Writing for Boys

Remember last Friday's post on boys falling behind in reading? Author Max Elliot Anderson responded to my request for info on what and how to write for boys. He prepares:

chapter action-adventure and mystery books, for readers 8 - 13, that I would have liked as a child. My books are highly visual, with lots of humor, dialog, and plenty of heart-pounding action....my books are larger than most, the paper is bright white, and the type is larger. Sentences and paragraphs are short, the books contain a lot of dialog and humor, along with heart-pounding action and adventure, and a lot of dialog. Most chapters end in a cliffhanger.

See additional information on Anderson's books with nearly 50 pages of reviews and his Books for Boys blog. A photo, bio and bibliography of Anderson's publications are on Amazon.

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Book Review of UNFORGIVABLE

Just noticed my review of Philippe Djian's Unforgivable is an editor's pick today on the Books page at Blogcritics.org. The review itself begins there, but the whole article starts here.  This was one of those smallish books I didn't know was going to arrive. That always irritates me, and inevitably I cannot resist peeking inside.


I must admit that European literature seldom satisfies due to the usual lack of a happy ending (which many American readers expect) and the authors' penchant for leaving loose ends dangling all over the place.  Well, what happens to the writer, Francis?  What was Jeremie going to do with the gun? And will Judith (Francis' second wife) simply carry on in her down-to-earth practical manner? Saaay ... this sounds like a good book for a book club to discuss.

Any book mentioned may have been a gift from the publisher.

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Why Editors Say No

Ring! Ring! "Hello, editing central."
"I can't find your rates anywhere on your website!"
"That's because it depends on the work, the complexity and length, and the kind of editing services desired."
I convinced the caller at the other end of the country to email her "short story" for me to look over.  It turned out to be a rather nice story poem, written in contemporary verse. I wrote back:

Hi REDACTED,

Your lovely story poem is something I would not edit. Poems are so personal and so much creative writing rather than something to convey information.  Although I might punctuate it differently, I wouldn't know if I were violating your intentions. In poetry, copyediting matters are as much the author's tool as rhyme and word selection.

 

I will offer this advice, however:  read the poem out loud, maybe even into a recorder, and listen for the places where you want the reader's voice to continue to the next line without a break, and where you want pauses or stops.  Take away any punctuation that causes a break where you don't want one, and add the appropriate marks where you want a pause or stop.

 

Punctuation ranges from "snatch a breath" (comma) to full stop (period).  Semicolons formally separate phrases that could stand alone as complete sentences; a colon indicates a medium pause but continuing in the same tone of voice because what follows is an explanation of what came before the colon.  Use ellipses and em dashes sparingly. An ellipse marks a place where the voice trails off and pauses before starting a new sentence, while an em dash is a pause like a comma, only longer and the voice continues in the same tone.  As Jay Leno says:  exactly the same, only different!

 

I see no capitalization problems, but have you seen poetry by ee cummings?  That is another poet's choice! 

 

My minimum fee for any service is two hours of my maximum charge, $70 per hour. So, if you still want me to edit it, that's what you'd have to pay.  I suspect you can tweak it yourself with the information above.

 

Please keep me in mind for your future editorial needs.

 

Yours truly,

 

Georganna Hancock
10725 Escobar Drive
San Diego CA 92124
858-571-5390
A Writer's Edge  http://www.writers-edge.info
Hancock Websites  http://www.hancockwebsites.com

 

Just yesterday, I had to explain why I would/could not help a woman with her novel--she wanted developmental editing (POV, pacing, plot) and only on a partially written manuscript.  If I could do that type of editing fiction, I told her, I would be writing novels myself! 

Quick! Somebody send some solid nonfiction so I can get all up in your words.

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Novels

Creative writers need help at many points in their pursuit of success. Mainly it is a chase to get a novel published. These are some of the most helpful online resources I've retained in the drafts file for this blog. The first contains a common grammar error in its title--using the wrong word that sounds like the right one (expedite). Don't let that put you off.

Hard-Won Lessons from Artists to Expediate the Learning Curve is by Suzanne Falter-Barnes, who writes about overcoming the fears that impede creativity.  Equating writing to creating art seems quite reasonable to me. In this fairly short article for creativity coaches, she provides seven insights to the "real nitty gritty" of the creative process and persisting to completion.

