REASONS FOR WRITING by Rita Karnopp

It takes hard work and hours of devoted time to write a book.  There’s research, first draft, second draft, edits, revisions, submissions, rejections, promotions, blogging, and even marketing.  Those are probably some of the reasons not everyone writes.   If it was easy – everyone would be writing, right?

I’ve often heard the comment, “A person needs a reason to write.”  Is that true?  Maybe in ways it is.  Maybe it’s therapy and a way of expressing ourselves, a way of making a point on an issue, or a way of sharing our experiences.

So let’s talk about how we can fuel the angst in our lives into something positive and use it as fodder for our stories.  My book, Kidnapped, is the result of my frustration of not being able to have children.  The what-ifs started.  What if a couple, struggling to get pregnant for years - decide to adopt?  What if hey finally get the daughter they’ve been longing for, and she has adorably wrapped them around her little finger – but the marriage is seemingly over.  Then what if they independently discover the daughter they love appears to be an abducted child?  You can only imagine the heartache and devastation this might cause. 

Take those ‘heartache’ times in your life, or those of people around you, and turn them into a page-turning book.  What struggles have you had in your life?  A great example of inspirational writing from struggles is blind, deaf and mute writer Helen Keller—who authored several bestsellers in her time—wrote, “I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work and my God.”

How about writing for revenge?  I have to admit, when I shared I’d like to write a book I received more ridicule and negativity – than I did support and encouragement.  It’s a discouraging world if you let it be.  I decided I wanted to write and see my name on the cover of my book.  I didn’t care how many people thought it couldn’t happen.  Writing that book(s) is the best way to say, “I did it, so don’t tell me I can’t.”  It’s a little bit of sweet revenge.

Frustration can also be a catalyst for deciding to write.  You ever want to make a point or just plain make people aware of a situation . . . and you keep getting told, “That’s not worth sharing - people just don’t care.”  Yep, me too.  So I wrote my Tango of Death Series; Gypsy Spirit, Partisan Heart, and Jewish Soul, because I still wanted to share with the world that Gypsies were persecuted by the Nazis just as ruthlessly as the Jews.  I felt in my heart their story needed to be told.

We all know of stories the world should hear. You could be the one who finds a way to tell them.

Consider writing from the place of fear or trauma.  Turn those experiences into books that only you can truly write.  Whether you were in a bank when it was being robbed or you were in a car accident that left everyone dead – but you.

Are you familiar with a social injustice that still haunts you?  Take that viewpoint and work it into a story that will show others just how wrong abuse can be . . . or the laws that protects abusers.  Yes, you’re writing fiction – that doesn’t mean you can’t make a point – and open the eyes, hearts, and POV of your reader.

In an interview on Amazon.com about his latest novel, Another Life, Vachss says, “My goal was not to raise consciousness, but to raise anger.”  Think about it – collective anger gets results.

You can also write inspirational stories resulting from medical struggles – the human spirit is like no other.  People love to read about resounding triumphs - or the struggle of accepting the inevitable with grace, fight, and inspiration.  People never tire of the – succeeding against all odds.  Don’t sugar-coat it – tell it like it is.

Make your reader uncomfortable, share your heartache, your struggles, your triumphs, and even your vulnerability at the bottom – then reveal how you conquered, loved, and prevailed.  Write what you know – just bring it to life between the pages of your book

MUSIC WHILE WRITING BY RITA KARNOPP

I love music and I can set my mood by it.  Like many others, sometimes I like classical or sometimes I like Country or Native American.  You see it all depends on what I’m writing.

If I had to choose just one sound-track to listen to – one that would fit any genre I’m writing – I’d choose Last of the Mohicans.  Yep, that music pushes me on with intensity and excitement. 

When I write 1800s Native American novels . . . you guessed it, I’m listening to Mary Youngblood, Douglas Spotted Eagle, R. Carlos Nakai and Robert Mirabal.  The flutes haunt me and the drums bring me back to a time on the desert where a people lived in harmony on the plains, in teepees, and shared a way of life the white man (Napi-kwan) could have learned much from.

When writing suspense, that involves my Montana cowboys and Blackfeet Native Americans, I lean toward modern country and of course more wonderful drums, flutes, and Native dance songs.

I’ve used reference to music in many of my stories.  My thriller, Atonement, included various sixties music and my Indian Historical, Whispering Sun has a man humming Amazing Grace.

