Barbara Neville's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
Atmosphere in your book
The five senses.
It's vitally important to draw the reader in. Otherwise, they won't finish your book. Or read any of your other books.
The scenery, the smell, the sounds, the tastes, the touches. They are all characters in your book. As important as the hot, sexy guy and the sensual woman. Without a sense of place, location and style your reader is floating in the haze. You want to draw them into your world. And, it better be special. Otherwise, why read your book? Do we want to read about our complicated life filled with boring minutia, like taxes, jobs, dental and doctor appointments? Or do we want to be transported to an ideal world, where people are still people, but less encumbered with the mundane bullshit? I for one, like to imagine that life is all goodies, with the occasional harsh moment, but with a hsppy trek anda wonderful conclusion.Call me crazy, but Although I realize that bad shit happens, I want the good shit to win out. And, I like a smartass to humor me along the way. How about you? Leave a comment.
It's vitally important to draw the reader in. Otherwise, they won't finish your book. Or read any of your other books.
The scenery, the smell, the sounds, the tastes, the touches. They are all characters in your book. As important as the hot, sexy guy and the sensual woman. Without a sense of place, location and style your reader is floating in the haze. You want to draw them into your world. And, it better be special. Otherwise, why read your book? Do we want to read about our complicated life filled with boring minutia, like taxes, jobs, dental and doctor appointments? Or do we want to be transported to an ideal world, where people are still people, but less encumbered with the mundane bullshit? I for one, like to imagine that life is all goodies, with the occasional harsh moment, but with a hsppy trek anda wonderful conclusion.Call me crazy, but Although I realize that bad shit happens, I want the good shit to win out. And, I like a smartass to humor me along the way. How about you? Leave a comment.
Dialogue that sings
I like a lot of dialogue in books.When I read the first page of a novel, that is what I look for, snappy dialogue. A born smartass, I look for friends who insult each other with regularity, like Spenser and Hawk (Robert B. Parker/Ace Atkins). Or Stone Barrington and Dino Bacchetti (Stuart Woods). How about Peabody and Emerson (Elizabeth Peters)? Now, there's a dynamic duo. I read those to my kids. And still read the new ones myself. Great works.
There's a difference between the three. Two are written in first person. Amelia Peabody and Spenser show us an engaging world seen through their eyes. Whereas, Stone Barrington, while written from his point of view, is third person. I love all three series, but the first person is me. I like the personal touch that only the "I" can give me. As much as I swallow up every book in the Stone Barrington series, I miss that special first person view.
Another good one is Stephanie Plum and Lula (Janet Evanovich). I love this pair of nutty bounty hunters. Once again, we have Stephanie telling us her story. It's much more personal. Of course, all five (to give Ace Atkins his due, he is the heir to the Spenser novels and doing a bang up job) do a top notch job of all the rest. Which we mustn't forget. Atmosphere, scenery, the five senses. And research, they call it fiction, but a great writer sets their fiction in reality. The tiniest detail can throw a knowledgeable reader off their game. It's an entire world we're creating. I usually get my dialogue first, then go back and fill out the location feel, look, sounds and smells. And, please get your plants right. I was at a winery recently where some out of town tasters were waxing on about the smell of sage in the local wine. Uh oh. Yes we're in a desert here, but not the Great Basin Desert. No sagebrush. The power of suggested misinformation (Desert=Sagebrush) ruled their noses. And, of course, different plant types live at different elevations. Author beware!
There's a difference between the three. Two are written in first person. Amelia Peabody and Spenser show us an engaging world seen through their eyes. Whereas, Stone Barrington, while written from his point of view, is third person. I love all three series, but the first person is me. I like the personal touch that only the "I" can give me. As much as I swallow up every book in the Stone Barrington series, I miss that special first person view.
Another good one is Stephanie Plum and Lula (Janet Evanovich). I love this pair of nutty bounty hunters. Once again, we have Stephanie telling us her story. It's much more personal. Of course, all five (to give Ace Atkins his due, he is the heir to the Spenser novels and doing a bang up job) do a top notch job of all the rest. Which we mustn't forget. Atmosphere, scenery, the five senses. And research, they call it fiction, but a great writer sets their fiction in reality. The tiniest detail can throw a knowledgeable reader off their game. It's an entire world we're creating. I usually get my dialogue first, then go back and fill out the location feel, look, sounds and smells. And, please get your plants right. I was at a winery recently where some out of town tasters were waxing on about the smell of sage in the local wine. Uh oh. Yes we're in a desert here, but not the Great Basin Desert. No sagebrush. The power of suggested misinformation (Desert=Sagebrush) ruled their noses. And, of course, different plant types live at different elevations. Author beware!
