Creating Fictional Settings for Our Stories By Connie Vines #RR #Writing Tips #Creating Fictional Worlds

Thank you, Skye, for this month's topic: Creating Fictional Settings for Our Stories.

Last month, our topic was "Real Places" as a setting for our stories. Which was a breeze for me to write. 

While I may 'rename' a town in a story, I'm blending towns I've visited/resided in to create a fictional town. 

Which isn't precisely a fictional setting.

This is also true in my historical novels and short stories. Although my characters may be fictional, the time and place are accurate, preventing devastation.

My heroine may have a personal preference. However, the norms for that time and place will be structured. 

Other Worlds

World-building is a technique used by Science Fiction writers and may be used by Paranormal writers.

Charts and diagrams, rules, norms, kingdoms, alternate dimensions...

I have a tendency to "fixate" (like a four-year-old). 🤣  

Not to an unhealthy extent...but chronic enough to be noticed.

My children would rearrange a shelf with my knick-knacks...and wait...or hide my favorite pen...

You see where I'm going.. 

When I wrote the "Gumbo Ya Ya" anthology, I listened to New Orleans Jazz and Cajun music, prepared Cajun and Creole meals, and more. Since my husband's family lived in Louisiana, I knew its history and geography.  

In other words, I controlled myself. I did not arrange another family vacation. (Having been chased by an alligator during a prior visit to a swamp, probably had something to do with my lack of enthusiasm).

What am I working on at the moment?

This contemporary series will involve several characters from "Gumbo Ya Ya" in the stories (think cross-over series).

This next series will not be set in New Orleans. 

I also have a new YA Series in the planning stages.

Did I stay on topic?

Almost.

I wrote a RomCom Paranormal (which received rave reviews), and I thoroughly enjoyed writing!

Please hop over to the other authors participating in this month's event! 

Happy Reading,

Connie

Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-3rJ

 Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/

Belinda Edwards https://booksbybelinda.com/blog/

Anne Stenhouse https://goo.gl/h4DtKv

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

Sally Odgers https://behindsallysbooksmark2.blogspot.com

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

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

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

Avoiding Adverbs by Roseanne Dowell (Replay Day)

Writing without adverbs? Then how can we describe people, tone of voice? Some writers think adverbs are the only way to add description to a story.

Wrong – the use and over use of adverbs distracts from your story.  It puts YOU, the AUTHOR into the story.  And we never (one of the few nevers in writing) want the author in the story.

There are better ways to add description.  Let’s take this sentence for example:  Roy walked leisurely down the street.  – Okay. You, the author, just TOLD us how Roy walked – you interfered with the story.   How much better if you would have showed us how Roy walked.

Example: Roy strolled down the street. (Notice how just changing the verb and taking out the adverb shows us how Roy walked.

Roy is not in a hurry - strolled implies leisurely without the author saying so, but it’s still telling. So, let’s take it one step farther. The author can show more.

Roy breathed in the spring air. What a great time of year with the trees budding and the smell of fresh cut grass. Just looking at the sky put him in a good mood.

Now the author hasn’t even told us that Roy strolled. We know Roy’s not in a hurry because he notices everything around him.  People in a hurry don’t take the time to notice the buds on the trees. They wouldn’t stop to look at the sky.  The author has shown us something about Roy besides the fact that he’s not in a hurry.  He loves spring, and he loves nature. Other people wouldn't necessarily notice the buds on the trees, even when they’re not in a hurry. They react in different ways to show us they aren't in a hurry. Maybe they'd lollygag along watching the traffic or kids playing. That shows us something different about them.  People see different things and so should our characters.

Adverbs can never replace strong verbs. As in the above example, strolled is a much stronger verb then walked in showing us how someone went on his way, but showing him works so much better.

Adverbs combined with strong verbs – John ran quickly – are repetitive. We already know John ran, that tells us he’s moving fast, why repeat it?  The adverb has the same meaning as the verb.  By adding the adverb, we weaken the verb and the sentence, and it shows us nothing. 

Avoid the use of adverbs whenever possible.  When you feel tempted to add an adverb, stop and think about what you want the reader to know. Is there another way to say it?  Usually there is. 

Adverbs to describe how someone speaks are also interfering.

Example: “Stop, just stop,” John shouted angrily.

Well, I don’t know about you, but if someone is shouting that usually means he’s angry.

 Why not show us the anger? “Stop! Just stop.” John slammed the cupboard door.

Now that shows us he is angry much better than the adverb angrily? And, we didn’t have to use the tag line he shouted. We can say, he shouted and slammed the cupboard door, but does that reinforce the anger? Not really. The action works better alone.

Now don’t get me wrong – there are places to use adverbs, but the key is to use them sparingly.  Readers want detail, they want to see and hear the story. They don’t want someone to tell them what happened. They want to feel the anger, sadness, happiness, laughter, and tears.  Readers want to feel our character's emotion.  Characters who display emotion are strong characters. And readers remember them. They become real, believable. And if we have believable characters, readers will remember us.

So next time you write, she hurried quickly down the street, STOP!! Reread what you just wrote.  Do you really want to repeat that he was in a hurry?  Hurried already implies he was going quickly.