While you are writing your masterpiece, undoubtedly you'll encounter specific problems.  Chances are that Australian writer/editor Marg McAlister has it covered in the Writing4Success Tipsheet Archives. I've received her newsletter for years and learned much about creative writing from it. She has also operated a private writers' club online, but in her recent newsletter (No 173), says she will open "up most of the content to everyone as a free site." She also wrote:

Opening the site to all writers is in the nature of an experiment. Since I have limited time to administer the site, I won't be adding 5-6 new articles each week as I did last year. However, I WILL welcome well-written articles from writers in all genres. If you would like to share some of your expertise, send your article to me at tipsheet.article@gmail.com for consideration.

Once you master your masterpiece, you will benefit from The Blog of Fantasy Author Paul Genesse: How do I get published? I have pointed out this piece in the past (it's three years old) and I think the advice Paul provides is still invaluable for any "real, serious writer" who intends to have a book published in the traditional manner.

Going for the gold standard may appear an Olympian feat these days, but honestly, I don't think it is truly any different from the past.  The best way to find an agent is still by referral.  The best way to have your manuscript submitted to an acquisitions editor is still by an agent talking the editors into taking a look at it.  And if you are aiming for publishers who consider unagented mss, personal contact is still holds the best chance for this to take place.

You may not yet be an Author, but you certainly are a Writer and deserve the best--the best advice, the best help, and the best publishing.

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Do You Spraddle?

I saw 'spraddle' in a message and thought, now there's someone speaking from southern roots. The only time I've heard that word used is in the phrase, "jump up all spraddle-legged." My mother claimed her hillbilly boyfriend said it (to her disgust). I must admit, I know what's meant--startled, flustered, in a rush but not knowing what to do or which way to turn. Very colorful description of an impulsive action.  I did not think this was more than dialect.

Indeed, it is red lined by my browser's autodidactic spell-checker. The word does not appear in either of my hardbound dictionaries.  Google it, on the other hand, and you'll find hazy references to straddle, spread and sprawl in a few online resources--but not in the Google dictionary.

Warning:  the Merrian-Webster site forces a popup past all protection, one that tried to take control of my computer.  However, M-W states:  Etymology:  perhaps blend of straddle and sprawl. Date: 1632. intransitive verb 1 : sprawl 2 : to go or walk with a straddling gait. Another suggested a blend of straddle and spread, which makes sense.

Spraddle, and my hillbilly Daddy's phrase, could be useful in characterization for a short story or novel. I'm quite sure I would not use it in straight, nonfiction writing, however.  And that is where I noticed it, albeit on a private mailing list.

Your personal lexicon can be quite revealing, especially when you put it into print.  Out come all those words you think you know from hearing them, but without formally learning them, misspellings and misuses often occur.  In some cases, they betray the reality behind the image you try to project.

What do my words reveal? That I'm a language-lover, dictionary demon, a bit of an egg-head and a lot of geeky nerd? What does your lexicon reveal (if you know) or what are you hiding? Do you ever suspect that your language in use gives you away?  Do you care?  Sometimes I do.  Another writer regularly accuses me of being a stuck-up snob because I use "big words" and encourage other writers to learn and use them.  Well, I'm not going to jump up all spraddle-legged about it.

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Women of Religions

Reading Girl Mary by Petru Popescu set me pondering the books I've read in the last few years about significant women in religions. I thought it must be rather difficult to write about them, especially in light of the current tensions among different groups. Would I dare to fictionalize one, or not, because of fear of retaliation?

I asked Popescu that question, and he indicated he had no trepidations at all, but he did offer to tell us about writing this book. He has advice for approaching historical figures as novel subjects. He said to write with "passion" and that:

When you write about the mystical, you believe in it. That is the rule of thumb and the best advice I can give to writers who attempt to write about religion and its formidably puzzling characters and events.

Read all of Popescu's article.

My saga of books on female religious figures began with The Red Tent by Anita Diamont (Jewish). The most recent were Girl Mary (Christian) and Mother of the Believers by Kamran Pasha (Islamic). I'm still reading Hinduism, which has such deep and diverse roots that no single woman or goddess stands out, though I feel drawn to Kali.

In between these book ends, as it were, are the writings based on the figure Mary Magdalene (Christian): Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan and, of course, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. These books are part of a larger literary saga I've been on, reading about strong women, many of the books set in Asia.

Now, as promised last week, I have copies of Girl Mary to send to the first five people who comment (US addresses only, please). Comments may be on this post or Popescu's article. Be sure to send me your address by email: writers.edge [AT] gmail.com (Give-away has ended.)