Navigating the maze
For the new writer, there is no end of advice. Get lots of reviews. Reviews don't matter. Read a lot. Use Facebook ads. Show, don't tell. Or show , don't tell is bad advice. Write, write write. Listen to the plethora of online seminars.MOst of which don't tell you quite enough, but have a fabulous $10,000 product that they will sell you for $600 bucks. Hey, they may be fabulous and well worth the money, I don't know.
Okay, reviews: I used to read reviews before I went a movie To a rock concert. I missed out on seeing Elvis, because I read a bad review in the newspaper. Then, he died.
I've watched countless movies I loved or hated based on reviews that told me the opposite. Well reviewed books? No surprise, same thing. There are huge selling authors who tell, don't show. Not my thing. I just started listening to a New York Times bestselling author's latest book. It tells and tells and tells, I am a third of the way in. Will someone please speak? I usually like her books, have read most of them. But not my first choice. Could be yours. We are all individuals. I like dialogue, I greatly prefer first person. I like to be shown. One of my favorite movies, which I've watched over and over because good movies are hard to find, is Armageddon, which I like for the witty repartee between the actors. Firefly is the classic. I like action, too, but the snarky dialogue is what grabs me.
Spenser and Hawk (or Z), Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, Stone Barrington and Dino, Stephanie Plum and Lula, Longmire and Vic. I especially love Vic's smart mouth. The buddy thing; Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon movies.
The list isn't long enough, I want more. I like the smartass, the plot is less important. As Ace Atkins said recently (and I paraphrase); if you're reading Spenser for the plot, you're missing the whole point. Sure, that may be the opposite of what you like. Sly Stone said it best, "Different Strokes for Different Folks." I want to be drawn in, be a part of the conversation, be in on the action. Be the protagonist or be in love with him, either way. Be the most badass cowboy in the saloon. But, hey, maybe that's just me.
Okay, reviews: I used to read reviews before I went a movie To a rock concert. I missed out on seeing Elvis, because I read a bad review in the newspaper. Then, he died.
I've watched countless movies I loved or hated based on reviews that told me the opposite. Well reviewed books? No surprise, same thing. There are huge selling authors who tell, don't show. Not my thing. I just started listening to a New York Times bestselling author's latest book. It tells and tells and tells, I am a third of the way in. Will someone please speak? I usually like her books, have read most of them. But not my first choice. Could be yours. We are all individuals. I like dialogue, I greatly prefer first person. I like to be shown. One of my favorite movies, which I've watched over and over because good movies are hard to find, is Armageddon, which I like for the witty repartee between the actors. Firefly is the classic. I like action, too, but the snarky dialogue is what grabs me.
Spenser and Hawk (or Z), Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, Stone Barrington and Dino, Stephanie Plum and Lula, Longmire and Vic. I especially love Vic's smart mouth. The buddy thing; Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon movies.
The list isn't long enough, I want more. I like the smartass, the plot is less important. As Ace Atkins said recently (and I paraphrase); if you're reading Spenser for the plot, you're missing the whole point. Sure, that may be the opposite of what you like. Sly Stone said it best, "Different Strokes for Different Folks." I want to be drawn in, be a part of the conversation, be in on the action. Be the protagonist or be in love with him, either way. Be the most badass cowboy in the saloon. But, hey, maybe that's just me.