And next time you write – “I can’t do this anymore,” John said sadly.  Rethink it – is there a better way to show John sad?  “I can’t do this anymore.” John wiped the tears from his eyes. Notice I didn’t say John said as he wiped the tears. You can also eliminate the he said/she said tags and insert action tags that shows us more of what’s happening. By saying John said sadly, we know John is sad – but we don’t know he’s crying. 

We add so much more to the story by eliminating needless adverbs.  We all enjoy reading strong stories, why not write them

I Smell a Story by Roseanne Dowell (Replay Day)

Did you ever notice that unless something smells especially good or particularly offensive, we tend to ignore it?

Because our sense of sight and hearing are dominant we tend to ignore every day smells.  We see the trees, hear the traffic, and look into each other’s eyes as we speak.

But we take our other senses, touch, taste, and smell for granted. We often ignore them.  Oh sure, we feel, taste and smell, but not with a lot of awareness. While the smell of bacon makes our mouth water, and we may say it smells good, or that it’s making us hungry, we don’t elaborate on it. On the other hand if we smell something offensive, say a

skunk, we go on and on about the distasteful odor.  Same thing with taste.
 The bacon and egg tastes good, and we enjoy them, but we expect to enjoy them so we don’t say much about them. On the
other hand, the sour taste of vinegar or a lemon has us spitting and complaining about the acrid flavor.

The same applies to our sense of touch. We feel something soft or silky, it’s comforting, and we might make an off-handed remark. But, if we burn, cut, or hurt ourselves, we complain and make a big deal about the pain.

But in writing all of these senses are as important as sight and sound.  We describe the setting, the background. But by using all of our senses we bring our stories to life. We can go from the real world to a new world of make believe. But we also need to make our story realistic. In both fiction and nonfiction, a richly described setting will pull your readers out of the real world of pressure and tension and into your world of make believe. So we can’t ignore these senses in our descriptions?

We need to become more aware of these senses in our everyday world?  Go outside, look around you - listen to the sounds. Close your eyes.  Inhale deeply, breath in the odors. What do you smell? The flowers, exhausts from cars, it depends where you are. You can do the same wherever you go. Walk into a department store at a mall.  Inhale the scents. What do you smell, the lingering scent of someone’s perfume or the perfume counter, if a smoker walks past you, you detect the odor of cigarette smoke. At a movie it will probably be the smell of popcorn.  Restaurants have many smells, garlic, onions, rich sauces or maybe coffee. Remember these smells. Use them in your writing.

Next time you eat, savor the food. Hold it in your mouth, relish the experience and texture of bread and the slight aroma of yeast.  Feel the surface of the tabletop or tablecloth.  Ingrain them into your memory.

Use these senses in the story. Let your reader hear, see, feel, smell and taste the story. The story and characters will come alive through these senses. It’s not enough to tell us what something looks like. SHOW US!! We want to feel it, smell it, and maybe even taste it. Readers won’t notice that you included them, but they will notice if you omit them. Without them, your world will be flat, boring, and unrealistic.

 No, you don’t have to add them to every sentence or even every scene. Maybe your characters are in a situation where they don’t notice smells or textures and there’s nothing to taste. That’s often true of tense scenes. If someone is attacking you, you certainly aren’t going to notice the sweet smell of roses. On the other hand you might notice the offensive odor of his sweat. And you’ll certainly feel the beads of perspiration on your own forehead or the taste the nausea building up from your throat to your mouth.

Other times we might be deep in thought and won’t even notice our surroundings. That’s fine, but make sure to include them when they are needed. If your characters walk into a restaurant, we want to know what they smell as well as what they see and hear. Too often, as beginners these senses are ignored.

Remember also, that some odors will smell different to different people.  Some smells are “Universal”.  Dog poop and the smell of garbage are offensive to everyone. Flowers, freshly cut grass or fresh baked bread usually evoke memories.  We can all picture a garden, or remember the first spring mowing and of course Mom or Grandma in the kitchen baking. Use these scenes to help show us the scene or bring out an emotion of our characters.  Some smells scents are less universal. Cauliflower will smell differently to me than you. If the reader loves it and you hate it, the scene will be all wrong. What you want to make sound delicious might make your reader go yuck and you’ll have lost the realism. Stick to the universal smells.

Pick up your favorite novel. Go through it page by page. Highlight the senses with different colors. What an amazing array of colors on the pages. No, you might not see all the colors on every page, but enough to make it colorful.

So how do we use these senses in our scenes?

Imagine your character on a beach by the ocean. Put yourself there. Close your eyes. Picture it. What do you hear?  Are the seagulls squawking, children playing? Can you hear the swish of the waves? Let’s take it further. Inhale, take a deep breath. What do you

smell, the fresh air, salty water?  How does your skin feel? Can you feel the wet spray from the waves? Can you taste the salty ocean? Wiggle your toes in the gritty sand. Is it hot, does it burn your feet? Are the waves coming on shore and flowing over your feet? Can you squish your toes in the wet sand?

How much stronger your words will be describing these feelings and tastes as well as the sights and sounds through your characters. Your story and characters will become more alive.

The senses are as important to non-fiction, as they are critical to fiction.

