuscript again. There will be more notes to write in the margins. More tweaks to the storyline. The structure needs to make sense.

Have someone else read the manuscript and make notes. There will be issues the writer has missed, because they still tend to see what they were trying to rather than the words on the page. And just as before, read through the margin notes. If they’re helpful, incorporate them in the storyline.

After the structure edit is complete, the writer will look at sentence level edits. I like to use the sentence “Alan reached out and tried the door handle.” Does the reader need to be told that Alan reached out? And although some clichés are fine, too many “neat as a pin”, “tight as a drum”, “flat as a pancake” references can be tedious.

How many times will the writer goes through this process? That’s up to the individual. But the goal is a well-structured and polished manuscript that flows and keeps the readers interest. It takes work and practice.

I’m not including a Click Here selection this week. Thanks for reading. And as always, keep writing.

The rewrite. Part one.

Every author has seen the quote, “Write, rewrite, repeat”. The fact is, a novel is an investment of time and effort. Up to now, I’ve written how-to ideas on writing. Today, and for the next two weeks, I’m going to focus on the process involved in the rewrite.

The first hurdle to jump is found in two simple facts. First, the you who writes is the same you who will rewrite. Second, few writers spill honey from their pens, even on a first rewrite.

It begins here: You have an idea. You have a beginning and an ending. You probably have ideas for much of the stuff in between. Maybe these ideas are jotted down in a notebook or journal. Maybe they’re kept in that secret stash of thoughts within your mind.

On Day One, you spill ink onto paper. You write the entire first scene, proceed to an obvious second scene, transition toward a third, and before you know it, you’ve written fifteen to twenty pages. You get some coffee, you grab a snack, then you go back to spill more ink on paper.

Ten pages later, day one is in the books. Checkmark. Gold star. Pat on the back. Next.

Or maybe Day One is: Write the first scene, get some coffee, grab a snack, go back to the desk, stand up, go to the window, worry about the opening scene, read it over (twice, three times, etc), decide to correct it later, grab some more coffee and another snack, decide it’s enough for now.

Day one is in the books. Checkmark. Star of ambiguous color. Pat on the back. Next.

Most new writer’s projects fall somewhere in between those examples. They work on their manuscripts without trying to correct as they go. They gather their stars for daily work, and, when the project finally comes its logical conclusion, they put the manuscript aside and take a break.

My suggestion, while on a short break, is to read for enjoyment. Pick authors you’d like to emulate. Don’t think about your own project. Allow yourself distance from your thoughts. Maybe jot notes for a new project.

Distance often helps us refocus on timing and structure. Time gives us fresh eyes. New writers sometimes read what they meant to write and not the actual words on the page (screen).

On the first rewrite, read the entire manuscript. Spelling and grammar errors are immediate corrections. Sentence and paragraph restructure can be corrected here also. I occasionally find sentences that read better when repositioned ahead or after correlated thoughts.

I suggest to makes notes in the margins for changes in storyline. However, some writers change their storyline on the fly (as they read their manuscript). Those writers usually have the benefit of experience. They can easily keep up with the changes they’ve made.  But even experienced writers make mistakes. I’ve read books by noted authors and come away confused, but nonetheless accepting, at a shift in the storyline.

Any change in the story (actions, characters, etc) effects the manuscript at its core. Story changes can ensure a consistency in flow. Also, the writer might gain new revelations when reading their work. For example, would it work better to have the story told from a female instead of a male perspective, or should a character’s past be interwoven to help tie up loose ends?

Next week I’ll focus on what to do with the margin notes and the next step toward publication.

My Click Here selection is another excerpt from Brettinger. The focus is how to make your characters more relatable in their home life. The characters have had their introduction. The reader has a picture of them in their mind. Now it’s time to make it seem real. I hope I’ve done that here.

As always, any comments or suggestions can be forwarded by clicking the site navigation at the top right of the screen and selecting Contact Me.

Thanks for reading, and as always, keep writing.

Pick Up The Gauntlet. Entering contests can improve your craft.

There is a common refrain in literary circles, identified by every pundit who has penned a blog, published in every book of advice to aspiring authors, and alluded to by every speaker specializing in the written word. That common refrain is…

Whatever you do, keep writing.

It’s not a secret. An author has to do the work.

What I want to convey goes beyond just doing the work. I want to reaffirm an idea I’ve stated in previous blogs. You have to step outside of your comfort zone to grow in your craft.

My suggestion is to search the internet for writing contests. I don’t care about genre and any “That’s not what I write” statements you come up with. I don’t care what prizes are awarded, even if the only prize is a one-line blurb in a literary magazine. All I care about is the thing itself.

