Unique Situations by Connie Vines

The best stories connect with readers on a visceral level. They transport us to another time and place and put us in a different “skin,” where we face challenges we may never know in life. And yet, the commonality of the story problem draws us onward and, in solving it vicariously through the

protagonist, changes us.

This Month's Topic:

Unique Situations.  Your story/characters changing direction.

What happens when a story or your character(s) take a different direction?

What happens when characters that take over your story? t One of the highest compliments I’ve never received for my novel “Lynx”, Rodeo Romance came when one reader told me she thought about my story constantly. She said that Lynx and Rachel’s story seemed so real, so heart wrenching, and their love so very enduring.  She said that she was going through a difficult time in her life and my story gave her hope.  Hope.  Hope for someone during a desperate time—I felt blessed that she shared her story.  I was also humbled.  It is moment such as this that I know just how powerful worlds and stories are to our readers.

While I never sit down at the keyboard and say, “I think I will write a powerful, life-changing story today.”  What I do, by nature, is select a social issue for the core of my stories.  Since my stories are character driven and often told in the first person, the emotion has a natural flow.

How do you create this type of engagement with your story?

Go beyond the five senses.  Your reader must feel your character’s emotions.  Your reader must forget there is a world outside of your story.

Embrace idiosyncrasies.  As teenagers everyone wanted to fit in, be one of the crowd.  Your character isn’t like anyone else.  Give him an unexpected, but believable trait.  In “Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow”,  my heroine, a Zombie has a pet. Not a zombie pet. Not a dog, or a cat.  She has a teddy bear hamster named Gertie.

Make them laugh. It doesn’t need to be slap-stick.  Just a little comic relief when the reader least expects it to happen.

Make them cry.  Remember the scene in the movie classic, Romancing the Stone, where Joan Wilder is crying when she writes the final scene in her novel?  I find this is the key.  If you are crying, your reader will be crying too.

If you are writing a romance, make them fall in love.  Make the magic last.  The first meeting, first kiss, the moment of falling in love.  These are the memories our readers savor, wait for in our stories.

 Don’t disappoint them.

As Emily Dickinson, said so well:
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

And when you character decide to take over your story-line, or create a persona of his or her making, step out of the way!

Enjoy Halloween, my lovelies!

https://books2read.com/

Here-Today-Zombie-Tomorrow
Connie








Round Robin Blog Hop Members: 

A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/

Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com

Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog

Dr. Bob Rich  https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1JS

Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/

Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com

Plots--Personal, Imagination, or Research? by Connie Vines #RoundRobin

Topic: In designing your plots what do you rely on most: personal experience, imagination, or research? 

Thank you Robin for another great topic!

I'm unable to select only one choice.  I must conclude that
I add all three choices into the my plotting when I am writing.

Obviously, when I am am writing an historical novel, short-story, or article my plot line will be heaving in the area of research.  However, odds are I've also visited the area, visited a museum, etc. so I can claim personal experience.  Where does the imagination fit in?
My characters' personalities and how he/she would react in a situation would be a product of my imagination.

The same could be said of writing a sci-fi or fantasy.  Science fact is Science fact.  However, the facts can be stretched or discarded (to a degree) in a fictitious universe or in a time-travel novel.  As for fantasy.  You must state the 'new' truth as to why you vampire can stand in sunlight and not dissolve.  Or as in the case of my zombie novel, Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow, Why my zombie (Meredith), a former vegan, only consumes chicken, etc., instead of human brains.


As for my romantic fiction/suspense/Gothic novels, my stories rely heavily on my imagination. My characters may have traits of people I have known (remember, not everyone has a positive influence in your life), or traits that work well with my plot-line.  I strive to make all of my characters to be living, breathing people with faults, challenges, and successes.  I have also discovered that true facts are not always believable in a novel.  Even if it is true, if it seems like a 'convenient plot-device' toss it out and start over.

Please visit the other wonderful writers who are part of this month's Round Robin Blog.

Please click on the side-bar to purchase or read snippets of my novels.
You will find by works on BookBub, Amazon.com, , Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Walmart, and your other favorite online ebook stores.

Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1dm
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com

 

Poodle Talk #6 Is Your Poodle a Wild Sleeper or a Snuggler? by Connie Vines

As you know,  I belong to several fb poodle groups and poodle-fostering/rescue groups. 

We began a conversation about whether or not 'our' particular poodle, or poodles, had to 'touch' you while sleeping.

Of course none of these findings are verified by animal behaviorists,
or supported by any Random Poodle Polls. 

We had fun sharing the stories, (please post your personal poodle findings in the comment area, if you like 🐩🐩🐩 ).