If you’re writing a how to article about baking bread, the reader needs to know that they should knead the dough until it blisters for a better, lighter loaf, and that it should be smooth to the touch. No the smell of the yeast is not important.  Some things are not important in non-fiction, but if you are writing a nostalgic piece about the memory of Mom or Grandma baking in the kitchen, add those senses. They’re an integral part of the article.

Start today, right now - observe these senses in everyday life. Pay particular attention to the feel, smell, and taste. Sometimes you can taste something just from the odor. Have you ever experienced a particularly bad odor?  It smelled so bad you could almost taste it.

 Remember these senses. Concentrate on the feel of the smoothness of a baby’s skin or the texture of your sheets, vegetables, everything you touch. Make a mental note of these feelings. Use them in your stories. Make your characters real to the reader and enjoy the senses that we take so for granted.

The Write Idea by Roseanne Dowell (Replay Day)

Can lowly little Charlene Smith, ordinary homemaker, write a best seller? Do authors have to  lead adventurous, exciting lives like lawyers or doctors to become successful writers?

No, we do not have to lead exciting lives. However, we do need a good imagination and good ideas. So where do writers come up with ideas for their stories?

For starters, we need to write about things we enjoy. Skateboarding, bike riding, hiking, bowling- even cars are potential articles or stories.  What if a hiker finds a dead

body? A mystery plot is formed. Any character we create may have one of these hobbies or occupations – and how much more believable this character will be because we have first hand knowledge.

Look around you, what do you see?  Right now, I see a room with a computer, printer, and a scanner. But it is not just a room, it is a potential setting for a story. Now lean back and really look at the room. My walls are pewter blue - a cream-colored shade covers the window. If I were writing a story, I would elaborate on this through my character. Everything around us has potential, if we chose to look at it with a writer’s eye.

Think about being stuck in traffic. What do you usually do? Turn up the radio, call someone from your cell phone, and tap the steering wheel impatiently? Next time turn that negative energy into something positive. Who's in the car next to you, behind you? Where is that carload of kids off to, a soccer game, Grandma’s house? Look at the driver, what is she feeling, sitting there with a car full of kids bouncing around and jumping. Her mouth moving. Is she yelling, singing, playing a game with them.  How about that young couple next to you, are they in love, arguing? Put them in a scene - make up a story about them. That isn't just a car full of kids, or a young couple. You're not just stuck in traffic, or standing in line at a supermarket. You're viewing potential characters, ideas, scenes, making up plots. Look in the carts of people around you. Are they buying that wine and cheese for a rendezvous, celebration?  Every place you go look for the potential setting for a story, everyone you see is a potential  character.

Check out the daily newspaper. Many articles give me ideas for my next plot. Maybe the bank robber will make a good character for your villain.  But don't stop there, look in the classifieds? Under help wanted ads, you might find different and unusual occupations for your characters. Then there are the business opportunities and legal notices.  I found an interesting Notice regarding a Public Hearing on the merits of designating several old schools in the area as city landmarks. This piqued my interest since I attended two of those schools. It could lead to a possible setting for a story or maybe an article about a trip down memory lane. 

Last, but not least read the for sale ads. Every conceivable item is for sale from antiques to stereo equipment. I particularly enjoy looking through the jewelry section.  One ad for a diamond engagement ring valued at three thousand dollars was listed as a must sell for twelve hundred. The ad raised my curiosity.  I figured it was for sale because

of a broken engagement, but then I thought what if the woman’s husband died leaving her penniless, and she desperately needed money for medical bills. More interesting to me was the thought of who would purchase the ring.  What man would buy a second hand ring, albeit a good deal, for his new fiancee. Then I thought maybe he took it to a jeweler and had the diamond put into a new setting. What would happen if the fiancée found out she had a used diamond. Would she think what an ingenious idea or would she be angry?  All this from a one-line ad.  The newspaper is an excellent source for ideas.

Mary Rosenblum, Author of several novels, Instructor and Web Editor at Long Ridge Writers Group says. “Whenever I’m researching a community as a setting for a mystery or contemporary piece, I always pick up copies of the local paper, and yes, I turn right to the classifieds. Who is selling what and for how much? Farmall tractors? Six bottom plows? Must be a farming community. Spray equipment, apple boxes? Orchards. What are the housing prices like? Is this the overpriced bedroom community for ski resort? Are houses with an acre or so of land dirt cheap? Nobody’s working! You can take the pulse of a community with the ads in that paper.” 

Magazines are another good source for ideas. Open it to any page, look at the pictures, even the advertisements - see an attractive woman or a couple. Imagine them in a scene. Create a plot around them. 

Last, but certainly not least, is our author friends. Many times, I got an idea for an article, just from our daily conversation.  Today the subject of being the only one who managed to fill the ice cube trays came up.  One thing led to another and it turned into an idea for a humorous article. 

Sources for ideas are limitless. We just need to view the world around us with the writer’s eye.

How Much Fact to Put into Fiction by Roseanne Dowell

I know well-meaning friends often say - “You ought to write this down, it would make a great story.”   Well, actually, no it wouldn’t. I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying “fact is stranger than fiction” - well it is. If you’re writing nonfiction, fine go ahead and use the story about Uncle Joe getting stuck on the roof.  It was a comical incident and will make a great creative nonfiction story. However, for fiction the idea won’t make for a great story without some changes.   For the most part, it’ll come off as false. Readers just won’t believe it. Why?  Think about it.  Other than Science Fiction - which still has to be written as believable- when you read a story or novel, one of your first thoughts is –  can this  happen. It might be farfetched but it can happen.  Besides you, the author will be telling the story.  And we want to show our stories. 