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Sneak Previews

Coming up: an interview with Dorraine Darden, author of Jack Rabbit Moon (see the nicely done book trailer featured here) about her adventures in self-publishing and plans for her next book. That's Dorraine, to the right, hiding behind, oh, maybe a cottonwood beside the Frio River? I'll be reviewing her lovely novel soon, too.

I'm not quite sure how I pulled this off, but Petru Popescu, author of Girl Mary, will prepare an essay for us on writing about famous female religious figures. About his book, Elie Wiesel said, "In this novel Petru Popescue's literary imagination will stimulate the reader's interest in religious and historical events." We will also have a few copies to give away, thanks to Simon & Schuster. Shall we have a contest? Lottery?

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Writing for the Future

If you could have a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of people in the future, would you do it? I'm not setting up a sci-fi plot or harping on global warming (though it applies).

I refer to the opportunity for TV writers, producers, sponsors and supporters to help change factors underlying the most prevalent public health dangers: obesity, heart disease, diabetes, addictions and mental illnesses. According to the ground-breaking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, these health issues are highly associated with childhood trauma like:

# Recurrent physical abuse
# Recurrent emotional abuse
# Contact sexual abuse
# An alcohol and/or drug abuser in the household
# An incarcerated household member
# Someone who is chronically depressed, mentally ill, institutionalized, or suicidal
# Mother is treated violently
# One or no parents
# Emotional or physical neglect

I saw the valid and shocking statistical results from this well-designed research. The more traumas a person experiences before the age of 18, the greater the probability that he or she will develop one or more of the health problems listed above. Not just "twice as likely", but in the hundreds, even thousands of times greater chances.

After presenting this compelling material, I asked Dr. Vincent J. Felitti, author of the work, about solutions for the resulting health issues beyond psychotherapy and psychoactive drugs. He shrugged and said, "I don't have any." What he does have is a vision for a preventative scenario: soap operas.

"When you go into the homes of these [damaged] people, what do you find? Always, a television. And what do they all watch? Not CNN, but soap operas." He explained that many people need positive modeling to become better parents. We must start this change where it would be most effective. People at risk do engage with television, and watch programs like the soaps, looking to the characters for clues as to how to act, Felitti said.

I've seen this idea play out in the 40 years I've been hooked on "Days of Our Lives", my surrogate family. Last spring, the series featured characters "greening" their homes and businesses (global warming), and everyone carried water bottles and worked out at the gym. Writers could weave in mentoring on the ACE Study factors through the intricate plot lines. I'm thinking that for all her heaving and weeping about being such a good mother, Sami hardly ever has her children around. She neglects them. Maybe Sami could actually learn to be a good mother.

Other TV programs people watch in droves are the so-called reality ones, which suggest another opportunity to begin a parenting revolution. If people are going to suckle at the teat of the great boob tube, let's give them nourishment for the future. It is a challenge that taxes writers' creativity and program investors' far-sightedness and dedication to values easily mouthed and more difficult to actualize.

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Book Trailer Promotion

Here's one of the best book trailers I've seen. I wouldn't highlight it if I didn't think the book is fine, too. Complex subplots masterfully woven into a tale that is not spooky like I had imagined, but well worth reading.

The almost flawless execution of the trailer mirrors the book's writing. Dorraine Darden is OTW (One to Watch)! Also, watch this space for an interview with the up and coming author.

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Hint Fiction

Have you heard of it? Hint fiction. Shorter than a short (story). Less than a flash. "A story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story" is Robert Swartswood's definition of Hint Fiction. Yes, he's at it again. Another contest, but this time with more than a hint of getting published and being paid:

Tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2010, W.W. Norton will publish an anthology of Hint Fiction.... The thesis of the anthology is to prove that a story 25 words or less can have as much impact as a story 2,500 words or longer. The anthology will include between 100 and 150 stories. We want your best work.

See the previous finalists and winners' stories, but don't ape them. Email entries are accepted through midnight August 31 and requested in a particular format, but no fee is charged to enter. People have pulled up their shorts, and Swartswood says the entries are pouring in.

I pored over my three, thinking I might have a feel for this now that I've been communicating in 140-character chunks for a few weeks. When I finished, I noticed that for the first time in my life of creative writing, I didn't start with a title, and titles are required. It feels like working backwards.

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The National Book Foundation

Advice for aspiring fiction authors often includes the direction: read! How about reading the last 77 books to win the annual National Book Award?

The National Book Foundation Fiction Blog begins with the 1950 winner, Nelsen Algren's The Man With the Golden Arm.

