Party on the Blog

Yes, I am opening my blog to visitors. And I don't mean you Mr. or Mrs. stranger-in-the-night, who comes and goes without leaving a trace. I am opening my blog to guest bloggers. Hopefully, throughtout the next few weeks and consistently after that, I will have several authors, bloggers, teachers, etc blogging on this very blog.
I know it is too exciting. I need to dust disinfect the About page, dust the book page, and just Windex the heck out of the home page. Look at this screen disgusting! Were the kids eathing cotton candy near it?
I can't write much longer I need to go swab the blog. (That did not sound very PG.)

I will give you more information on our guests soon, and how I got connected with them. It involves an elevator getting stuck, a bowl of blueberries, and a drawer full of junk.
Oh, I will also be traveling to other blogs too. Don't worry I will link and floss.

Writer's Library on Books on Writing

I wonder how many books the average writer has on writing, publishing, marketing books, etc? I keep accumulating them. I easily have 25 books. When I went to used bookstores and new bookstores I gravitated toward these books. I now have a good handful of writing and marketing books on my Kindle. I would guess about 10 of them by now. What was I trying to accomplish with all these books? What does anyone hope to accomplish?

• To be a become a better writer. It usually hampers my ability to write. When I a reading I am not writing. Okay, I do actually find some helpful hints in the books.
• To find out other writers tactics. What is he/she doing that I am not doing? Why is he/she a better writer than me? The truth might be that he/she is not a better writer.
• To find the magic recipe. Somewhere buried in one of these books there HAS to be the secret to wordly success.
• Validation and sense of belonging. I don't know if many people do this, but they might. Reading a book about someone doing the same thing as you, or struggling with the same things as you, can be validating. You are not deserted  on the ocean floating along on your plot.
• To avoid writing. I know this cannot be the case, but some writers might read to avoid writing.

Here are some helpful books that come to mind.

Writing Down the Bones

                              by Natalie Goldberg

This book was filled with short chapters and writing exercises to do. Natalie introduced me a long time ago to writing and keeping the hand going, not censoring while I was writing. She also has other books on writing that I have read Wild Minds and Thunder & Lightning. She has written 10 books. Check Natalie out.

Newbies Guide to Publishing

                                               by JA Konrath

This is my most recent read. Konrath transforms his blog posts into a book. I came out of reading it with pages of notes on writing, publishing, and marketing. He writes in a witty and funny style that makes a not so juicy subject appetizing.  It was published in 2010, and some of the information is a bit updated due to the changing world of book publishing. I think Konrath even changes his position on things due to data. You can get it for your ereader.

 Too Lazy to Work too Nervous to steal

                                                by John Clausen

The one thing I remember about this book is that it was very informative at the time on how to be a successful freelance writer. I also remember he was a big fan of taking naps during the day. He even had a couch put into his office to support it. Due to the book of the internet, most of this book is obsolete. He, however, has a lot of ideas and concepts that still apply and an energy about him and you can get the book for $.01 on Amazon. 

The Write-Brain Workbook

                                               by Bonnie Neubauer

366 Exercises to Liberate  your writing. This book intends to exercise your writing muscles. Each page is unique with colored pages and unique exercises. Love this book! I just checked on Amazon. You can get a used book for $.36. Just make sure you get one that does not have any writing in it. It is one of those books you write in.

 

 

 

 I have read many more, but as I went to my book library, I realized that I leant them out. What books do you have and recommend?

Dialogue Homework: Dialogue II

A true way to get a sense of dialogue is to pay attention to what is being said and what you are saying all day. This will be a two part homework assignment.

1. You need to write down everything you say all day long. This means from the time you wake-up to the time you go to bed. Now if you are in a profession that you are talking all day long or what you say is confidential, you can make up rules for yourself.

For example, a teacher would not write down when he/she was teaching a lesson, but his/her rule would be to write the informal communication he/she would have. He/she would write down the hellos and good-byes that he/she shares with students, greeting people in the hallway, etc. He/she would also write down conversations with other teachers, the coffee shop cashier, and with his/her husband or wife.

Every writer should at least do this once in his/her life, and multiple times if able. Bring a tablet, paper, or sticky notes around with you all day. Another option is to tape record the day, but the trick is to transcribe it. It is important to see it written.

Do this one day, and let me know how it worked out.

2. Write down what others say. Sit in a cafe, in a hair salon, at the registry of motor vehicles, bus stop, subway station, etc, and write down what others are saying. I have had great story ideas just from a sentence that someone has said as they walked by me. This requires some stealth. I know it is tempting don't grab your stenotype. You need to be on stealth mode.  