No matter the book, you can infuse music to add a bit more texture to your story.  Lyrics will inspire you to write yet another level into the tone and flow of your story.

But I’ll be honest, everyone once in a while – I just want it silent.  When I wrote the Tango of Death series, I played gypsy music most of the time.  But during those hard to write scenes – no music could soothe my soul to describe what I had to write.  You’ll know when it’s right or wrong.

WRITING THE SERIES by Rita Karnopp

Now that I’ve just finished a series . . . I truly understand the lure . . . the thrill of a trilogy.  It’s an incredible opportunity to truly get to know my characters.  The Tango of Death series was a very challenging book, because I wanted to start the book with my three Gypsy sisters . . . and end it with my three Gypsy sisters.  The challenge here?  It was 1943 in Germany and Poland during the Holocaust. There was no guarantee all three sisters would survive the war.

There was satisfaction in knowing you just finished writing three books that link . . . that carry on the story of your characters.  The fear of course is ‘can you write two – three- four – or more – books that will continue to grip and keep that reader interested – more than interested – engaged, hooked, actually waiting for the next book to come out!  One thing I did know – I wanted the next book to be even better than the one before it.

Not all series are handled the same way.  What do I mean?  Well, some series are complete stand-alone books.  One isn’t necessary without the other.  They contain some of the same characters, but don’t depend on each other.  Take for instance The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, or Twilight. 

Some series are continuing sagas from the previous book, and if you hadn’t read it (them) you might be lost when reading out of sequence.  As with the Tango of Death series, books one and two depended on book three to be complete.

For an author a successful series means a reliable paycheck and cumulative royalties.  And don’t forget you don’t have to worry who will be publishing each new book.  But, it’s a known fact that publishers would rather publish a stand-alone book and see how it does before committing to a series.  I actually submitted a series synopsis – showing the connections and plan for the series. How do you  write a stand-alone book with series potential?

Book one is the foundation – This first book will be the ‘beginning’ and should be your highest priority to make sure your reader cares so much about the characters they want more … and more … and more.  Cultivate your strongest plot and write the best book you can.  Bear in mind not all books can turn into series.  Good advice here - write this first book as if it will be the only one – a stand-alone. In other words, don’t be closed minded and insist this book is a series, therefore, sacrificing the story for the series. Support the series potential in your proposal or synopsis.

 

Make your first book expandable – If your first book is completely solved (which it should be) then why would the reader want to read the next book?   Hmmm – it has to be expandable – in other words we need to care what happens next. 

Think about Magnum PI . . . great . . . he solves his cases, but we sure want to experience his next case.  The Hunger Games . . . I can’t wait to read the next book . . . and the next . . . and the next.  I wish I had written them!!  That’s when I know it’s a fabulous series.  Two and three book series are hot on the market right now.  But NEVER write a series because it’s something you haven’t done – and it sounds cool.  Believe me – it’s scary to look at that blank screen and know you are starting book two – book one is finished . . . and you have to continue the story in a whole new, exciting way.  But it has to be fresh and page-turning no matter the genre.  It must be better than the last book!

A series needs more characters – Oh . . . I love minor characters . . . especially those with unique personalities.  A series allows you to give them more presence in your story, and who knows - maybe they might be the character that shoots off the next book!  Things happen while writing and we the writer (as well as the reader) fall in love with secondary characters all the time.  Any one of them might have a problem or situation that will turn into a full-blown story in your series.

Create continuity between books  - There should be a common theme that connects all the books in your series.  Is there an unpredictable brother or sister?  Is there a jail-bate uncle or parent?  Could it be every murder takes place at an archeology dig site?  You get the picture.

The hero has just begun – You want your reader to feel satisfied after the first ‘the end,’ yet you want the reader to hope for another event, case, quest, etc.  We so love the character that we aren’t ready to part ways.  The hero has more to give us – and we want to be a part of it.

Foreshadowing future events or incidents – This is so important in the series.  We need to expect more – and foreshadowing is everything.  Lay the groundwork and instill the need or excitement of what is to come.  Give that linking series depth and texture that will smoothly transition into an incredible series and will compel your reader to want more!