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Book Income Unlikely

Lit agent Donald Maas, Jon Talton, veteran Seattle journalist, are featured with me in the lead story at Jilted Journalists. Jim Gold's piece rounds up advice for laid-off news persons who might want to write books in their now abundant spare time. I suggest a focus on non-fiction, but Gold quotes successful author Jennifer Weiner from Poynter Online: "...I think the best thing for being a novelist is having been a reporter."

I turn journalists back toward their strengths in a time of need. It seems obvious to me that those who worked as reporters full-time to feed a family, are probably grabbing for an immediate source of income. Writing a novel does not provide a living wage, at least not until they become established authors knocking out best sellers--and that happens to a tiny fraction of all who make the attempt.

Gold estimates 20,000 reporters have lost their jobs in the last 12-18 months. Lookout freelancers, here they come!

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Renewed Fiction Market

The revamped Saturday Evening Post returns to "a quiet read," according to an AP story by Charles Wilson. He quoted Post Publisher, Joan SerVaas: "There is a void of magazines now that do emphasize art and creative writing and fiction." Not only have fiction markets dried up, magazines themselves, like newspapers, are shrinking, shrinking ... gone in many cases.

I thought the news Twitter-worthy and jumped on a friend's laptop to blurt it out to all 155 of my "followers" and anyone else who happens onto my page. The friend and I were at Starbucks discussing how to handle the weights in multiple regressions and correlations used for a meta-analysis. Yes. You can be creative with math and stats, too.

This news about the Post is worth more than a tweet. See the Post's submission guidelines which say:

We also welcome new fiction. A light, humorous touch is appreciated. We are also always in need of straight humor articles. Make us laugh, and we’ll buy it.

Lest you wonder why the hoopla, or worse yet never heard of the magazine, Wilson explained:

America's love affair with the Post and its predecessor date to 1728, when Benjamin Franklin founded the Pennsylvania Gazette in Philadelphia. New owners changed the publication's name to The Saturday Evening Post in 1821, but it remained a newspaper for decades.

So, all you beginners and funny writers, pull up your shorts and try out this new/old market.

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James Ellroy's Los Angeles

Playboy Walkabout - James Ellroy's Los Angeles --Warning: Adult Material XXX:

James Ellroy is the critically acclaimed author of My Dark Places, American Tabloid, The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential. In The Hilliker Curse—Ellroy's four-part memoir running in the April, June, September and November 2009 issues of Playboy—the modern dean of noir delves into his tangled sexual and romantic history. In the first installment of Playboy's new writers series Walkabout, Ellroy invites our readers to visit the places in Los Angeles that haunt him and to meet the ghosts that possess him still.

*****

In Los Angeles, you can take tours of the haunts of dead writers and their characters, but Ellroy is a living legend and conducts his own tour. A unique opportunity.

Books on Amazon by James Ellroy

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Memorial Day for Writers

American "Decoration Day" has morphed into "Memorial Day." People once flocked to cemeteries to decorate the graves of loved ones with flowers, abundant at the end of May. We could not help but think then of our recent and long-gone family members and friends. Some people don't want to recall their roots. They have worked hard to overcome the influences of dysfunctional dynasties or just plain rot.

I suggest that they are still who you are. Members of your family of origin are the characters who people your fiction and color your views of facts gathered for nonfiction. It is those people through whom your feelings are filtered every time you pen a poem. It won't hurt the person you've become to pause a moment and think about where you became from, recall who you've evolved through.

Thinking over old family stories, even the painful ones, can spark your writing career and provide insight to ongoing personal struggles. It wasn't until my mother's death almost exactly three years ago, that I glimpsed a fuller view of my personality's genesis. These are elements that make us writers and form our writing, worthy of remembering, if only once a year.

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Twitter Crossover Fiction

Some time ago I wrote about the popularity of Japanese novels scraped from chat rooms and read on cell phones. Now it's come to Twitter (which people access on cell phones, too). Barry Yourgrau's piece on Salon explains:

Keitai shosetsu, the so-called cellphone novel, has been touted (in the pages of the New Yorker, among other places) and reviled (by Japanese literati) as the first narrative mode of the txt msg age -- the herald of a written-word future bent by wireless telecom's powers.

