“Victorian”: A Ghostly Story Packed Full of Secrets
Posted: September 2, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult | Tags: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Ghosts, Jordan Elizabeth, Review, Secrets, Victorian, Young Adult 1 Comment
Victorian, by Jordan Elizabeth, is a truly unique YA story featuring not one, but two young girls, Celeste and Weronica, who each have a dark secret hidden in the past that keeps them closed off to others. When they both get jobs at a historical fair in a strange old village which harbors secrets of its own, things turn interesting, as each one learns to trust again with the help of the fair’s colorful cast of characters and the ghosts of the past.
Elizabeth’s characters are realistic and believable. Weronica acts as if she’s self assured, but worries more about what others think of her than she lets on. She shares only enough to keep curiosity at bay, keeping her ghosts close and the secrets they hold even closer. Celeste really just wants to belong, but fear that her secret will be revealed causes her to hold others at bay. Her ghosts are really those of the historic village, but they hold the key to unlocking her secrets, as well as unraveling the mysterious past of the village.
This well-crafted story builds just the right amount of suspense to keep the pages turning, as it alternates between the two co-protagonist’s points of view. The story line is easy to follow, the village setting becoming a character in and of itself. Victorian is well worth the read.
I give Victorian four quills. 
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“A Shot in the Dark” is a Wild Ride
Posted: August 26, 2016 Filed under: Action/Adventure, Book Review, Books, Fantasy | Tags: A Shot in the Dark, Action, Book Review, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Jesse James Dawson, K. A. Stewart, Review 1 Comment
It’s not every day we have a demon hunter for a friend. Not unless you are a friend of Jesse James Dawson, that is. In A Shot in the Dark, by K. A. Stewart, an annual weekend camping trip turns into a fight for survival for Jesse and his friends. Jesse must wager everything, including his soul as he faces off with an old adversary, full of new and improved deadly surprises in the remote Colorado mountain retreat.
A Shot in the Dark is an action filled story dealing in matters, not only of life and death, but of heaven and hell. In dealing with questions of good and evil, the answers aren’t always black and white, but often lie somewhere in the gray. Now the only question is, will Jesse’s friends still be his friends if they live through this supernatural wilderness adventure.
Stewart’s likable characters and unusual villains make settling in for this demon hunting tale quite enjoyable. Antagonist Jesse James Dawson and his friends pull out all the stops, combining traditional weaponry, magic and religion to battle the minions of the underworld, but can he bring all his friends home safely?
As the second book in Stewart’s Jesse James Dawson series, I give A Shot in the Dark three quills.
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Weekly Writing Memo: Overcoming the Blank Page
Posted: August 17, 2016 Filed under: Books, Fiction, Publishing, Stories, Uncategorized, Weekly Writing Memo, Writing | Tags: Creative Fiction, creative process, Fiction, Screenwriting, Writing, writing advice, Writing Process 1 Comment
Sometimes when it comes to writing, the hardest thing to overcome is the simplest. One such example of this is to overcome the intimidation of a blank page and to simply get started. Those first moments when you sit down in front of the page and tell yourself you’re going to write can be huge, and overwhelming. All sorts of thoughts can pass through your head that make putting the first words down on the page near impossible. Am I good enough? Do I have anything to say? How do I do this? Will anyone want to read it? Etc. These kinds of thoughts can stop your writing in its tracks before you even begin. Knowing how to overcome the blank page can be vital, and while there isn’t a method that works for everyone, there are several things that I find work well.
Free Write First
One of the easiest ways I find to get into writing is to simply allow myself to free write for a while. Even if I have a specific story idea in mind, I will sometimes think of my character or my setting and just write whatever comes to mind. It doesn’t always flow in a pretty way, or even make sense, but it does allow me to explore the characters or setting without restrictions and it gets me writing. Once I start putting words on the page, focusing them becomes easier. I also find that just getting started on the act of writing makes some of the tension around writing dissipate. So however you do it, get started by freewriting and getting words on the page. Even if you have to start by writing about your day or something, see where the freewriting takes you. Once you no longer have a blank page, it’s easier to focus on creating something cohesive that you can turn into a story.
Copy Someone Else
This is a method that has been around for a while, and was even used in the movie Finding Forrester. When you are just getting started writing and struggling, try grabbing a random book and copying down the first paragraph of it. As you are writing, let your mind wander, and when you’re comfortable, stop copying and start making it your own. Sometimes using someone else’s work to get you started writing can help you transition into your own work. Just remember to go back once you finish and to change the beginning so it is no longer copying the original author’s work. The key to this is that it gets words on the page, and in making what you write your own.