• Poodle #1 (apricot toy) had to be touching her owner at all times. She was label  the Wildest Sleeper.  She would wake up and change positions all through the night so she always had physical contact with her owner/mom.
• 🐩
• Poodle #2  (white toy) hogs the bed (taking 3/4s for herself). It's amazing how such a small dog can muscle a human to the edge of the bed.
• 🐩
• Poodle # 3 (white poodle-maltese mix) scootches until he rests against his human/mom's. tummy. He was given the 'gentleman's award).
• 🐩
• Poodle #4 (gray miniature) all 4 paws again his human's back.
• 🐩
• Poodle #5 (multiples) all three poodles sleep touching her.  If not, one will wake up the others to re-position the group.
• 🐩
• Poodle #6 (white/tan toy)  Yes, this is Chanel.  She sleeps (flying superman position) paws on one side of the bed, stretched out with her toenails touching me.  Or, sleeps with her head resting on the curve of my shoulder.

Of the 225 comments, pictures, etc.  Not one person stated the poodle slept in a 'dog' bed/ kennel,  or even at the foot of the bed.

Mind you, several poodles claimed a pillow to rest his/her head upon (probably from a now pillow-less human).

Several poodles snored, others were loud dreams, some twitched, while others complained when his/her human claimed more mattress-territory (me) after spending half the night trying not to slide off the edge of the mattress and land on a pile of discarded toys.

So is your poodle a 'Wild Sleeper", or a "Snuggler"?

1. 

Happy Poodle Sunday,

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5.

Sunday Poodle Talk #2

My little Chanel came down with an upper respiratory infection this week.  
She had a fever, cough, and diarrhea  so I called her vet and he took her right in.

He was concerned.  I was concerned.  Chanel is taking 10 days of antibiotics (she received an injection before she left the clinic), cough medication, tummy medication, and has a special diet for the next 2 weeks.

She's improving, though she sneezes when I take her outside to take care of her business (it's 100+ here in SoCal).  She's napping throughout and is becoming more like her usual 'poodle' self.

We worry about all of our loved ones (family, friends, co-workers) but fur-babies  seem to worry us because they become ill so quickly--or are ill and we aren't aware there's even a problem.

My little girl is a re-homed poodle-mix. 8 lbs and a couple of wiggles, I like to say.

I belong to several poodle groups on Facebook, and follow Adopt-a-Pet for fosters in our area.

Please share your poodle/poodle-mix stories in the comment section :-).

Birthday Parties, fashion accessories, and poodle quirks are always fun to share.




Have a wonderful week,

Self-Editing (minus the primeval scream) by Connie Vines

This month's Round Robin Topic:  How do I self-edit my books before submitting or publishing? 

Self-editing is painful.  Every writer I  know fights the urge to 'self-edit' while creating the first draft of his/her novel.  Remember the cartoons you watched as a child (or perhaps still watch.  I'm not judgmental) where the hero has a devil sitting on one shoulder and the angel on his other?  Both were whispering in his ear.  Your hero is overcome with confusion and self-doubt, uncertain of what to do next.

Well, that is a large part of the writing process--learning to ignore the self-editing instructions that are always at the back of your mind.

When a I type THE END, I breath a sigh of relief.
For a few minutes, perhaps even several hours, I'm thinking about my next project.

Then reality sets in (hence the mention of a primeval shout) how many times did I write the word 'that'?  I read a book once where every chapter started with a description of the weather.  I didn't tie-up that loose-end.

I believe I must self-edit before sending my novel to a beta reader.

If you’re ready to self-edit your book, consider these 10 tips:

1. Rest your manuscript

When you’ve finished typing the last word of your masterpiece, set it aside for a few days.  In On Writing, Stephen King relates that he places his finished drafts in a drawer for at least six weeks before looking at them again.

Why rest your manuscript?  When you do come back to self-edit, the book almost seems as if someone else wrote it.

2. Listen to your manuscript

Hearing your words spoken makes mistakes glaringly obvious.

If you’re a Mac user, click the Apple logo at the top left of your screen, select System Preferences, click Accessibility, then click Speech. Choose a System Voice and Speaking Rate you can tolerate, then select “Speak selected text when the key is pressed.”

Once you’ve enabled your preferred shortcut key, simply highlight any text (within any program) that you want to hear read aloud. Then hit your shortcut keys and follow your words on-screen as your computer reads them aloud.

For PC users, make use of Narrator, part of the system’s Ease of Access Center. Press “Windows+U” and click “Start Narrator.” Since the program is intended for blind users, it will automatically begin to read any text your mouse encounters. To turn this off, hit “Control.” To have Narrator read a paragraph, place your cursor at its beginning and type “Caps Lock + I.” To have Narrator read an entire page, press “Caps Lock + U.”

Or make use of a recording app on your iPhone.  I think in chapters of three when writing.  So, I will read my novel three chapter at a time. Often, I catch the mistakes when reading.  Pause, make a note, and then go on reading.