Enthralled by the medium, Yourgrau has experimented with a variety of short fiction. Now he thinks Twitter is ripe for such a crossover, partly due to the fact that it is not a teenage phenomenon:

Social interactivity is again a key; doubtless many (most?) users are drawn merely by the possible thrill of Tweeting with undisguised celebs. But beyond this there's emerging energy in the creative potential of Twitter's 140-character micro-format. (Quillpill, one of the new U.S. "cellphone novel" Web sites, also uses a 140-character per post limit.)

Hey, I'd like to see a synopsis of my daily soap, Days of our Lives, in the lower right corner of my Foxfire screen. Hear me, NBC!

There is the "Twiller" movement (Twitter thrillers) and "Twitter Wit" and "wine blogger Gary Vaynerchuk, whose now 300,000-plus Twitter following got him a million-dollar deal. But the Twitter-to-book route is still in infancy." Yourgrau offers three original keitai shosetsu from "I-Mode Stories", but greater value, I think, is the information available in the responses to the article.

Ladies and gentlemen, load your loglines!

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Learn from Agents Blogs

A list of literary agents who blog about what they do and what they want from writers who query them might be a handy educational tool, right? I compiled one and thought I blogged about it or added it as a free article, but I can't find it now. Here's a handy similar reference in a simple web page with hotlinks to the agents' blogs, courtesy LitMatch.net. As usual, I recommend beginning with Nathan Bransford's post on Anatomy of a Good Query Letter.

I love his query formula:

[Agent name], [genre], [personalized tidbit about agent], [title], [word count], [protagonist name], [description of protagonist], [setting], [complicating incident], [verb], [villain], [protagonist's quest], [protagonist's goal], [author's credits (optional)], [your name]

This is from his Query Letter Mad Lib post. It applies only to novels, of course.

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REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS Mini-Review

REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS by Lisa Lutz didn't turn out to be chick-lit after all. More like aging girl gumshoe plays it for yucks. Apparently someone appreciates Lutz's sense of humor, because this is the third of a series about P.I. Izzy Spellman and her slightly dysfunctional family. No sex. No violence. Slight mystery. A few laughs. Really crazy expensive book cover.

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2666

"Remember that book, '2666' that I was all excited about and showed you the reviews of, and I read the precursor, sort of, and couldn't stand it?" I asked my friend Betsy who is one of the few people who keeps up with my stream of consciousness conversation style. "It finally came from the library and I started it, and it's just about the same and, oh, it's 895 pages!"

"And now you're sorry you started it?" she asked.

Even sorrier yesterday when I learned from the NY Times (at Starbucks, of course) that the author, Roberto Bolaño, won the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction. Posthumously. Now I feel I must read it.

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Bed Side Reading

TBR is a label or heading seen in many other lit blogs, meaning "To Be Read". Because I retire to read, my TBRs pile up beside my bed. Hence, BSR, Bed Side Reading. The current tower is topped by an advance uncorrected proof of CAPENTARIA, Alexis Wright's insights of contemporary Aboriginals around the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia. It is just the place I have wanted to visit--and didn't know! Wright's depiction of the blackfellas is quite different from everything else I've read. Although it is fiction, I can't help but believe the view is true, as the author is a member of the indigenous Waanyi tribe.

Remember all my carping about poorly-written YA vampire novels? I have to take some of the bitching back with my first reading in Jeaniene Frost's A Night Huntress series. AT GRAVE'S END (gift from a friend) is goooood! Good story, characters, interesting different vampire lore and best of all well-written. I have three other vampire books waiting, the first of another series and also from the same friend (Fangs, Betsy!) Well see if Richelle Mead's writing measures up.

Solidifying my leaning pillar of prose are both the ARC and finished copy of THE INVENTION OF AIR by Steven Johnson, whose publicist expected a reviewer to be able to evaluate nonfiction about Joseph Priestly sans notes, index, biblio or any other supporting material. I protested. He caved (the PR guy, I mean).

Others in the pile include the softcover of MATALA by Craig Holden (the hardbound version left me speechless, so I guess they thought they'd try sneaking it in again. It still goes down fast, but I'll spout about it this time. Promise!

MISTRESS SHAKESPEARE by Karen Harper sounds good (what if Shakespeare's wife wrote...?) and a surprise offering plunged into my back yard in the form of an expensively bound REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS by Lisa Lutz. As if the hard copy silver binding isn't flashy enough, the dust jacket sports cutouts, and the colors (yellow, hot pink, chartreuse) just scream CHICK-LIT!!! Don't they? It's touted as humorous. I'll read any funny. And vampire. Any funny vampires out there? Oh, riiiight. There was one, CLUCK! the zombie chicken. Not chick-lit.
Rim shot.