Make A Rough Outline
When I have a specific story idea in mind, but am struggling to get started, I find that writing down 3-5 bullet points of where I want the immediate section of story I’m working on to go helps. Usually I will do this when I start each chapter. I grab a piece of paper and jot down the 3-5 key moments of the chapter that form the arc of it, then when I write I have “goals” to write toward. It’s just enough outlining to keep the story focused while I’m writing, but not so much that people who hate outlining will feel like they’ve over planned anything.
It works for me because I prefer abbreviated outlines, and it allows me to discover how the characters get from one big moment to the next as I write. So take a few moments to create a small arc for what you want to write, and then let yourself write to those points. It’ll help you visualize what you’re planning to write, and it’ll give you points in the story to write toward. Just try not to make your bullet points too broad, or you can end up feeling lost as to where to start again.
Try a Different Medium
One of the last things I try when I’m struggling to write is to switch mediums. Sometimes I find that I just can’t write a certain story at the computer, and instead I end up writing with a notepad and pen. It seems silly, but just switching mediums like that can actually help get you started. Sometimes I think the notepad works better than the computer when I’m struggling because the notepad feels less permanent and professional. I’m just jotting down ideas! Not writing for real! Which isn’t true at all, but it feels that way. So allow yourself to try a different medium and see if it changes anything. At the very least, switching to something like a notepad where you can do things by hand can allow you to doodle and jot ideas to brainstorm while you are working on getting to the real writing. Which can be just as productive.
Final Notes:
The final thing to remember if you are stuck on the white page is that you don’t have to start by writing right away. If writing simply isn’t working, trying outlining or researching or brainstorming for your story. If you do those things, you’ll still be working on your story in some way, and maybe it’ll help you feel more confident so you can get started. Just remember, at some point you have to stop doing these things and get to the writing, so don’t procrastinate too long!
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“Keepers of the Forest” Plot Draws Readers In
Posted: August 5, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Uncategorized | Tags: Book Review, Books, Creative Fiction, Fiction, James McNally, Keepers of the Forest 3 Comments
Keepers of the Forest, by James McNally has a good plot and interesting characters. When Chris is chosen by Crispus Attuck Brown to be the Chosen One, a summer spent with Scott and Chris’ aunt and uncle takes an unexpected turn, and Chris’ swim instructor, Brian is the only who realizes something is amiss. Brian must find a way to save the two brothers and foil Brown’s evil plot to destroy the world.
Brian is a young man who is afraid of commitment and perhaps drinks a little too much. He befriends a young boy, Chris, who is a sweet kid that falls into unfortunate circumstance and becomes the victim of an evil plot. Other players on the good guy’s team are Chris’s older brother, Scott, an angry teen who works through his own issues and story arc, and Brian’s bartender friend, Nancy who has her stuff together and acts as support for Brian as he works through his personal issues and becomes the hero. One of the most colorful characters unfortunately, has only a supporting role and isn’t really involved in any of the action. Nancy’s aunt, Leah, the balding swim instructor with cancer is a strong character, and I would have liked to see more of her.
The villain, Crispus Attuck Brown is an interesting chap, who believes he can bring about the second coming of the Dryad, and he’s gathering the Keepers of the Forest to that end. I think if we’d seen more of how bad he is sooner, it would’ve helped us to fear him more. At his side is an ex-hooker named Sherry, who is a misguided pawn in Brown’s game until she removes the blinders and realizes what is really going on around her. The big guy, Mason, is the muscle for the operation. He is feared because of his size, but is shown to have a soft heart. The crew is rounded out by two gay ex-cons, Ted and Vincent, who are cold blooded killers, who kill because they like it and almost seem more to be feared than Brown.
I had a couple of problems with Keepers of the Forest. First, McNally does a bit of head hopping, which makes it confusing to the reader as to whose P.O.V. we are in at times. And second, the characters all have such clear insight into their own motivations that they can self-analyze and express exactly what they are feeling and their motivations verbally. There isn’t a lot of subtext, and real people just don’t do that.
***************************SPOILER ALERT********************************
The other thing that just didn’t sit quite right with me, was the fact that the good guys save the day, but they are lead to the solution by Sherry, after she comes to the realization that her beliefs in Brown are faulty. Brian becomes a passive protagonist, in a way, because although he has a part in saving the boys, the rescue is led by a member of the opposing side, turned defector and he just does what he is told. For me, all the characters have the potential to be really great characters, but most of them fall short of what they could be.