Here’s our incident. Uncle Joe got stuck on the roof while hanging Christmas lights.   He put a ladder on the peak of the garage and when he went to get off the other peak he reached his foot out, the ladder slipped away.  He moved toward it and inched his way off the roof, reached his foot out and tried to snag the ladder. Again it slipped away. One more time and it slipped out of reach. By this time he was hanging by his elbows. . No one was in the house. It was cold and the roof was covered with snow. He looked around to see if a neighbor might have come out. Nothing – his arms were getting tired and he didn’t know what to do.  The only thing left was to jump.  He knew if he landed on his feet, they’d slip out from under him and he’d slide off the roof like a bullet.  He took a deep breath and let go. Thankfully he landed and didn’t slide.

If I were writing it for creative nonfiction, I’d embellish it, make it humorous. 

But, how do we create a story from this idea?  It almost sounds like an incident from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation or Grisham’s Skipping Christmas? How did they do it?  Some people need to plot out the idea on paper, which is fine. I wish I could do that.  But, I’m one of those writers that just start writing.  Oh I’ll jot down some ideas and know where I want to go, but in the beginning I usually have no idea how to get there.  I know the beginning and the end. What happens in the middle is as much a surprise for me as it is for the reader. And that works for me.  Whatever works for you is fine.

Okay, we have the idea.   A man is stuck on a roof.  He doesn’t have to be putting up Christmas lights. He could be up there for a variety of reasons.  Maybe they had a leak and it was raining cats and dogs.

One of the first things, even for me, is to create the plot.  I start, of course, with my characters name, age and appearance. Okay let’s call our guy, Charlie. He’s middle-aged, slightly balding, but tall and muscular. Next I ask why Charlie was on the roof.

Once I have my characters, I develop my idea.  First question:  What genre’ am I writing?  This is where we start asking the questions, what happened, how did it happen, etc.  If I’m writing mystery I have to decide is it a murder mystery?  Who gets killed, where and why?

Hmm - maybe someone moved the ladder. And maybe Charlie makes it down but he knows someone is trying to kill him.

 If Charlie is the intended victim we’ll need a potential killer.  

Once we know the where and why, we need to know if the murder is going to happen in the book, or behind the scenes.  In other words has the murder been committed when we come on the scene or are we going to show our readers the murder.   In this case it’s an attempted murder because Charlie isn’t dead.

Then we need to know how our main character is going to solve the crime.  We need some clues, usually not ones the reader will pick up on right away, but clues that at the end of the story they’ll hit their foreheads and say “Oh I should have known.”

Do you see how we took a real life incident and changed it into something totally different? Sure we could have written humor like National Lampoon, but why stop there.  Explore different avenues. You could take the same incident and change it into a romance or fantasy. Maybe even Science Fiction.  I don’t write that either so I’m not going try to explain that. But who knows maybe while Charlie is repairing the roof, men from mars kidnap him.   Let your imagination run wild. 

Blurb and Excerpt for Entangled Minds

Visions of someone’s life disturb Rebecca Brennan’s dreams. The dreams become dangerous and she’s determined to find who shares her mind. Her search leads her to a

small town and puts her life in danger too.

Excerpt:

The next morning Rebecca, once again, sat in Bernard Clark’s office. Something about the heavy-set, middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and scruffy beard reminded her of her grandfather. As usual, he listened to her story with a serious expression.

Was this really helping? How many hours had she spent sitting across from the mammoth mahogany desk, staring at the book-lined shelves behind him? And so far, she didn’t know anything more than before. Once more, that’s it. If nothing changed today, she’d quit coming. Maybe he was a quack, like her brother said. Rebecca took a breath and relaxed in the comfortable atmosphere, inhaled the smell of new leather that clung to the chair, and leaned back. Okay, maybe she did have a deep extra sensory perception connection with someone like Bernard said. The question was with whom. 

“I think you need to find this person,” Dr. Clark suggested. “It’s possible the physic mind is reaching out to you for help.”

"How?" That’s why she was here. If he didn’t help her figure it out, that was it. No more visits. Besides, it cost money, and who could afford it? If Allison hadn’t agreed to pay half, well that was another story. Dr. Bernard’s voice brought her back.

“Start with the dreams,” he suggested. “Tell me about them again.”

“I see scenes with emergency vehicles. Last night someone got shot," she told him for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I wonder if he has something to do with law enforcement or other emergency operations. I'd recognize the town if I ever saw it in person. It’s so vivid in my mind."

"Would you consider hypnotism?" Bernard fingered his beard. Intense blue eyes stared into hers. "Maybe your sub conscious mind will reveal the place, or person, or something to help you find it."

Leary about being hypnotized, but desperate to find who shared her mind, Rebecca agreed.

Under her hypnotic trance, she revealed the name of a shoe factory. A place called Booth’s Boots, and she repeated the name, Morris, over and over.

"It’s not much to go on," Rebecca told Allison later,” but it’s more than I knew before. Maybe Morris is my mind connection."