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Answers from Agualusa

"Finally!" some people are saying. "Last summer she promised us an interview with international author José Eduardo Agualusa, held a contest for the best question, and what? Nothing for months!"

The delay produced a sad and ironic twist, especially for the contest winner, Sonya Chrisman. Her entry, "If you could be any character in your book, which would it be, and likewise, which would you not want to be?" won her a copy of Agualusa's THE BOOK OF CHAMELEONS. She was also interested in the memory aspects of the book. Upon winning, Sonya wrote:

A memory is very precious to people. They are not only something very personal, they're free. Then, when we begin to lose our memories due to illness or old age, it's a tragedy. In Mr. Agualusa's book, memories are more than just precious. They are a precious commodity. If his world were a reality, which end of the spectrum would he rather be on character wise, the one that sells the memories or the one who receives them?

Then in October, Sonya and her husband, Michael, were injured in a motorcycle accident. These weren't crazy kids, either, just a sedate middle-aged (I think) couple out enjoying a ride in the Midwest autumn when suddenly their lives were changed forever. Sonya wrote recently:

...my comment...was foreboding of what was to come in my life...Michael sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. His memories are blurred, and yes, some have been lost. His short-term memory is shot. Memories are precious and to lose them is tragic. My own words have a deeper meaning.

It is with a heavy heart for Sonya, Michael, and their family and many friends, that I dedicate the interview with Agualusa and my review of his fascinating book (with some of the interview information more artfully arranged, I hope).

Other posts and pages in this saga:

Writing Mini-Reviews
Contest to win a Book
Questioning Jose Agualusa
Book Reviews
Author Interviews

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Winter Reading -- Mini-Reviews

Last year J.M.G. Le Clezio won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Simon & Schuster has reissued the first novel he wrote, The Interrogation: A Novel, first published in 1963 when the author was only 23. It sounds like a first novel for that era, all deep, mysterious and philosophical. At least it's not a boring juvenile "my first sexual experiences" or "my horrible childhood". It is interesting just to examine the first product of an author who years later wins the most prestigious book prize. This version resembles a facsimile copy of a manuscript, but in English (Le Clezio is French). In the story, a young man tries to figure out what has happened to him recently, and we the readers are left with the same questions. An alternative title could have been One Summer in Nice. Very intriguing.

Just a quick note that James Murdoch's GRAY APOCALYPSE ships this week in a hard cover edition. I reviewed this rollicking sci-fi thriller here and at BlogCritics.

THE INDEPENDENCE OF MISS MARY BENNET by Colleen McCullough arrived unexpectedly just after I'd pretty much panned everything of hers I've read since THE THORN BIRDS. So, I gave it to a friend who agreed to take a look. Her reaction was underwhelming. "It's O.K." she conceded and gave me list of almost a dozen authors who've written similar followups for the characters in PRIDE AND PREDJUDICE. As if I cared.

I didn't think I liked historical fiction until I read Beverly Swerling's CITY OF GOD, fourth in a series about the Turner and Devrey families. It takes place in old New York City in the years right before the Civil War, providing fascinating peeks at Chinese customs, the struggles of Jewish families, medicine, religions and the shipping industry as steam was overtaking sailing vessels. What I liked most, however, was the major story line about a woman who found the strength to do as she wished with her life despite enormous oppression, even by other women. I'll be looking out for the earlier novels in this series and any to come. Even Swerling's acknowledgments were fascinating, especially her nod to research assistance from Google and (surprise!) Wikipedia.

Finally, because A Writer's Edge participated in Blog Action Day '08 (remember poverty? It's still around), I received a copy of Tom Watson's new CAUSEWIRED: PLUGGING IN, GETTING INVOLVED, CHANGING THE WORLD. I can see that I will be dipping into this one like a Whitman Sampler to discover more on how blogging, social media and "social entrepreneurship" are doing good to change the world. Stay tuned!

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GRAY APOCALYPSE Review

Calling all X-Philes, Zonies, Peaks Freaks, conspiracy theorists and science fiction lovers. This heart-pounding extra-exciting thriller offers the best of the weirdness tossed about in the Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, X-Files and all the other books, movies, and TV series of the paranormal and the really "out there" offerings. Murdoch spins out the tale, but never out of control, in a well-written extension of some of the mainline madness that has so entertained sci-fi and horror fans for the last 40 years.