The first contest I entered as a young writer was sponsored by an Industrial Supply company. They were publishing a holiday cookbook of favorite original recipes. The entry had to include a short blurb about the recipe being submitted. The prizes awarded were 1) publication in the cookbook and 2) two free copies of the cookbook, one for the entrant and one they could gift to a friend.

I’m not so naïve as to think anyone was excluded from the publication. And that is exactly my point. While the primary goal of putting ink to paper is to receive acknowledgement for one’s efforts, another goal should be to stretch beyond the confines of your writing closet, no matter what the prize.

Recent contests I’ve entered include short fiction (any genre), short science fiction, short horror fiction, thriller fiction (novel), Southern fiction (short subject), and soon, poetry. All of the short fiction contests had time limits, subject limits, specified word counts, or other such guidelines for entry.

What I’ve gained is a flexibility in my work. I feel comfortable writing in any voice and in any genre. If I’m ever stuck on a project, I have five others in mind that will flow just as easily.

I’ve received prizes for submissions, although I’m still searching for that elusive first place entry. I have no doubt I will find it one day. Until then, I'll enjoy the challenge.

My hope is that you feel comfortable enough to step out, with faith in your own abilities, and discover new worlds and new adventures. And just maybe, you will uncover a new layer of imagination within yourself.

Good luck. And no matter what else, keep writing.

My Click Here involves exploiting a character to move the story line ahead. In this excerpt, Nadine Dicks has gathered her children into the car and is fleeing Brettinger. She hopes to escape attention, but I need to find a believable way to put her at the scene of a murder. 

Any comments or questions are welcome. Simply go the the website homepage or click the directory at the top right of the screen and choose Contact. 

Click Here posts are removed at times to make room for newer information. They remain available by choosing Contact Me. Please request the post by the date it first appeared. 

How was it for you? Part 2. Endings that keep your readers coming back.

Every successful novelist, whether writing a series, a cast of recurring characters/locations, or a standalone book, has discovered the formula for a good ending. They understand endings are as much about the readers as they are about the storyline.

In his Jack Reacher series, Lee Childs writes a character who is smart, tough, and resilient. He takes Reacher into impossible situations and has him prevail. Then he does something very smart. He realizes there is a progression that will keep the reader coming back for more.

One of the best and most visually relatable examples I can give in defining Lee Childs and other novelist’s success at endings isn’t found in a novel. It is found in a movie that won the academy award for best picture in 1977. That movie was Rocky.

Despite what some people say (usually based on the fact that the movie sequels were predictable and a lampoon of the original) Rocky had the perfect formula for a win.

A man whose dreams have been quashed is left to find happiness one day at a time. Add a love interest, add a chance to rekindle his dreams, add an epic struggle filled with physical and emotional turmoil, give the man a chance at victory, then end by having the character realize the most important thing he has done was to find someone to love.

The formula, to put it simply, is:  Crisis, change agent, emotional ties, enhanced crisis, change agent, sentinel event, change agent, emotional ties.

Lee Childs used this formula in Killing Floor, Worth Dying For, and other novels. He can’t allow Jack Reacher to have a permanent love interest. That notion would destroy the mystique of Jack Reacher. But Childs ends those books by allowing the idea of a different life, if only…

This formula works in YA fiction. Read any book in the Twilight series or in K. E. Ganshert’s The Gifting series, which I highly recommend.

It works in romance. Read most any book by Jude Deveraux, Maeve Binchy, or Nora Roberts.

Don’t end your novel with the crescendo. Think of your storyline in terms of a workout. You’ve put the reader through warmup and mental aerobics, give them a cool down that makes sense.

Take the example of Moby Dick by Herman Melville. In the last chapter, while pursuing the great white whale, Ahab, his ship, and his entire crew is lost. But Melville adds an epilogue. There was one man left as witness. So the book follows the formula – Crisis, change agent, emotional ties, enhanced crisis, he skips the next change agent and goes directly to sentinel event, then combines the last change agent and emotional ties.

The book ends with a narrator saying: I floated on a soft and dirgelike main. The unharming sharks, they glided by as if with padlocks on their mouths…On the second day, a sail drew near, nearer, and picked me up at last. It was the devious-cruising Rachel, that in her retracing search after her missing children, only found another orphan.

If you’ve never read it, Moby Dick is worth the time. The Rachel is a ship whose captain sought Ahab’s help in a search and rescue, but Ahab wouldn’t break off from his search for Moby Dick. The final line is emotional and poignant.

