Museful Monday! Are you a Plotter or Panser??

I used to be a panser...but I think I've reformed! Come read about it today at Museful Monday at Sandra Sookoo's blog, Seeing is Believing! Click here!

Museful Monday!

I'm so excited!! Sandra Sookoo over at Believing is Seeing has asked me to be one of her contributing bloggers for her weekly segment titled Museful Monday! Each week we'll talk about writing and tips for success! Today is my first post! So please come stop by!

First-hand experience a must???

So I've been thinking. And I wonder what you guys think. Can someone without first hand experience really give advice???

I choose to have a female gynecologist. I'm just more comfortable...I feel more relaxed and can better explain my problems. I'm not convinced a man can relate to my problems. A man does not know what a yeast infection feels like or the pains of pregnancy and child birth. I don't doubt their education and knowledge of the female body, but they just don't have first-hand experience.

Several of my friends have talked about attending Pre-Cana classes in their Catholic churches before being allowed to marry there. I think pre-marital counseling is a fantastic idea before committing to someone, but I'm not convinced a priest is the best person for the job. He's never been married. How can he give advice on how to sustain a healthy commitment? I think some may argue that he is "married" to the church and to God, but that's not the same in my book. God isn't leaving his dirty socks on the floor or leaving the toilet seat open even after repeated requests to not do it. And I'd feel the same of a professional marriage counselor outside the church who was not married.

And while our pediatrician is single and has no children, I completely trust her medical advice, but behavioral advice, advice on potty training....not buying it 100%. She hasn't been there.
 
What do you guys think? Do you take advice from someone who has never been in your shoes?? 

What do you do when what you think is good, isn't?

Since I started writing, I have learned A LOT. And that doesn't even remotely describe how far I have come. Like a billion miles...seriously. I occasionally pull open that first manuscript and cringe, wondering how in the world I ever thought I could do this.

But here I am, about 5-6 years later (I honestly do not remember exactly when I started that first story) and I know I can do it. I have done it. And I continue to grow and learn and get better.

But then I have a days like yesterday and today.... Feedback from fellow writes makes me question whether or not I have a clue.

I really liked what I had. My gut told me it was awesome.

There is so much conflicting writing advice out there and it can be so so confusing. The best advice is to go with your gut...but what if your gut doesn't have a clue? What if your gut thought what you did was fab? Now what?

Tuesday Tip: I, I, I....

My first published full length novel, A Bitch Named Karma, is written in first person. I really like that POV...really allows me to get into the characters head and hopefully make the reader feel like they are there too.

One major mistake I made while writing it was falling into the "I Trap". Take a look at this paragraph:

I opened my eyes when the alarm began blaring in my ear. I turned it off and sighed. I did not want to get up. I was not ready to face this day. I'd already done all I could do to fix things, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to make any kind of a difference. I just had to get dressed and go on like nothing had happened.

See what happened there?? Every sentence starts with "I". It is very important to vary your sentence structure. You can even turn some of those sentences into internal dialogue, deepening the POV. I know how hard it can be, especially with a piece written in first person, but once you start fixing it, it gets to be second nature.

Look at this new paragraph:

The alarm began blaring in my ear. Six AM already? I turned it off, but stayed in bed, not ready to face the day. Yesterday had been hell and I'd done what I could to fix things. But it probably wasn't going to make any kind of a difference. I just had to get dressed and go on like nothing had happened.

The second paragraph only has two sentences starting with "I". It's not perfect, but it's definitely better. :)

Good luck!!!

Tuesday Tips a day early! Dialogue Tags

Tuesday Tips is a day early this week! Something really fun going on tomorrow!!!

Before I continue, I first of all need to thank my AMAZING editor at Lyrical Press, Piper Denna! Please check her out here! Without her, I would not be where I am. She took my MS and helped me turn it into something fantastic. I learned so much from the experience!

Okay..on with today's post!

When I first started writing, I thought every line of dialogue had to have the word "said" with a name or he/she/I. I started getting creative and used my thesaurus for different words that also meant "said". I thought I was being cool by mixing it up. And the adverbs. Oh my.

And then I realized that not every line has to have a tag (I finally found out what they were actually called).

And as I learned to show instead of tell by adding actions, those lines didn't need tags either.

The Old Way: "I love this dress!" Sally said as she twirled in front of the mirror.

The New Way: Sally twirled in front of the mirror. "I love this dress!"

When there are just two people in a conversation, the reader can usually figure out who is talking. But be careful, so it's not confusing to the reader. Make sure you add in actions too...show what's going on while they are conversing. There's nothing worse for a reader to be in the middle of a conversation and having to stop and go back because they can't keep track of who's saying what.

Hope this helps. Remember, I in no way imply I am an expert here and my apologies if something I said is clearly wrong!! LOL! I'm still learning myself!!

My first ever Tuesday Tips!!!

Not sure if I like the name...I may work on that :)

But anyway, I have decided to share my world of knowledge about publishing and writing. Okay, I don't so much have a "world" of knowledge..maybe just a bucketful...a small one... But I am going to share in hopes of helping my readers learn from my mistakes.

For my first week I decided to focus on something I did many many times in my first novel..and this was after I'd been through it a zillion times on my own. My editor had to correct it so many times...I though for sure she'd change her mind and give me the heave-ho.

Using words like thought, felt, saw, etc....

My debut, A Bitch Named Karma, is in first person, but I catch myself doing this with third person works too. Not sure why I did it. I guess I thought I needed to be as descriptive as possible. But the reader is in the MC's head...they don't need those extra words.


Example #1:

Wrong: She felt his hand touch her face.

Right: He touched her face.


Example #2:

Wrong: "That guy is hot," I thought to myself.

Right: That guy is hot.


Example #3

Wrong: I saw him take the cookie from the jar.

Right: He took the cookie from the jar.


These are very simplistic examples, but I think you can see what I mean. Nixing those extra words makes the sentences so much clearer, stronger, cleaner.

Thanks for stopping by my first ever tip post!!

If you have any ideas for future posts, please share!!! Or if you have questions about the digital publishing industry, please ask! I'd be more than happy to tackle a question in this weekly feature and share my experience.

New feature??? What do you think??

It seems that many bloggers offer all kinds of writing advice and tips. And many of their readers adore them and really appreciate it. I have shied away from giving advice because, well, I don't feel I am in any position to give advice. I am still a newbie in this biz. What could I possibly say that can help???

Well, I have learned a lot so far. And why not share what I've learned?? Maybe I can help others and they can avoid my mistakes???

What do you think???

I thought of making this a weekly feature, until I run out of things to share. Maybe on Tuesdays.