 

WRITING a Book Series By Rita Karnopp

Have you considered writing a book series but the mere idea made you run in the other direction?  Book series are very popular – and there are good reasons.  The reader becomes invested in the characters and they don’t want the story to end.  Or, we are truly interested in finding out what happened to our characters years later.

When I came up with an idea to write about the Gypsies during WWII, I decided to name it Tango of Death (Tango de Fung).  When I proposed the book to my publisher, she asked if I could do a trilogy.  What?  Three books?  Uh, you always say ‘yes’ when asked such a question by your publisher.  But now the plot I’d been tossing around in my mind for over ten years had to change.  Could I write a trilogy?  It sounded like a daunting task.

I created a story involving gypsies, partisans and Jews.  Hmmm . . . how would I connect them? It didn’t take me long to consider writing about three sisters and creating a separate story for each.  I came up with Gypsy Spirit, Partisan Heart, and Jewish Soul.  I loved the titles and the concept.  Since I’m visual I was thrilled my published gave me my covers – what an inspiration they were.

I approached the series like any other book; a combination of characters, settings and plots.

There were certain absolutes.  All three books would take place in Poland and Germany during 1943 and involve the holocaust.  I didn’t want it to be the ‘same-old’ . . . so I painstakingly researched for those bits of information that were new.  I watched documentaries and read exhaustively.  The dress, vehicles, music, food, and even slang had to be 1940s.

I knew I wanted to ‘sparingly’ use Polish, German, Roma, Yiddish, and of course English as the main language.  It would be tricky to give the flavor of all these languages and still make sure the reader knew what was being said.

A sense of place was vital and I wanted nothing to do with sensationalizing, I wanted everything to sound, smell, feel, taste, and look 1940s Poland and Germany.  City names and layout had to be authentic as did rivers and bridges.

Even more serious, I used infamous Nazi officers and partisans and had to be careful not to place them in my story where they couldn’t have been during the timeframe. They couldn’t have ten children in my book if they didn’t have ten children in history.  I wanted to kill one of the Nazi officers, then remembered he didn’t die for five more years. 

I had to account for the terrain and how long it would take to reach certain destinations.  Vehicles and roads were different than they are now, and horseback or wagon timeframes had to be taken into account.

In book #1, Gypsy Spirit, I set the scene and introduced the sisters.  I developed a way for them to be separated . . . and an agreed meeting place for after the war (if they survived). Then Zilka took the story away . . .

In book #2, Partisan Heart, I had to create a way for the sister who ran off with her love to join the partisans, struggle with her conscious, go back to her kumpania, only to find all her people dead.  Vanya became tightly involved with the partisans and the Nazi infiltration of the Polish underground.

By book #3, Jewish Soul, the reader can only hope the third sister, Mayla, has fared better, safe with their mother and grandmother in Switzerland, or is she.  Will they ever be to together again?  Book three must tie all the loose-ends and develop an ending that will satisfy the reader – and even keep them thinking about all three girls long after they close the cover.

Hints for a series:  Keep a separate three-by-five notebook for each book.  Jot down all information you want to address in each book.  Some information comes to you during book one, two or even planning in book three.  You might have to foreshadow in your earlier books . . . that is why planning . . . at least the skeleton of all three stories should happen before starting page one of book one.

Keep an ‘electronic’ file called ‘notes’ for each separate book.  I never take time to hand-write notes if I can copy and paste them into an electronic file.  I might jot a written reminder in my notebook to cross-reference my electronic notes, but I keep it all until the final words are written.

I work on my hard-drive.  Save your work several times a day.  But, at the end of the day – I always save the same work out to a flash drive.  If you’ve ever lost a day’s work … or more (which I have) . . .  you’ll never let it happen to you again!

It’s strange – but nothing has been more satisfying as writing my trilogy, Tango of Death.  If you read book #1, Gypsy Spirit, and were upset when they closed the door to the gas chamber – don’t give up hope – if you’ve read Gypsy Spirit and Partisan Heart – and are upset when those heavy doors start closing – dong’ give up faith  . . . book three, Jewish Soul, has more twists and turns . . . and creates incredible tense situations, and - - - if you’ve hung in there . . . ‘satisfaction’ for the reader . . . and my Gypsy girls.

JEWISH SOUL - RELEASES - BOOK 3 OF THE TANGO OF DEATH SERIES

I'm so proud to share with you the release of the last book in my Tango of Death Holocaust series.  This trilogy has been a real experience in writing.  I felt the struggles and the atrocities deep in my soul.  I held nothing back . . . and used real places and people - what happened to all three Gypsy girls in this trilogy could have happened.  Thank you for letting me share their stories with you.