Rain in Arizona
It's raining outside, after a hundred plus degree afternoon. It isn't supposed to rain. June is southern Arizona's driest month. San Juan's Day (June 24th) is the average return of the annual monsoon, a hundred miles south of here in Hermosillo, Sonora. Ours usually hits us in the park on the 4th of July. With the hundred degrees morning and early afternoon and the rain, mostly light now, I've gotten a lot done indoors on the keyboard. I've updated the new book. Cowboy Dictionary is the name. It's in preorder on Amazon. It is a compilation of the cowboy vernacular terms my characters use and plus Hawaiian pidgin, and some Spanish. Plus character descriptions. It's set up to accompany the series as word has it that some found it entertaining in and of itself. A short book, very short at ten or eleven pages. And I added another three thousand pages to book ten. The rain is reminding me to add atmosphere. Which is what I started doing this morning, then I got sidetracked by plot. Such is life. I follow the muse more than the outline. Don't really have an outline yet at 24,500 word in. And, I recommend you follow your muse. It's fun. And don't forget to read, it opens new worlds
NaNoWriMo
National Novel Writing Month is approaching. Twenty-nine days from now a number of writers, scribblers, finger painters, pencil and pen addicts and, more likely, keyboard users will join the race to write 50,000 words (Yep!) in the 30 days of November. Turkey day, black Friday, Cyber Monday and all.
Me, too. I did it last year, something in the neighborhood of 66k in 20 odd days. I was on a roll. Will it happen again? Only time will tell.
Everyone who hits 50k wins. The contest is against yourself. My favorite kind. I can be a tough opponent. Another beer, more chocolate, feed the livestock, eat meals. I'm heartless about these silly distractions. I mean, it's not like if I don't feed the livestock they'll die. Oh, wait...actually they're on pasture, so they won't die, but they'll miss me. Anyhow, I was indeed on a major roll.
NaNoWriMo is worth a look in any case. True 1,667 words a day is a lot. I'm pretty prolific, but weak under pressure.
I recommend trying though, there is no shame in losing. And, you might surprise yourself. Be sure (this is my hard and fast rule in any case) to write something you love. True, there's always agony. We lose our way. We notice that there is no plot. Our characters are blank chalk outlines with no personality. We left out any action at all.
Be sure that your guys breathe, at the very least. I could go on forever.
Breathing first, your story should breathe, it should sing, the character's lives should flow. If you hit your stride, they will flow, maybe not in the direction you are trying to push them. Aha. Maybe the hero is actually an evil slut. That's okay, she can be a closet bad guy. Or the villain.
My best writing days are the ones where I'm typing away and I lose track of the passage of time. I get to at point where, I've written the scene, chapter, part and I look up, at the room around me and I don't know if it's morning or afternoon. I wonder if I ate lunch.Or was the last meal dinner? I actually don't know. I've been in my fictional world, totally.
I've had no angst about where my characters are going, no anxiety about whether they should be going there, because, they are running the show. They do it much better than I do. Sure, I'll go back and edit and revise, upgrade my sparse sentences with atmosphere, action, whatever I left out in the rush to type.
But, the essence of these days is the essence of my guys (I am including girls, my protagonist is a kiss ass woman). It's my people and their unique world.
During NaNoWriMo you can let yourself go, vomit those stories out onto your screen, into your Scrivener screen, or whatever software you use. I love Scrivener, just saying.
On NaNoWriMo, I like the freedom to win or lose, it doesn't matter, you don't even have to put your manuscript into NaNoWriMo. Although no one reads it, unless you want them to, they only count the words you upload.
But, NaNoWriMo provides impetus, and, even if you don't communicate with anyone there, you still feel and can see how many people in all different nations of the world come together (virtually) for this one month and write. There are workshops and local meetings. Last year in my area, a small town nearby, we had a group of nine or so members, I didn't meet or communicate with any of them or even know who they were, being pretty much a hermit. I I may actually know them and not realize it.
Anyway, we had our own chart of how much each of us wrote each day, if we wanted to post it. We were ranked against other groups big and small all over the planet! How awesome is that?
Anyhow, check it out if you like: NaNoWriMo.com
And, cheers, mates, maybe we'll see your numbers there next month!
Me, too. I did it last year, something in the neighborhood of 66k in 20 odd days. I was on a roll. Will it happen again? Only time will tell.
Everyone who hits 50k wins. The contest is against yourself. My favorite kind. I can be a tough opponent. Another beer, more chocolate, feed the livestock, eat meals. I'm heartless about these silly distractions. I mean, it's not like if I don't feed the livestock they'll die. Oh, wait...actually they're on pasture, so they won't die, but they'll miss me. Anyhow, I was indeed on a major roll.