Read the rest here or at BlogCritics Book Review: Gray Apocalypse by James Murdoch

Only three days are left before Earth is theirs!

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ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA: A Novel

One of the perqs of reviewing books is the bonus book that shows up on the doorstep like lost luggage or a foundling. I was pretty sure that's what the huge (567 pp.) book was that came tumbling out of a package from S&S because I would never have requested something titled ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA or billed as historical. Then I noticed the author's name: Colleen McCullough of THORN BIRDS.

"Oh, well," I thought, "this will be good anyway if it's by her."

It's a huge book. The cover is gorgeous. The back cover blurb is very interesting, especially the little bio on McCullough. The book is historical fiction about the named couple, a seventh volume in an epic Masters of Rome series. I didn't even know about the series, that's how much I'm not into historical fiction. Go look at it in a book store, and maybe you'll be drawn in.

I suppose that someone really into this genre or the time period would enjoy the work. I tried. I really did. I think the fact that I was so bored by the material made me focus on the writing, which I was surprised to see could be improved. I'll have to reread THORN BIRDS now with a more analytic eye to determine if this is a flaw in my critical abilities.

Did I say it's a big book?

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Mini Review: I Am Not a Cop!

"Get ready for more Munch, Detective Munch, that is, played by the real-life character of author Richard Belzer" begins my review of the funnyman's debut novel. Read the entire Book Review: I Am Not a Cop! by Richard Belzer with Michael Black at BlogCritics.

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Writing Sci-Fi vs. Horror

In an extended TV promotion of the new video game, Dead Space, writers and actors pontificate about the definitions of "horror" and "science fiction". One shocked me with the thesis that sci-fi is more akin to fantasy, being "way out there" and horror is the here and now. The game, of course, incorporates aspects of both genres. I found this amusing as I was rereading Alien, a classic tale of a very personal monster out there in space. Very fantastic, too.

I always thought sci-fi to be grounded in the here and now of science, just pushing the boundaries of what is currently possible, imagining what might become of it. And horror, well we all know what horror is--for each of us individually--even if we can't define it (much like porn). Last night I complained to my friend, Betsy, that I was watching the most boring movie about giant spiders. I could hear her shivers as she moaned, "Now that is horrible. I hate spiders!" The venom-dripping fanged arachnid advanced on the heroine.

"Really?" I came back with immense intelligence. "You know I like vampires, and creepy space monsters like the one in Alien." Apparently we will receive no more goodies from the great vampire queen, Anne Rice. Last Sunday The New York Times Book Review carried a full page advertisement for Rice's latest, Called Out of Darkness: a spiritual confession. It's about her romp with atheism and return to Catholicism. *sniff* I miss the vampires, badly.

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Sci-Fi Writing

I Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from. And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi. Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics... Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

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"N" on Your Blog!

Someone at Simon & Schuster must have read my post on the King video--or else I'm going blind. Now I see the widget to display the series of videos of Stephen King's "N". Enjoy it while it lasts!

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Writing for Mobile Video

Are you watching Stephen King's story "N"? Watching a story? Has Georganna lost what's left of her mind? I mean watching it here on the Web or on your mobile phone/device? Five episodes were already up when I checked. See the preview. It's pretty scary! If only they allowed embedding the code ...

According to a recent Publishers Weekly article, several electronic and publishing biggies teamed up to create “N,” a video series of made for mobile phones from Stephen King’s forthcoming story collection Just After Sunset . (The book will come out in November.) Two-minute episodes will be available daily from Monday, July 28 through August 29 to mobile phone users at no extra charge through CBS Mobile; on the Web through CBS Audience Network, AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo; and at www.NisHere.com (referenced at the top).

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Writing a Synopsis

About a year ago I mentioned writing several versions of your synopsis. How to go about writing a synopsis befuddles most of us the first time we try. It can be more difficult than writing the novel itself! Some people advocate writing it first (which I would call more of an outline), but usually it comes later, after you know how the plot turns out.

Here are some resources, in no particular order, to help you in writing a synopsis:

http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2007/08/
how-to-write-synopsis.html

http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue%2015/workshop.htm

http://www.fictionwriters.com/tips-synopsis.html

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2005/08/synopsis-five.html

http://charlottedillon.com/synopsis.html

Sorry, still hacking and miserable from the cold. No energy to make links clickable. You'll have to copy and paste.