Encouraged by the information, she spent the better part of the day doing research. Using the Internet, Rebecca keyed in Booth’s Boots. Instantly, several websites popped up.

“Okay, let’s check out Boothsboots.com.”

A website, showing various types of boots from hunting to work boots, popped up.

“This is great. Let’s see what this says.” She clicked on News and Events. “No help there. Okay, let’s try Outlet Stores.” She almost jumped out of her chair. “There it is!” A factory, located in Morrisville, Ohio.

“Morrisville, could that explain the name Morris?” A prickly sensation went up her spine. She was getting close; she could feel it.

“Okay, let’s try this.” Rebecca didn’t care she was talking to herself. Besides, it wasn’t the first time. Keying Morrisville into the search engine, she held her breath, more determined than ever to find the town. If it took all day, then so be it.  A site popped up with several suggestions. “Okay, let’s see what this one is about.”  Morrisville.net homepage popped up, and further down the page, it showed–Pictures taken around Morrisville.

She held her breath and clicked on one. The first picture that came up was a log cabin. No help there. “Okay, how about this one? The Square. ” It looked familiar. Shivers ran up her spine. “Okay, how about Hotel Darby. Yes! I’ve seen this place.” One more. She drew in her breath and clicked on Victorian.

“Oh my God, that’s it! That’s the house.” She almost jumped out of her seat. The Queen Anne house in her dreams showed on the screen big as life.  Where is this place?  Clicking back to the homepage, she found it on the map. “Not far from Wattsburg; only a three hour drive from here. I have to go there.”

"Allie." Rebecca phoned her friend. "I found it, I searched the net, and I found it. Even pictures of the town. I recognized all the buildings right down to the house."

"Calm down…"

"I have to go there. It’s only a three hour drive." Not waiting for Allison’s response, Rebecca continued. "I have to find out who I’m connected with."

"What are you going to do?" Allison asked. “Walk into the little town and say hey, someone here is connected to my mind."

Rebecca laughed at her friend’s wit. “I have a plan. First I’ll go to the newspaper office and check for stories about someone being shot on Friday. Then I’ll try to find out where he is. I’m sure he’s alive.” Her intuition told her danger still lingered, but she couldn’t explain that to her friend.

"Maybe it’s a she," Allison said. "What makes you say he?"

"I don’t know." Rebecca paced the living room. "It’s just a feeling I have. It doesn’t matter; whoever it is, I have to go." Okay, it was a crazy scheme, but feelings like this couldn’t be ignored. “There’s no turning back now, Al, I have to find him.”

“Would you like me to go with you?”

 "I have to do this myself.”

“I don’t like this, Beck. You shouldn’t be doing this alone. What if it’s dangerous? I mean you see cop cars and stuff. What if he’s a criminal?”

Rebecca shivered. God, what if he was a criminal? No, something told her that wasn’t the case. Call it a gut feeling or intuition, whatever it was, Rebecca would bet her life he wasn’t a criminal.

“I’m sorry, Al. Thanks for the offer, but no. I have to do this on my own. I’ll be fine. Really.”

Kathryn Meyer Griffith is visiting again #author #selfpublishing

WHY I BECAME A WRITER

and other Stuff

By Kathryn Meyer Griffith

Author of 22 published novels, 2 novellas and 12 short stories since 1984

This post was originally written in 2011…

right before I discovered self-publishing and then everything changed.

And a 2015 update is at the very end of the post.

Truthfully, what started me off as an author was simply this: As a child, about eight or nine years old (the same time I began to draw pictures in pencil and years before I began to dream about being a singer with my younger brother Jim), I began reading books, science fiction, historical romances and scary books from the library. I had six brothers and sisters and though I had a loving mother and father, a loving family, there was very little money. I can’t say we were poverty poor, but we were poor at times. Sometimes our meals were scarce and we never had extra money for many toys or outside entertainment. I think in my whole young childhood my father only took us out to eat once. Try paying for seven kids and two adults. So we learned to entertain ourselves. We played outside, climbed trees and hid in deep dirt gullies. We sang, howled really, outside at night on the swing set.

I loved to read. The library books were free and plentiful. I’d sit on my bed, especially during the long summer days and evenings (after chores were done, of course) and read one amazing book after another and if I was lucky, with a chocolate snack or cherry Kool-Aid nearby. Those books, those words on the page, took me away to other places, times and worlds. It was magical. I got lost in people-on-a-spaceship-going–to-some-faraway-planet science fiction books. There was this one horse book when I was a kid that knocked me out, made me cry, and laugh with joy at the end it was so real to me and so full of pathos because I loved horses so much. It was called Smoky. I loved that book. Sigh. I never forgot how those wonderful books made me feel…so free. So adventurous. So rich. Like I could be or do anything someday. And when I grew up I wanted to create that magic myself for others.  So…that’s why I began writing.  And when I get depressed over my writing at times, I remember that.

I remember vividly one day at school, when I was about 10 or so, when a big box of Weekly Reader books were delivered and we each got to pick one to read. The smell of those new books in that box as I looked at them, the excitement and awe of the other kids over the books and the reverence for those authors, and I thought: Wouldn’t it be something if someday a box of these books were mine…written by me? Oh, to be an author. People respect an author. It was the beginning.