NaNoWriMo is worth a look in any case. True 1,667 words a day is a lot. I'm pretty prolific, but weak under pressure.
I recommend trying though, there is no shame in losing. And, you might surprise yourself. Be sure (this is my hard and fast rule in any case) to write something you love. True, there's always agony. We lose our way. We notice that there is no plot. Our characters are blank chalk outlines with no personality. We left out any action at all.
Be sure that your guys breathe, at the very least. I could go on forever.
Breathing first, your story should breathe, it should sing, the character's lives should flow. If you hit your stride, they will flow, maybe not in the direction you are trying to push them. Aha. Maybe the hero is actually an evil slut. That's okay, she can be a closet bad guy. Or the villain.
My best writing days are the ones where I'm typing away and I lose track of the passage of time. I get to at point where, I've written the scene, chapter, part and I look up, at the room around me and I don't know if it's morning or afternoon. I wonder if I ate lunch.Or was the last meal dinner? I actually don't know. I've been in my fictional world, totally.
I've had no angst about where my characters are going, no anxiety about whether they should be going there, because, they are running the show. They do it much better than I do. Sure, I'll go back and edit and revise, upgrade my sparse sentences with atmosphere, action, whatever I left out in the rush to type.
But, the essence of these days is the essence of my guys (I am including girls, my protagonist is a kiss ass woman). It's my people and their unique world.
During NaNoWriMo you can let yourself go, vomit those stories out onto your screen, into your Scrivener screen, or whatever software you use. I love Scrivener, just saying.
On NaNoWriMo, I like the freedom to win or lose, it doesn't matter, you don't even have to put your manuscript into NaNoWriMo. Although no one reads it, unless you want them to, they only count the words you upload.
But, NaNoWriMo provides impetus, and, even if you don't communicate with anyone there, you still feel and can see how many people in all different nations of the world come together (virtually) for this one month and write. There are workshops and local meetings. Last year in my area, a small town nearby, we had a group of nine or so members, I didn't meet or communicate with any of them or even know who they were, being pretty much a hermit. I I may actually know them and not realize it.
Anyway, we had our own chart of how much each of us wrote each day, if we wanted to post it. We were ranked against other groups big and small all over the planet! How awesome is that?
Anyhow, check it out if you like: NaNoWriMo.com
And, cheers, mates, maybe we'll see your numbers there next month!
The shotgun method
I'm not a linear writer. I'm a pantser. As in seat of the pants. No outline. I have a scrap of dialogue, maybe one line or two. A state of weather, like a gunmetal sky. A character personality exposition, maybe four or five lines. I make each of these a chapter. I fully expect to shake and stir. The timeline is nebulous, it ebbs and flows as the work goes on.
The characters run my plots. As I write their dialogue and actions, they constantly surprise me.
Instead of saying, wait I wanted you to end up at 'x'. I say, 'Fuck it." and let them lead me to 'y'.
I start with no perceivable idea of plot, other than the thin thread of genre, and even that isn't set in stone. My characters play in two genres now. Western Sci fi and historical western fiction. The two series are separate if you don't think that the mix of western and science fiction is a possibility, but they flow together if you do. I mean, aren't cowboys smart enough to pilot a spaceship? Or perceive of the future?
Okay, I'm off on a tangent. But, my books get out there too.
I have a preorder (Hell to Pay) on Amazon that goes live Feb 9th. Hopefully. The plot is unfinished, unmiddled, too. But it is evolving. Ideally, I need another 16,000 words, too. Or it can be shorter, if the ending works out okay. Preferably better than okay. This novel is my NaNoWriMo work from November, but, the 50,000 plus words I wrote, crossed genres about 50/50, so I decided to split them into two books. My historical western fiction, which I thought would be covered in a chapter, took up almost half of the 50,000+ words. So, two books, one 80% done and due Feb, 5 for the Feb 9 launch. The other about half done. Wish me luck.
The characters run my plots. As I write their dialogue and actions, they constantly surprise me.
Instead of saying, wait I wanted you to end up at 'x'. I say, 'Fuck it." and let them lead me to 'y'.