Jewish Soul - Book 3 – Tango of Death Series - Mayla Sucuri's world is falling apart . . . no Gypsy is safe in Hitler's Germany.

Her twin sister, Vanya, has just run off with her love and joined the partisans. Now Mayla is being forced to leave her papa and younger sister, Zilka, with the kumpania.

Heading to Switzerland with her mother, to the safety of her Grandmother's chalet in Switzerland, Mayla fears she'll never see any of them again. Her grandmother is connected to every high official in the SS. But not everything isn't as it appears.

Because of her drive to be a doctor, Mayla finds herself invited to Dachau and Auschwitz. She quickly finds herself in the company of Doctor Josef Mengele and Doctor Sigmund Rascher, who are only too willing to share the results of their medical experiments on Jews and Gypsies.

At great personal risk, Mayla refuses to turn down the opportunity to take notes and bear witness to the atrocities happening at the concentration camps. Mayla is drawn to Auschwitz where the distinctions between good and evil become blurred in a world turned upside down. Will it get her killed or will her unwavering resolve give her the strength and courage to rescue her sisters from the gas chambers?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CS7TCPM

                      

WRITING A BOOK SERIES By Rita Karnopp

 Have you considered writing a book series but the mere idea made you run in the other direction?  Book series are very popular – and there are good reasons.  The reader becomes invested in the characters and they don’t want the story to end.  Or, we are truly interested in finding out what happened to our characters years later.

When I came up with an idea to write about the Gypsies during WWII, I decided to name it Tango of Death (TANGO FUN TOYT).  When I proposed the book to my publisher, she asked if I could do a trilogy.  What?  Three books?  Uh, you always say ‘yes’ when asked such a question.  But now the plot I’d been tossing around in my mind for over ten years had to change.  Could I write a trilogy?  It sounded like a daunting task.

I created a story involving gypsies, partisans and Jews.  Hmmm . . . how would I connect them? It didn’t take me long to consider writing about three sisters and creating a separate story for each.  I came up with Gypsy Spirit, Partisan Heart, and Jewish Soul.  I loved the titles and the concept.  Since I’m visual I was thrilled my published gave me my covers – what an inspiration they were.

I approached the series like any other book; a combination of characters, settings and plots.

There were certain absolutes.  All three books would take place in Poland and Germany during 1943 and involve the holocaust.  I didn’t want it to be the ‘same-old’ . . . so I painstakingly researched for those bits of information that were new.  I watched documentaries and read exhaustively.  The dress, vehicles, music, food, and even slang had to be 1940s.

I knew I wanted to ‘sparingly’ use Polish, German, Roma, Yiddish, and of course English as the main language.  It would be tricky to give the flavor of all these languages and still make sure the reader knew what was being said.

A sense of place was vital and I wanted nothing to do with sensationalizing, I wanted everything to sound, smell, feel, taste, and look 1940s Poland and Germany.  City names and layout had to be authentic as did rivers and bridges.

Even more serious, I used infamous Nazi officers and partisans and had to be careful not to place them in my story where they couldn’t have been during the timeframe. They couldn’t have ten children in my book if they didn’t have ten children in history.  I wanted to kill one of the Nazi officers, then remembered he didn’t die for five more years. 

I had to account for the terrain and how long it would take to reach certain destinations.  Vehicles and roads were different than they are now, and horseback or wagon timeframes had to be taken into account.

In book #1, Gypsy Spirit, I set the scene and introduced the sisters.  I developed a way for them to be separated . . . and an agreed meeting place for after the war (if they survived). Then Zilka took the story away . . .

In book #2, Partisan Heart, I had to create a way for the sister who ran off with her love to join the partisans, struggle with her conscious, go back to her kumpania, only to find all her people dead.  Vanya became tightly involved with the partisans and the Nazi infiltration of the Polish underground.

By book #3, Jewish Soul, the reader can only hope the third sister, Mayla, has fared better, safe with their mother and grandmother in Switzerland, or is she.  Will they ever be to together again?  Book three must tie all the loose-ends and develop an ending that will satisfy the reader – and even keep them thinking about all three girls long after they close the cover.