Then there’s also a second part to the question: Why do I keep writing after 44 years of it? Because I can’t not write. I can’t stop. The stories take over my heart and mind and demand to come out. It’s sort of like birthing a baby (I have one real son and two grandchildren myself). You carry them for a while, a short or long time span, and then once they’re born (published) they go on to be their own individual entities that sometimes continue to amuse and amaze you. Or disappoint you. Whatever.

This is what it’s like to be a published author.

It’s not like anything you would imagine. There’s excitement, the passion and feeling of being right with the world, as the story is being created and the words are tumbling out into the computer; there’s the exhaustion of writing hours and hours, the doubt that your words

 will mean anything to anyone and why am I doing this? that creeps in but that you have to chase away; there’s the pride in seeing the finished book, either e-book or print, and finally there’s the feeling of unexplainable happiness when someone says they read it and liked/loved it. The best response I love to hear is: I couldn’t put it down. The characters were all so real. I got carried away with it. Didn’t want to leave the world you’d created. Wow. That makes the sometimes low pay and grueling hard work all worthwhile because writing is hard work, or, at least, the creating and promoting of it anyway. Hour and hour, day after day, year after year. It’s your life you’re using up, your precious time and you have to truly love it to give all that up…to strangers.

Sometimes people ask me: is it still fun?

Fun? That’s a strange way to put it. Sometimes, rarely, it’s fun. Mostly it’s hard work and lots of solitary time alone. Writers live so much of their life in their make believe worlds they get lonely for the real world, real breathing people and adventures. I know I do. But the writing won’t leave me alone until I write down the words and tell the tale. The easiest way I can put it is when I’m writing or dealing with my writing I feel like I’m doing what I was born to do. Yes, I believe a writer is born to write–like an artist is born to paint and draw; a musician to write or play music. As an artist myself I know I’m not truly happy, or fulfilled feeling, unless I’m writing, drawing or singing. Creating. Though the singing and the artwork have gone more by the wayside as I’ve become older and writing mostly takes all my free time now.  Yes, writing does make me happy. Grin. Except the rare times someone hates one of my books and that happens, too. I’ve finally learned that reading and loving a book or short story is subjective. Some people love my stories, get them, and others…don’t. And that’s okay. We’re all different people.  That’s a lesson a writer must learn. One person’s criticism is not a blanket criticism of all your work or even that one work, it’s just one person’s opinion.

Is it lucrative? This first part I originally wrote in 2o11… before I started self-publishing in August 2012. Now, in 2015, with 9 books self-published of my 22 I am making a good living at my writing for the first time ever. And when I finally own and self-publish the rest of my 22 books (14 are still with a publisher that I make very little money on) I will be making really good money. But here’s my answer from 2011: That’s a loaded question and most writers will not talk about how much they make or a book makes. Maybe, this is just my theory, it’s because most of us make so little it embarrasses us. There’s no way we could ever live on it. It’s icing on the cake, trim on the woodwork, for the mid-level writers anyway. The top (very rare) writers like Stephen King, Dean Koontz and many other writers make a very good living, but most writers don’t. Ever. Oh, in my heyday in the 1980’s and early 1990’s I made fairly good money with Leisure and Zebra paperbacks, because back then the distribution and print runs were so large. I got a smaller percent in royalties but there were more books out there on the shelves and in the stores selling for me. So far the e-books and PODs (Print on Demand) aren’t selling that well, but I get a much larger percentage.  I’m hoping in the next year by having all my old 10 novels out again (rereleased between June 2010 and June 2012) and 2 new books I’ll see a gradual increase in income. It’s an experiment, sort of.  Selling a small quantity each 3 months of 12 or more books might add up to a nice sum. Or so I’m hoping. I’m marketing (a whole new thing in the Internet world these days) a lot, seeking and getting great 4 and 5 star reviews, joining reader and writer loops, guest blogging, etc.  It’s never ending. Thing is I don’t know how much it all helps. Eventually, I figure, I’ll find out. I’m an optimist always. 2015 Update: I made the worst money between 2010 and 2015 with this publisher than I’d ever made. Thank goodness I discovered self-publishing in late 2012 and began switching my books into it. Well, I lived and learned. 

Do I still enjoy writing? This was my answer in 2011 and in 2015 I still feel the same way: Sure. I love it. It’s like breathing, eating, dreaming. It’s become part of me. It’s second nature. It took me over 40years to say: I’m a writer. And really feel like I wasn’t being a pretentious so-and-so or outright lying. It took me all that time and 22 published books, 2 novellas and 12 short stories, and more to come hopefully, for me to feel deserving of the title.  Even without the money, telling stories is what makes me feel…complete. Happy. Hey, look at me I’m a storyteller! Ha, ha, now I just have to figure out a way to make it more profitable, as well.  Thank you.