I start with no perceivable idea of plot, other than the thin thread of genre, and even that isn't set in stone. My characters play in two genres now. Western Sci fi and historical western fiction. The two series are separate if you don't think that the mix of western and science fiction is a possibility, but they flow together if you do. I mean, aren't cowboys smart enough to pilot a spaceship? Or perceive of the future?
Okay, I'm off on a tangent. But, my books get out there too.
I have a preorder (Hell to Pay) on Amazon that goes live Feb 9th. Hopefully. The plot is unfinished, unmiddled, too. But it is evolving. Ideally, I need another 16,000 words, too. Or it can be shorter, if the ending works out okay. Preferably better than okay. This novel is my NaNoWriMo work from November, but, the 50,000 plus words I wrote, crossed genres about 50/50, so I decided to split them into two books. My historical western fiction, which I thought would be covered in a chapter, took up almost half of the 50,000+ words. So, two books, one 80% done and due Feb, 5 for the Feb 9 launch. The other about half done. Wish me luck.
The Muddy Middle
I've been hearing alot about half finished books, abandoned, withering away on a shelf. Or, in a hard drive.
MIddles are hard. They are where we lose faith. The manuscript, virtual or not, is getting long enough that it's hard to hold all it's elements in your mind. While, at the same time, creating the rest of the flow.
For me, I get characters introduced early. Plot moulders. Setting, the details: sights, sounds, feelings. Touch, and that other sense. They are waiting in the wings. But, I lose heart. Will they come onstage? Or will they die of stage fright? Will I throw in a sentence that gives the whole plot away? Or should I be doing just that?
My writer's strength came early. Just about three books in I realized that I could do it. Not sure how, but I could. Not I myself, but the inner me, my subconscious mind. Which works while I sleep, while I drive, while I watch TV and read books. It only works when I'm otherwise occupied You see, it's my subconscious mind that writes books. My conscious mind has to step aside and let it run with the flag. My inner writer works almost any time I'm away from the keyboard. I have to make notes in One Note, on scraps of paper, old envelopes. Anything that comes to hand. And I have to be sure I say enough that I know where the thought was going. I wrote a pretty large catalog of dead end note before I realized that.
But all that aside the middle is the time to have faith. Like the little engine that could. I know I can. I know It might be unbelievably slow, but I know I can. I may have to struggle in fits and starts through 30,000 words, But, I can. I just have to relax and never stare at a blank screen. Read a book, take a walk, pet the dog. Have faith in yourself. Write 200 words a day, it;'s okay.
And suddenly, one day 55,000 or so words in, I'm working away, started at 5 am. I'm thinking it must be about 9 am. I check the clock and realize that I missed lunch! I And, he gets a break, too. Most of the Injins and all of the pursuing soldiers seem to be headed north.
He grabs his horse. Steadying him and securing the binoculars in their case, he jumps aboard as the horse catches the scent of general panic and bolts, almost getting away from him.
He grabs the horn, pulls himself up into the center of the saddle and they run.
He’s hoping to work his way around out of sight. So he can head south, and catch up to them before Angus is killed.
He has to work his way around slowly, if he comes upon any people, so no one thinks he’s a part of the fray.
When he finally he gets south of the prison, he lucks into their tracks, then loses them. He works his way back and forth searching for the sign. Why do all hoofprints look alike?
As dark approaches, he comes upon the shod hoof prints of the hangman’s horse among all the barefoot Injin ponies. The one Angus was tied to.
But, as the darkness deepens into night, he loses them again. All he can do is soldier on. I was sucked totally, unconsciously into writer's bliss. The muse has returned!
Keep the faith. I know you can, too.
MIddles are hard. They are where we lose faith. The manuscript, virtual or not, is getting long enough that it's hard to hold all it's elements in your mind. While, at the same time, creating the rest of the flow.
For me, I get characters introduced early. Plot moulders. Setting, the details: sights, sounds, feelings. Touch, and that other sense. They are waiting in the wings. But, I lose heart. Will they come onstage? Or will they die of stage fright? Will I throw in a sentence that gives the whole plot away? Or should I be doing just that?