3. Search for troubling words

I am a fan of Grammar Girl podcasts.
To help you consider what your troubling words might be, here’s a good starting list, excerpted from the first chapter of Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing:

a lot/alot
affect/effect
can/may
further/farther
good/well
i.e./e.g.
into/in to
it’s/its
lay/lie
less/fewer
that/who
their/they’re/there
then/than
who/whom
your/you’re

4. Remove or replace your crutch words

Outside of necessary articles and prepositions, you may be surprised at what words you tend to use over and over.

5. Remove all double spaces at the end of sentences

If tapping two spaces following your sentences is an age-old habit ingrained into you.

Conduct a find-and-replace search after you’re done writing. In Word, type two spaces in “find” and one space in “replace” and hit enter. Voila!

6. Run spell check or use an automated editing program

8. Purchase The Chicago Manual of Style.

 You can subscribe to the online version for $35 a year.  I prefer the the hardbound copy.

9. Set aside an hour or two to go through this list with your manuscript, but be careful about over-editing.

10.  Send it off to your beta reader/plotting partner.  Remember to reward your reader with a gift card.

Happy Reading and Writing,

Connie


Stop by and see what the other Round Robin members have to say about the "torments" of  self-editing:

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/

Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/

Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/

A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/

Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1yE

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog

Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/

Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com

See my website for this giveaway

My Motto

Character Development—Personalities and Break-Out Secondary Characters by Connie Vines #RR68

This month’s Round Robin Topic: How do you develop different personalities in your characters?  Break-out secondary characters—the making of a new story.

The ‘How’ of the writing is always interesting for me to analyze.

While I have detailed plot lines before I write a story or novel, I am instinctive when creating my characters. 

As I’ve blogged before, I begin with a sense of time and place.  When the story in bubbling in my subconscious, I heard snippets of conversations, a song playing in my head (you know that annoying song simply leave you alone), or a impulse to cook a certain regional food.

A few examples:  When writing ‘Lynx” Rodeo Romance book 1, “Amarillo by Morning” kept playing in my mind.  I located by paternal grandfather’s Tex-Mex chili recipe and made chili once a week.  And then a brassy woman speaking with a Texas-twang and popping her chewing-gum would pop into my head (ala 'Flo’ in an old TV sitcom).

We all know a novelist always falls in love with her ‘first hero’.  My first romantic hero was Lynx Maddox.  While his younger sister was only mentioned in the first book of my Rodeo Romance Series, she became by break-out character in the second book, “Brede”. Whereas Rachel Scott and Lynx Maddox were the stars of my contemporary romance; Brede Kristensen and Amberlylnn Maddox stars shine in my romantic suspense novel, “Brede” Rodeo Romance book 2.

My characters also ‘drive my story’—often in a different direct, thus destroying months of detail research. “Nooo! Not again.”  Yes, this is my first reaction.  And, of course, I rebel at the very thought of shoving my months of detailed research back into my file overflowing file cabinet.  I’ve learned I am not able to force my characters to act against his or her nature.  Painful though it may be, I listen and I shift my story-line.

When did this happen?

The first time I experienced this ‘traumatic’ writing experience, I was plotting, “Tanayia—Whisper upon the Water” my sweet historical romance. 

Tanayia was to be a member of the Paiute tribe of Native Americans.  She was being groomed for the ‘taking of the shawl” (becoming a medicine woman).  I was involved in Native American Education Programs, served on a PAC Committee (parent advisory council), and participated in powwows.  I interview tribal elders and traveled to historical sites, etc.  I’d plotted by novel down to a puppy’s freckle, so to speak.

While Tanayia allowed me to keep the historical event which formed the opening event of my 1^st chapter, I learned she younger.  She was also a member of the “Nde” Apache tribe.  Tanayia was also strong-willed and determined.

My novel was not set in a different tribal area, difference climate, different customs, beliefs. . .well, you know what that meant.  Yes, more research.   I live within driving distance of Sherman Indian School in Riverside, CA.  In fact, I attended powwows where the Apache (Fire) dancers from the White Mountain Reservation danced each year. 

In the end, Tanayia was correct.  My story was her story.  It was her life, her experience—it was history, accurate, painful.  It was the personal growth of a young woman, torn between two-worlds.  I must, in the end, thank Tanayia for the awards this novel was awarded:  The Independent e-Book Award for YA Historical Fiction, The Dream Realm Award, and a National Book Award Nomination.

Are more break-out characters evolving in my novels?

Yes, there are a few nudging me now.

I also have a new hero, or two, with a foot hold in my plotting-world right now, too.

Watch for my flash fiction story in anthology available February, 12, 2019.  Cover reveal and more info will be posted soon on my blog (here) and at my website very soon.

Happy Reading and Writing,

Connie

Remember to visit the blog sites of these wonderful Round Robin authors:

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
> Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog
> Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
> Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
> A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
> Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
>> Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
> Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1qI
> Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

> Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com