* Written by the author Kathryn Meyer Griffith on a sultry August day not so long ago (2011)…

2015 update: And I did find a way to make it more profitable because I started self-publishing. As one successful Indie writer recently said to me: Just get the books out there…nothing else matters, except presumably good books, I’d add. The rest will come. And now I have NINE self-published books out everywhere and I’m discovering it does come.   Stay tuned for my next blog…the backstory story Why I Wrote A Time of Demons and Angels here: https://kathrynmeyergriffith.wordpress.com/

My Books are here:
http://tinyurl.com/oqctw7k
My Audible audio books are here:
http://tinyurl.com/oz7c4or
Novels:
Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart of the Rose, Blood Forge, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire, Witches, The Nameless One short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper, Ghosts Beneath Us, Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, Before the End: A Time of Demons, The Woman in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection, Forever and Always Romantic Short, Night carnival Short Story, Dinosaur Lake, Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising and Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation
Websites:
https://kathrynmeyergriffith.wordpress.com/
https://www.amazon.com/author/kgriffith http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KHIXNS

rdgriff@htc.net

  

Targeted World Building - Regan Black

Regan Black

As an author who writes primarily paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels, world building is important to me. As a reader who devours wonderful novels in the same genre, effective world building is vital to my enjoyment of the story.

From cozy mystery to romance to edgy urban fantasy, world building is something authors apply to help connect the reader to the adventure. The skills are necessary no matter what medium - movies, video games, or novels - and as creative people tell stories in new and fresh ways in known and emerging media, one thing becomes clear:

Know what your target audience wants.

This point was driven home for me when I recently walked into the family room where my son was playing a fantasy game on the PS3. When he finished the battle, I asked what kind of monster he’d just defeated. (I happen to be a fan of the mythology this game employs). His answer: Rage Demon.

Wow. Really? Because that thing looked nothing like Kresley Cole’s rage demons from her Immortals After Dark series. Of course I kept this opinion to myself as I was loathe to get into an analysis of the critical differences. And I'm well aware that logically, the game designer's idea of a rage demon doesn’t nullify Cole’s version of the same creature. But still...

My son wouldn’t appreciate what I find fascinating about Cole’s rage demons and their world as she built it. I can't imagine Cole’s fans would be very impressed with the nearly faceless, flame coated thing my son was battling.

Clearly, world building for paranormal romance novels and world building for gamers means meeting the expectations of two very different audiences and invovles two very different interpretations of the mythology.

My favorite young adult paranormal authors won’t focus on the same things as a paranormal romance author wanting to catch adult fans. A fantasy or sci-fi author might spend as much page time on the mythology and origins of the world itself as they devote to the characters' journey toward the goal.

I think that's absolutely fantastic for everyone from readers and gamers to authors and developers. Do you have a favorite author who's written a world you wish you could fall into?

You can explore the worlds I've built for readers at ReganBlack.com or join the community fun at my Facebook page.

And always...live the adventure!
Regan

Lorrie Striuff is Dishin' It Out

I invited Lorrie to stop by and tell us a little bit about what's going on with her and her writing.  I've read her work, and I'm a fan, so I always welcome her to Dishin' It Out.  Today she brought a friend who's going to do the talking.  So, without anymore blathering from me...meet Beggar:

Hi, Ginger, thanks for the invite. I’m doin’ summersaults bein’ here.

      Now, I know his is kinda early, but I wanna introduce myself to the folks anyways. I’ll be showin’ up in a book near September.

My name’s Beggar, and I’m a proud ringtail monkey. Yep, you read right. Like an entertainer for an organ grinder.

Here’s my story.

See, I escaped my chains from a downright nasty man that used me to make money for his medicine show. We traveled around the west. He’d trained me do tricks to make people laugh, and some other mighty mean things that I won’t mention. Might get me into trouble. *looks both ways for the law.*

Making my way north, hungry, thirsty, I come upon this empty office with food. Well, I dove right into that there chicken and biscuits in the lunch basket. Yowee, it was good eatin’. See, I eat both meat and fruit. Almost any dang thing when I’m starving.

Now, how was I ‘posed to know I was in the sheriff’s office? I can’t read worth a lick.

Well, when Sheriff Cole come in, he found me hiding under his desk and pulled his six shooter wantin’ to shoot me, I was scared witless. I tried doin’ tricks for him, but he was madder than a wet hen at me for eatin’ his lunch.

He done tried to get me outta the office with a broom first. He promised me lots of things if I left. But there was somthin’ about the man that I took a likin’ to. So, no sirreee, I didn’t want to leave. ‘Sides, that food was real good. Maybe I’d get some more.

Again he said he was a gonna shoot me, but when that there pretty Mattie gal come in the office, she put a stop to his foolishness. *I could tell, she sure jingled his spurs.*And, she liked me. She picked me up, held me, cuddled me, and they took off my awful collar. Mattie said she took a shine to men who had pets. *Ha. That sure ‘nuff  put Cole on the spot.* I was so grateful, I sure wasn’t leavin’ this nice place.

I found me a new home there, though I’m not so sure Cole ‘preciated the fact. He called me, “A Heap of Trouble.”

Lookin’ back, guess he was right. But we got to be good friends anyhows.

So, until we really meet, here’s a couple short stories by my author you might take a likin’ to.

Thanks again, Ginger. Want to cuddle a bit? I like to cuddle up with pretty gals.

Last Dance.