My writer's strength came early. Just about three books in I realized that I could do it. Not sure how, but I could. Not I myself, but the inner me, my subconscious mind. Which works while I sleep, while I drive, while I watch TV and read books. It only works when I'm otherwise occupied You see, it's my subconscious mind that writes books. My conscious mind has to step aside and let it run with the flag. My inner writer works almost any time I'm away from the keyboard. I have to make notes in One Note, on scraps of paper, old envelopes. Anything that comes to hand. And I have to be sure I say enough that I know where the thought was going. I wrote a pretty large catalog of dead end note before I realized that.
But all that aside the middle is the time to have faith. Like the little engine that could. I know I can. I know It might be unbelievably slow, but I know I can. I may have to struggle in fits and starts through 30,000 words, But, I can. I just have to relax and never stare at a blank screen. Read a book, take a walk, pet the dog. Have faith in yourself. Write 200 words a day, it;'s okay.
And suddenly, one day 55,000 or so words in, I'm working away, started at 5 am. I'm thinking it must be about 9 am. I check the clock and realize that I missed lunch! I And, he gets a break, too. Most of the Injins and all of the pursuing soldiers seem to be headed north.
He grabs his horse. Steadying him and securing the binoculars in their case, he jumps aboard as the horse catches the scent of general panic and bolts, almost getting away from him.
He grabs the horn, pulls himself up into the center of the saddle and they run.
He’s hoping to work his way around out of sight. So he can head south, and catch up to them before Angus is killed.
He has to work his way around slowly, if he comes upon any people, so no one thinks he’s a part of the fray.
When he finally he gets south of the prison, he lucks into their tracks, then loses them. He works his way back and forth searching for the sign. Why do all hoofprints look alike?
As dark approaches, he comes upon the shod hoof prints of the hangman’s horse among all the barefoot Injin ponies. The one Angus was tied to.
But, as the darkness deepens into night, he loses them again. All he can do is soldier on. I was sucked totally, unconsciously into writer's bliss. The muse has returned!
Keep the faith. I know you can, too.
There's more than one way to skin a cat
I read a lot of writing advice. Have been reading it for years. My opinion is take it all with a grain of salt. The latest round of up-to-the-minute writers fashion seems to be dialogue tags and character action.
They say to never use anything but said (or says, in present tense). Not even ask/asked. Because, you can say a question, too. True, Robert B. Parker would say a question, even leaving off the question mark. By his own admission, he wrote fast and scrappy; leaving the editing to his publisher's editing crew. So, intentional? (Pardon the question mark).
Another writer, Paul Loh, published a list of said/says alternatives on FB recently. There are tons. He uses them. Someone commented that he shouldn't. It's out of fashion, apparently.
There it is: dogma. If we all follow all the 'rules' because the fictional reader, who we all love to stereotype, hasn't the brains to read: 'she grumbled, chanted, implied or abjured' without being drawn out of the book. Only use any unusual tags twice in your book. Like fuck. Only use it twice. Well, fuck that.
Just how stupid is 'fictional reader'? To hell with that. Challenge my reading ass. Stretch my brain muscle.
I usually do use say/said. It's easy, but there is ambiguous language, sometimes, I'm not sure if the speaker is serious or ironic. Tags help. The other thing is after tags. As in: "Wait," she said, reaching for a cookie. "Let's think this over.
In addition to only 'said/says' as a dialogue tag, now we can't have our characters do anything while talking. Our characters have to give up cookies!
My examples here are Craig Johnson (of Longmire fame) and, once again Robert B Parker and the heir to Parker's Spenser series, Ace Atkins. Their character's fix meals in dialogue tags. Okay, exaggeration, but the movements they perform, often explained in some detail; set the scene. These are not random. They display each character's social standing, self worth, political beliefs, whatever. Their soul.
They, and smartass dialogue, are the key to the books. The guts that suck us in and keep us coming back for more. The mystery is an aside. A book without character is a book with no readers. My last bit of advice? Be a rebel. Ignore my advice. Do your own thing. Fuck 'em all.
They say to never use anything but said (or says, in present tense). Not even ask/asked. Because, you can say a question, too. True, Robert B. Parker would say a question, even leaving off the question mark. By his own admission, he wrote fast and scrappy; leaving the editing to his publisher's editing crew. So, intentional? (Pardon the question mark).
Another writer, Paul Loh, published a list of said/says alternatives on FB recently. There are tons. He uses them. Someone commented that he shouldn't. It's out of fashion, apparently.