Let me know how all of these pan out again. I plan to write down what I say in a day in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Writing Realistic Dialogue Part I

"Hey, over here," he whispered.
"What?" she asked.
"Over here."
"I can't see anything in this."
"Just follow my voice, and don't point your gun at me."
He heard feet scuffling over the brush toward him. She fell with a thud and he felt as if he was punched in the arm. She had shot him.
"Dina," he whispered. She crawled toward him.
"What?" she asked. It was answered by silence. "Francis? Answer me."
"I can't I am now dead, and this is the last time I take you to play paintball."
"Thank goodness. I hate this. I hope you left something to me in your will."

Dialogue is an important part of fiction writing. It is said to be good practice to put a plethora of dialogue in the first few pages of your book. I, however, am a firm believer that it not only has to be dialogue but good dialogue.

Stay away from trying to go through your thesaurus to find synonyms of said.

Don't be afraid to go on a run of dialogue and take out the he said and she said. If there are two people talking, the reader will know they are taking turns. The he said and she said just slows down the momentum of the conversation.

Read your dialogue out loud. That is the best way to make sure it is genuine.

Stay away from accent, twang and all that fun stuff. It is hard to do.

"Jeet et"

"No jew?"

Be an Outsider

A good way to increase your writing skills is to experience new things. Just like traveling, new experiences add a lot to your tool box as a writer. Make a list of new experiences.
Here are just a few you can do:
1. Take a class in something physcial (karate, yoga, kick boxing).
2. Learn a new language.
3. Interview for a job you have no idea how to do.
4. Go to a movie that you think you will hate.
5. If you are a meat eater, go eat at a Vegan Cafe. If you are a Vegan, go to a steak house.
6. If you are a parent, (within reason) live part of a bachelor or bachlorette life for a weekend.
7. Go to a DIY clinic at Home Depot.
8. Garden.
9. Foster a pet.
10. Do a ride along with a policeman/woman.
11. Go to a different church and denomination.
12. Go without electronics for a week. If you are determined, without electricity.
13. Ride your bike to work.
14. Don't buy anything for a month.

I am sure you can think of a few things to do. It might help you create new characters or plots. At the very least it might make you feel better about your way of life. What are your ideas?

Such A Part of Me

Something are so engrained in people that they cannot imagine living without it. Unfortunately in today's day these things usually fall into the category of electronics (phones, tablets, televisions, etc.). As I got older and more worldly, (meaning I moved to college 3 hours from home) I realized that there were other people who had interests outside of mine.

In my head I know this existed. There were people who were vegetarians, loved Star Trek, or hated kids (not necessarily the same person having all these qualities). When I hit college, I had my first friend who was overweight. I guess I usually hung around with athletes and skinny people in high school.

I met people who could not catch or throw things. I don't mean in the sense that someone has bad aim or can't throw a curve ball. I mean I had friends that if you tossed them car keys from five feet away they would respond in a full body flinch.

Why am I talking about all these things? I feel the same way about writing. If I could sit at my computer day in and day out and write. I would. Somehow I am in this world needing money, so in the life I have created for myself in this moment that is not an option. I am fairly confident I could produce characters and plots and ideas to keep me busy writing for years. So, writing is a part of me that is engrained in me that I could not imagine living without. I would if I had to, but even if I was on a deserted island I would find a way to write.

Now, there are a lot of people who say to me. "I can't write." "I am not creative." "I don't know how you do that." To me that is as foreign as my college friends flinching at the toss of a set of keys.

Update on My March Mayhem

My hands were bound in the form of a mitten for 5 weeks. I was kidnapped, well-fed, but not give the normal privileges of life. I was on a Swedish sail boat out in the middle of the ocean. I had amnesia. Okay now all my excuses are out of the way on why I did not write on my blog.

The real reason is not as interesting as this, I think I just got busy and the blog fell to the wayside. I have been reading a lot, working, planning summer vacation spending time with my family, and writing. Also, for the first time in 20 years I was sucked into the March Madness of NCAA basketball. What a tournament it was of upsets. I think I will have to get a FGCU tattoo!

As for reading Two books ago I read JA Konrath's book Newbies Guide to Publishing. It is made up of his blog and he put it into a book. Some of the stuff is outdated, because there is so much change in terms of self-publishing, but overall it is worth a read. JA Konrath's Current Blog is worth reading if you want to make it in the ebook world.

So now I am going to play catch-up to make good on my blogging a dventure. I have stalled a little bit on my 52 Books Around the World quest. It was not that I was not enjoying it. I was enjoying it too much. My wife pointed out to me that now that I was reading so much, I was not writing at all. So I am stuck in Afghanistan and have refocused on writing and blogging and marketing. I will end with an amusing interaction I have with my family.

Me: Kids catch-up!

Kids (in unison) Ketchup? Where there is ketchup there are French fries!
Quote taken from Shaggy and Scooby.