Bren is in love with a troubled boy and she hopes he asks her to the prom. The most popular girl in school, Jean, plays on Rip’s troubled soul. Does Bren get revenge?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Dance-ebook/dp/B004O6MUNG/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1297999351&sr=1-26

Wild Blackberries

Morgan is researching on an Indian reservation in Prescott, Arizona for her new paranormal novel. She doesn’t believe in the paranormal, but writes it for the trend and the nice royalties. That is until her soon to be divorced husband tries to kill her, and she survives by her wits and a little “strange” help.

http://www.bookstogonow.com/page27.html

Bio.

Lorrie lives in West Mifflin, PA, thirty minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. She lives at home with her husband and her favorite toy—a computer.

    She writes in many genres so you never know what she will come out with next. She never wants to bore her readers and enjoys the thrill of entertaining them by writing a good story.

For more of her stories, visit her site at http://struiff.wordpress.com/

Random Events of a Trick-or-Treater

Hi Readers,
Before we begin the fun journey in the history of this Trick-or-Treater, I must thank Miz Ginger for asking me to be one of her guest bloggers. It’s always a thrill to be here. I’m paranormal romance author, Tabitha Shay and today, I’m going to share with you some of the funny things and not so funny things that happened to me as child growing up during that special holiday events….Halloween.

The earliest Halloween I can remember, I must have been about three or four. We still lived in California and since I started first grade in Oklahoma, I can easily pinpoint the age to a close margin. Oh my, for a small child, it was a bit overwhelming… Candy?
Gosh, I wasn’t even sure why I was out there being dragged from house to house in search of this special treat, but hey, it sounded like fun to me and I was always a sucker for a sucker.

Woe is me! How little did I know this would be one of the most frightening experiences of my life? Of course, Mom and Dad was with me, after all, they wanted to show off their little Trickster. I remember the house that changed my view of Halloween and forever scared my little soul. The house was sooooo dark and creepy and on the front door was this skeleton. Nothing in this world was going to force me up that front door to ask for candy. Heck no! I set my stubborn little mind, planted my feet in concrete and wouldn’t budge. That skeleton was out to get me. I can still hear Daddy’s laughter today and his gentle encouragement.

Finally, he gave up, lifted me in his arms and carried me to the front door that housed those spooky bones. Amazing, once the lady opened the door, smiled and dropped candy in my sack, I was fine. After all, the skeleton hadn’t gobbled me up and it left my treats alone. I was a happy little girl.

But one does have to wonder about the trauma we as adults bring on our little ones by taking them out to Trick-or-Treat at such an early age…however, it didn’t stop me from taking my children around when they were the same age. It was tradition, still is, and now that I’m an old lady, I try to make Halloween a fun-filled scary time for the kids who ring my doorbell at Halloween.


Oh, boy…the second memory upper most in my mind is a time when I was about ten. I’d reached the age where I could take a couple of my siblings along with me and walk a few blocks around the small rural neighborhood where I grew up…As we trudged out way up the road, I felt an unusual burning in my left leg. Because it was dark, I had no idea what had happened. I thought a snake had bit me, before I realized it was way too cold for snake to be out crawling on the road. Well, it happened again, but this time, it hurt a bit more and I screamed and rubbed my leg. And I decided a hungry vampire bat had bit me instead of a snake. Had to be a bat…what else would bite me on Halloween?

Come to find out, it was a couple of young boys from the neighborhood hiding in a ditch and when kids walked past them, they’d shoot them with their Bee-Bee guns. I put a spell on them and turned them both into pumpkins.

Moving fast forward here, boy, I still have never confessed doing this to my mom, she’d kill me and I’m all of sixty…bad when one still fears their mother’s wrath…Laughs…but this was just too much fun to pass up doing….we still lived way out in the country and had no modern facilities. Oh yes, the dreaded outhouse was a common part of our lives in those days and Mother guarded ours like the wicked witch from the West and East every Halloween. No one was going to tip our toilet over! Ha! Little did she know the culprits came from within? While Mom was busy making the traditional popcorn balls and passing out candy, my aunt sneaked into the house and eased me outside. I was about twelve by this time and no longer went out in search of treats. But I did love a good trick. My aunt said “Come on, we’re going to dump over the outhouse.”

Why I thought this was a great idea, I’ll never know, after all, it was where I conducted business… But we sneaked right past my mother’s guard and tilted over the toilet. It wasn’t until early the next morning Mom discovered the toilet was lying on its back like a big fat turtle. I can still hear her angry shouts.
Would you confess your guilt? Didn’t think so…

There you have it readers, some of the things that happened to me in my early years of growing up. I hope you’ve had a laugh or two and enjoyed the random events in this child’s life, because no matter how old I get, I’ll always be that little girl at heart…Happy Halloween to all your little pumpkins….Tabs


NOTE FROM GING: What Tabitha forgot to mention is that she is the author of a wonderful "Witch" series available at Eternal Press.
You can read more about Tab and her work on her wonderfully, inventive website. Step carefully into the realm.

Breaking News

I just wanted to let you know that your readers can now purchase an electronic copy of EMBEZZLED LOVE at All Romance eBooks. Here is the link
All Romance Books


I was notified that the print book will be delayed by a few weeks because of a mess up in the ISBN number. A new one had to be assigned, so for those of you waiting for the trade version...it's up for preorder at LBF Books


Remember, this is the fictional story I wrote about my sister's true life-changing experience. Just a little hint for you...in the book, I'm Gloria. *lol*