There it is: dogma. If we all follow all the 'rules' because the fictional reader, who we all love to stereotype, hasn't the brains to read: 'she grumbled, chanted, implied or abjured' without being drawn out of the book. Only use any unusual tags twice in your book. Like fuck. Only use it twice. Well, fuck that.
Just how stupid is 'fictional reader'? To hell with that. Challenge my reading ass. Stretch my brain muscle.
I usually do use say/said. It's easy, but there is ambiguous language, sometimes, I'm not sure if the speaker is serious or ironic. Tags help. The other thing is after tags. As in: "Wait," she said, reaching for a cookie. "Let's think this over.
In addition to only 'said/says' as a dialogue tag, now we can't have our characters do anything while talking. Our characters have to give up cookies!
My examples here are Craig Johnson (of Longmire fame) and, once again Robert B Parker and the heir to Parker's Spenser series, Ace Atkins. Their character's fix meals in dialogue tags. Okay, exaggeration, but the movements they perform, often explained in some detail; set the scene. These are not random. They display each character's social standing, self worth, political beliefs, whatever. Their soul.
They, and smartass dialogue, are the key to the books. The guts that suck us in and keep us coming back for more. The mystery is an aside. A book without character is a book with no readers. My last bit of advice? Be a rebel. Ignore my advice. Do your own thing. Fuck 'em all.
You, me or them?
I write in first person, because that's what I prefer to read. But some of my other characters cry out to be heard. Sure they can speak in dialogue. But some, like Ma'cho, seldom speak. We only see him through the protagonist's (Cha'a) eyes. And, while Ma'cho seldom speaks, he thinks in broad strokes. In Hell to Pay he added a new point of view (POV) to the book. I especially liked where he described Cha'a. He has a much deeper passion, a passion that Cha'a herself doesn't realize exists. And, he sees her very differently than she sees herself.
My favorite POV, though, is the antagonists. I use tiny slices. Simple peeks into their progress throughout a book, to add suspense. And to make them more three dimensional, usually through thought, because, in the last couple of books the bad guys (if that's what they are, my good guys aren't white knights either) work alone. And most of the time are out in the wilderness tracking my horseback Apache main characters. There's literally no one to talk to but themselves.
I don't know where I first ran into this technique, but I have seen it in James Patterson's work or co-writings. And done very well.
And, of course, this gives one the ability to include scenes where the main character isn't present. This can add dimension to the plot. And provide important back story or side story without having to create a way for the protagonist to be in two places at once. In my latest book, working title "Badass Sons a Bitches", the antagonist has a lot of chapters, which take some intent screwing (cutting and pasting) around with to keep things timely. So that we aren't jumping back and forth in time (pun intended). Just to make for an easier flow in our minds.
I like the feel of that, since the book is present tense, it seems to me to be a good way to build the tension as I read. Plus, the antagonist's motives can be revealed along the way. After all, antagonists need love, too. A driven, seething protagonist can make a good story great.
Also, with every character, I have backstory ongoing; because everyone has history which affects their present actions. It's where three-dimensional characters are born.
Anyhow, give it a try. Have Ben take a walk. And Sally talk behind his back to Shirley while he's gone. Or whatever. Go fucking crazy!
My favorite POV, though, is the antagonists. I use tiny slices. Simple peeks into their progress throughout a book, to add suspense. And to make them more three dimensional, usually through thought, because, in the last couple of books the bad guys (if that's what they are, my good guys aren't white knights either) work alone. And most of the time are out in the wilderness tracking my horseback Apache main characters. There's literally no one to talk to but themselves.
I don't know where I first ran into this technique, but I have seen it in James Patterson's work or co-writings. And done very well.
And, of course, this gives one the ability to include scenes where the main character isn't present. This can add dimension to the plot. And provide important back story or side story without having to create a way for the protagonist to be in two places at once. In my latest book, working title "Badass Sons a Bitches", the antagonist has a lot of chapters, which take some intent screwing (cutting and pasting) around with to keep things timely. So that we aren't jumping back and forth in time (pun intended). Just to make for an easier flow in our minds.
I like the feel of that, since the book is present tense, it seems to me to be a good way to build the tension as I read. Plus, the antagonist's motives can be revealed along the way. After all, antagonists need love, too. A driven, seething protagonist can make a good story great.