Hints for a series:  Keep a separate three-by-five notebook for each book.  Jot down all information you want to address in each book.  Some information comes to you during book one, two or even planning in book three.  You might have to foreshadow in your earlier books . . . that is why planning . . . at least the skeleton of all three stories should happen before starting page one of book one.

Keep an ‘electronic’ file called ‘notes’ for each separate book.  I never take time to hand-write notes if I can copy and paste them into an electronic file.  I might jot a written reminder in my notebook to cross-reference my electronic notes, but I keep it all until the final words are written.

I work on my hard-drive.  Save your work several times a day.  But, at the end of the day – I always save the same work out to a flash drive.  If you’ve ever lost a day’s work … or more (which I have) . . .  you’ll never let it happen to you again!

PARTISAN HEART - by Rita Karnopp - now available

I'm so excited to share with you the release of Book 2 of my Tango of Death Series - PARTISAN HEART.   Book 1, GYPSY SPIRIT, released in October.

Partisan Heart - Book 2 – Tango of Death Series - Poland 1943-During WW II resistance movements occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from propaganda to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns, as well as hiding crashed pilots.

Partisan Heart tells the story of a Gypsy girl who follows her beloved into the forests of Poland and the Ukraine.  Their partisan group is willing to risk their lives blowing up train trestles, attacking SS killing squads, and to infiltrate Nazis intelligence to destroy Nazi Germany.  Resistance does exist.  If nothing else, to die with dignity is a form of resistance.

Available here:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZ6VTFE

SIX WAYS TO OUTSMART PROCRASTINATION

I must admit ... I been busier than a beaver getting ready for winter!  I'm very excited to share I JUST FINISHED WRITING GYPSY SPIRIT!  I'm so excited how the story unfolded and ended . . . I will wait one more week - read it through and made changes, then send it off to my reader . . . before sending it on to my great publisher, Books We Love!  I'm so in love with my cover ... this is book one of the Tango of Death Series; book two is Partisan Heart, (which I'll start in October - I can hardly wait... I'm so excited.) and book three is Jewish Soul. 

Okay ... okay .... I'll move on.  My apologies for not blogging Monday and Tuesday ... I was finishing GYPSY SPIRIT ... smile!! Okay ... okay.... 

     I follow Jason M. Gracia's (Author, Shifting the Balance) Founder, www.Motivation123.com  - as I've mentioned a time or two.  Below is his article I felt necessary to share.  :)  Hope you like it as much as I do.

     The Spanish have a proverb: Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. Clever wordsmiths, those Spaniards. 

     We all procrastinate. We dawdle and delay, dally and defer. My office floor is still home to a pile of papers that needed filing two months ago; I'm waiting for them to stop dallying and file themselves.

     Whatever the task, whatever the excuse, the tips below will help you do today what most people put off to next month.

     1. Ask yourself, What's the holdup? People procrastinate for many reasons. Some fear failure. Some avoid boring jobs. Others shy away from getting tangled in a complicated mess (i.e., my pile of papers). Knowing the cause of the problem may open your eyes to an obvious solution.

     2. Do you need to do it? Simple question, but it's a good one. Sometimes we put something off because it's not important. If you don't really need to do it, free yourself of the mental burden and drop the task from your to-do list.

     3. Ask for help. I have an ancient window mechanism that takes the effort of a drawbridge operator to open. Last month, unsurprisingly, it broke. Someone had to fix it, but I was hoping that someone wasn't me. So I put it off.

     After weeks of gazing at the window without actually doing anything, I asked a friend to help. It wasn't only because I have the mechanical skills of an uncoordinated squid; I knew it would get me moving.

     4. Commit just five minutes. That's it--just 300 seconds. Telling yourself you only have to do something for a sliver of time does two things. It transforms a big job into a tiny matter: Five minutes? I can do that. And because getting started is the hardest part, once your five minutes is up you'll often drive right

on through to the finish.

     5. Focus on the end. Thinking about how you'll feel when you've done whatever needs to be done may motivate you to make it happen.

     I don't much like to organize, but I love to be organized. This is what I focus on--the feeling of having everything in its place, clean and tidy--when I need to declutter a space. Although my pile of papers proves that I have some work to do.

     6. Just do it. Quit stalling. Quit rationalizing. Stand up, walk to the danger zone, and get to work.