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Writing Dialogue

In the beginning (and forever, for some writers) dialogue can be the most difficult aspect of writing. Nonfiction dialogue is easier, especially in journalism, because you are recreating a real conversation. If you've recorded, say, an interview, extracting sections perhaps for a Q & A is fairly straightforward. I say fairly because you wouldn't want to write the true conversation, reproducing every "um", "uh" and other pause-filling sounds.

Beware of being too faithful to your notes or a recording and allowing the speaker to use incorrect grammar. I tried this once with a school superintendent who, in truth, sounded like the idiot redneck that he was. The dialogue didn't get by my city editor, however. He threw the copy back at me with a charge to "clean it up!"

Dialogue for fiction is even more critical because it is part of characterization and moves the plot along (we hope). No one wants characters sounding stiff, weird or anything other than what they are supposed to be. Ordinary people use contractions in daily speech, so don't forget to include them in your dialogue, unless your characters are robots or aliens (from another planet or outer space).

One practice opportunity is to simply listen to ongoing conversations. I find sitting at Starbucks with a coffee the perfect situation for hearing all sorts of people talk. I note distinguishing words and expressions that reveal personalities and perhaps unseen characteristics. I like to listen to the half of mobile phone conversations in which we seem to drown. Also, I imagine what the other half is saying as another dialogue exercise.

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Writing Mini-Reviews

Time to catch up on my reading; that is, mentioning the books received and read. From author Eric Knapp came CLUCK: MURDER MOST FOWL (BOOKSURGE), a stab at zombie chicken humor. If that sounds slightly scrambled, it was. A thin plot whisked up to carry the funny chunks that by themselves are hilarious. This imaginatively illustrated, well-designed model for a self-published novel could have used an editor's eye for glaring English errors like "decent" for "descent".

I won a copy of Sheila Lowe's POISON PEN: A CLAUDIA ROSE MYSTERY (Capital Crime Press). It is surprisingly polished for a first novel, although the author has penned nonfiction books in the past. Great book for women, mystery lovers, aficionados of the southwest. Some crude language handled well. The protagonist is a graphologist, as is the author, and if she included true tidbits about handwriting analysis -- I'm up shit creek! This is not a book for timid readers.

I'd been wondering about Paulo Coelho novels since reading his praise in Orkut groups, mostly by younger people in countries other than the U.S. They especially like THE ALCHEMIST (HarperCollins), so when a copy fell off a truck and into my hands, I read. *shrugs* I guess it is to this generation what Gibran's THE PROPHET was to mine in the 60s: a simple-minded, gentle, easy read on basic spiritual matters. Somewhat reminded me of a less complicated version of THE CELESTINE PROPHECY by James Redfield.

And then come the truckload of new releases from Simon & Schuster. I find a book almost daily thrown over the fence into my backyard. I add them to an impressive stack on my bedside table. But I go through them like a bag of M&Ms. They are so small and mostly sweet and tasteless. In that category, I'd place:

THE NARCISSIST'S DAUGHTER by Craig Holden
LATER, AT THE BAR by Rebecca Barry
THE BEST PLACE TO BE by Lesley Dormen
THE GOD OF WAR by Marisa Silver
and LOVE TODAY by Maxim Biller was more like a serving of sauerkraut. Bleh!

Exceptions: THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON by Kate Morton is a substantial meal with a juicy, tender roast at the center. This Australian writer is one to watch.

THE BOOK OF CHAMELEONS by Jose Eduardo Agualusa, was exquisitely translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn. We don't get enough foreign literature in this country, and I was delighted to have the opportunity to read a story set in Africa by an author who credits his style to Latin American writers. Who knew they speak Portuguese in Angola? And this is 'magical realism'? I'm intrigued. I've set up an internal BOLO for similar writings.

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The Writing Show Contest

Less than a month remains for those planning to enter The Writing Show's third annual First Chapter of a Novel contest. The final deadline, June 20. Read all about it. According to Paula B., here's what they're looking for:

We want to find the world's best first chapter of an unpublished novel. Above all, you must tell a compelling story. That means that you have to grab us so quickly, so completely, that we can't stop reading, even if the house is burning down.

Your writing will be judged on the following five criteria:

1. Story. Is it a compelling read with a great hook? Are we engaged?
2. Style. Is the writing smooth and tight, without awkward constructions, extraneous verbiage, and redundancies?
3. Dialog. Is the dialog natural and does it move the story along?
4. Character. Are the characters interesting? Do we care about them?
5. Mechanics. Are grammar, spelling, and punctuation correct?

Those are also great tips for writing short stories well.

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