Also, with every character, I have backstory ongoing; because everyone has history which affects their present actions. It's where three-dimensional characters are born.
Anyhow, give it a try. Have Ben take a walk. And Sally talk behind his back to Shirley while he's gone. Or whatever. Go fucking crazy!
Outlaws & Lawdogs
Who is your favorite character? I especially like Vic in Craig Johnson's Longmire series. I like Walt too. And Henry.
And Craig himself is, not surprisingly, very entertaining. I just saw him speak, along with A. Martinez another well spoken man (he plays Jacob Nighthorse in the Longmire series on Netflix) at the Tucson Festival of Books.
I aspire to write as well as Craig, give me another few decades...
When asked how many more books would there be in the Longmire series; Craig said something that rang true for me. He might just go at his desk, like Robert Parker. Type "The end" then keel over.
He loves the world he's written and it shows in the books. I have the same problem, I wrote two spinoff books which stand alone and are western historical fiction, but they tied into the first series and sure enough, the next book in the first series ties the spinoff duo right back into the action. Hey, I tried my damndest (or darndest if you don't like cussing) to escape. But it's love. I love my characters. Especially the bad guys. Now, in my books it can, at times, be hard to tell who is who (whom?). My good guys skate along the ragged edge because they disagree with the powers that be. They are outlaws and lawmen, both.
Someone suggested I should share bit about myself:
Besides writing I raise goats, chickens, guineas, and peacocks, along with Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dogs. They keep the predators away from my fowl and livestock. I have a couple of horses, too. And one female pup left. She is for sale.
I live next to the border wall. Everyone knows which border has the wall, don't we? Yikes.
Okay, enough about me. Who in my books is your favorite? Honestly, my favorite is whichever of the guys I am writing about at the moment. It's hard to look beyond that. In one book, I was only gonna have Spud and Wolf. Them other guys? They snuck in when I wasn't lookin'. I swear. I'm gonna try again in the next book. But, damned if I can decide which one or two to let ride. I started with the big guy, then thought maybe the twins... or Buzz and Wolf, or Buzz and Spud? And that damn Hammer is always wanting to say something smartass to Annie. Ay yi yi, fellas. Give a gal a break.
Also, look at the great photo I took for my latest book cover, Against the Wind is available to preorder now.
Happy trails.
And Craig himself is, not surprisingly, very entertaining. I just saw him speak, along with A. Martinez another well spoken man (he plays Jacob Nighthorse in the Longmire series on Netflix) at the Tucson Festival of Books.
I aspire to write as well as Craig, give me another few decades...
When asked how many more books would there be in the Longmire series; Craig said something that rang true for me. He might just go at his desk, like Robert Parker. Type "The end" then keel over.
He loves the world he's written and it shows in the books. I have the same problem, I wrote two spinoff books which stand alone and are western historical fiction, but they tied into the first series and sure enough, the next book in the first series ties the spinoff duo right back into the action. Hey, I tried my damndest (or darndest if you don't like cussing) to escape. But it's love. I love my characters. Especially the bad guys. Now, in my books it can, at times, be hard to tell who is who (whom?). My good guys skate along the ragged edge because they disagree with the powers that be. They are outlaws and lawmen, both.
Someone suggested I should share bit about myself:
Besides writing I raise goats, chickens, guineas, and peacocks, along with Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dogs. They keep the predators away from my fowl and livestock. I have a couple of horses, too. And one female pup left. She is for sale.
I live next to the border wall. Everyone knows which border has the wall, don't we? Yikes.
Okay, enough about me. Who in my books is your favorite? Honestly, my favorite is whichever of the guys I am writing about at the moment. It's hard to look beyond that. In one book, I was only gonna have Spud and Wolf. Them other guys? They snuck in when I wasn't lookin'. I swear. I'm gonna try again in the next book. But, damned if I can decide which one or two to let ride. I started with the big guy, then thought maybe the twins... or Buzz and Wolf, or Buzz and Spud? And that damn Hammer is always wanting to say something smartass to Annie. Ay yi yi, fellas. Give a gal a break.
Also, look at the great photo I took for my latest book cover, Against the Wind is available to preorder now.
Happy trails.