Understand the formula, but don’t be rigid in your ending. Present the emotion and give the reader enough information to reach their own conclusion. In Killing Floor, Childs has the love interest give Reacher a photograph, her number scribbled on the back. Childs last lines read: “On the back she had written her telephone number. But I didn’t need that. I had already committed it to memory.”

Foreshadow events and let the reader imagine what happen. Never tell the reader what the future holds. Hint at it, give clues and possibilities, but let the reader use their imagination. Without foreshadowing, the character must have changed in some way. Without a change in the character, let them learn something that will change them in the future.

Endings are about possibilities. When you write an ending, give the reader something to wonder about long after they’ve finished the book.

As a final note, I’m going to use Stephen King’s Needful Things. Last week I mentioned the way he opens: “You’ve been here before.” He ends the book with a traveler headed to a new town, a wagon of needful things in tow. You realize the bad guy was not defeated. He’s just on to the next adventure, maybe in a town close to our own.

I hope I’ve provided some usable ideas. No matter what else comes, keep writing.

Today's Click Here provides a first look at Joe Kohler, a member of the Brettinger P.D. When introducing authority figures, especially ones you plan to manipulate, you have to be careful to give them both respect and believability.. I hope I’ve done that here.

To set up this scene, there has been one high profile murder. Joe Kohler, who was involved in the first case, is about to finish work and head home when another call comes in. I hope the interplay between the two cops is believable and enjoyable.

It's all in how you begin. Part 2

Opening lines can determine how many readers you will have. They set the tone for your novel. They draw a reader into the world you’ve created.

“She’s buried beneath a silver birch tree, down towards the old train tracks, her grave marked with a cairn. Not more than a little pile of stones, really. I didn’t want to draw attention to her resting place, but I couldn’t leave her without remembrance.”

         Those are the opening lines from The Girl On The Train. They provide questions that must be answered. Who is “she”? Who is the speaker? What happened? This type of opening is used quite often. Sometimes with success, sometimes not.

What elements make a good opening? What makes it work?

1)      Don’t give away everything in the first twenty seconds.

Everyone has gotten an envelope stating they have a chance to win money and prizes. Inside are details of how you can be rich beyond your dreams. But, what if the letter began with a sales pitch? How many would go directly to the trash?

Consider the line, “The first time I saw Alice, she was smiling.” This could be a starting point for a romance or a thriller. The mind is set for many possibilities. Perhaps Alice makes everyone around her smile. Perhaps Alice doesn’t smile anymore. Perhaps Alice’s smile was directed at the narrator. Perhaps has Alice died (maybe at the hands of the narrator).

2)      Be original. Or, at least, don’t use worn out beginnings.

Waking from a dream has been done many times over. A catalogue of characters (this is my mom, dad, spouse, friend, bully, lover, enemy) can work in YA at times, but not in most contemporary fiction. A lament over a wasted life. A list of problems. Looking in a mirror. Listing flaws. A statement of being force to move away. All of these things might play a part in your story, but don’t begin this way without building intrigue.

As example, if someone has to move, maybe start with something like...

 “I touched the door and tried the handle. All I’d known of life and love was locked inside this home. One more time to smell cinnamon and rosemary. One more time to hear my footsteps echo. One last view from my bedroom window. I stepped back, slipped the key into my pocket, and turned from the only world I’d ever known.”

3)      Put the reader in the midst of the story from the first lines.

Everybody has experiences. Happy, sad, scary, wonderful, we have all experienced life. The writer simply uses that knowledge and builds a story around it. I like to use Stephen King examples for two reasons, he knows how to capture a reader’s attention and he knows what details should and shouldn’t be included in the openings, sometimes working for months to get the opening line right.

 “You’ve been here before.” is the opening of Needful Things. It is presented as a single line on the first page of the book. He presents a world we can relate to then twists and distorts reality in frighteningly believable ways, taking the reader with him.

“The terror that would not end for another 28 years, if it ever did, began so far as I can know or tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.” It sets up the image of the boat and the gutter and the child who set the boat afloat. Then it gets terrifying.

4)      Make the reader care. Use good imagery and let the reader anticipate something that is about to happen.

A good example of this is the opening to Charlotte’s Web: “What’s Papa gonna do with that axe?” An opening can involve sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, memory. The reader will care if they can connect.

       As always, there are more concepts to present and more things to learn. But nothing good happens until we get out and do the work. So, as always, and whatever else you do, just keep writing.

The Click Here for today is another selection from Brettinger. Things have gone very wrong and the end is near, for better or worse. The police have been called to Lakewood and find the area in Chaos. A group of citizens have been gathered at Millennium Hall for questioning. When they venture out of the conference room, they find that Millennium Hall is deserted, well, almost deserted.