I give Keepers of the Forest three quills. 
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Know Your Writing Process
Posted: August 1, 2016 Filed under: Books, Writing | Tags: Delilah, Fiction, Playground for the Gods, Writing, Writing Process Leave a comment
There is no one writing process that’s right. Writers all use different methods to get to the same point – a finished manuscript of a publishable quality. Some writers binge write. I had a professor who writes this way. She locks herself in a room and puts out a do not disturb sign, then writes until she’s given birth to the story. She claims she doesn’t stop to eat, sleep or shower, and when she comes out of the room, she may seem a little crazy, but with full manuscript in hand.
In one of my Facebook groups, members invite one another to join in writing sprints, where they start writing and keep going non-stop for a designated amount of time. The duration that I have seen is mostly about twenty minutes, but this varies depending on which member extends the invitation. This is kind of a nifty way to write, using the encouragement of others to keep you on track writing, but it’s not for me. I work on multiple projects concurrently and I can’t wait for a group sprint, or limit myself by one. As a graduate student, I had a professor who liked to give us timed free-writes, which was okay except that if I wasn’t finished when the time ran out, I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to finish expressing my complete thought or idea. Once I’m on a roll, I want to keep going. I can sprint when I have to, but I think I’m more of a long distance writer.
In another of my Facebook groups, I saw a post where a writer outlined his very structured writing process. In his outline, he showed how he wrote chapters one through five and then sent them off to his alpha readers, then rewrote those chapters using their feedback before proceeding forward. My comment to him was that even though I liked his structured approach, I just can’t write that way.
Once I start writing, I listen to my characters, and keep writing until the story is told. I’m not as emphatic as my professor, I do take life breaks, but even then, the story is swimming around in my head while I tend to other tasks which life deems necessary. That’s what I mean when I say I’m a long distance writer. Once the idea takes hold, I jump in and just keep going until I’ve expended all of my creative energy. And I write fast. I once wrote the first draft for a thirty thousand word romance story in nine days. It wasn’t perfect. It was a first draft. But the story was all there, waiting for revisions.
But there are drawbacks to this method. Only when the first draft is complete, do I send it off to alpha readers. After receiving their feedback I revise the story, sometimes in its entirety. With Delilah, once I got the initial feedback from my alpha readers, I utilized said feedback to do revisions.
On the next read-through I decided that there just wasn’t enough at stake to make readers care whether Delilah would be successful in her quest. So, I went back and wrote in a teen girl, Sarah, and placed her in Delilah’s care at the beginning of the story. Then I rewrote the scenes that came after that, because everything changed once Sarah was in the picture, and we’re talking major revisions. But they added to Delilah’s quest for revenge, a quest to save Sarah, which raised the stakes, hopefully causing readers to want Delilah to succeed.
I’m also one of those writers who, despite all the warnings from my professors about editing as you write, does it anyway. I correct my typos and misspellings as I go, so after the first few chapters, where the story is set in motion, most of the revisions necessary were mostly minor tweaks, but they were required throughout the story. It necessitated going over it with my editor’s eye and reading it aloud.
Once the second draft was complete, I did a read-through before sending it off for feedback once more. About half-way through, I came to a part where the story was dragging for me. Now when your own writing drags for you, that’s not a good thing. Something needed to happen to keep my readers, (and myself), awake and interested. So, I rewrote the scene and had Delilah run into one of the outlaws she is seeking, resulting in a shoot-out that kills off a character that had previously had a big role later in the story. It solved the boredom problem for that scene, but required a rewrite of the rest of the story, because things could no longer go down that way I had originally written it.
You can see the drawback to my writing process. Waiting until the first draft is finished can entail some major rewrites. Sending it off for feedback a small chunk at a time, and then revising bit by bit seems like it might be a better process to practice, but I can’t get my mind to shut down once the story starts flowing. It’s all got to come out. That’s just how I do it.
Delilah is an example of my normal writing process. I took that first excerpt and wrote. I’m not a plotter. I get an idea in my head and let the words fly to the page. But in my M.F.A. program, they tried to turn me into a plotter. For my thesis novel, Playground for the Gods: The Great Primordial Battle, I was required to make an outline before I started writing. In truth, I needed to take that approach with my thesis, because my original science fantasy idea is broad enough to encompass four novels, and in fact, my thesis turned into the first novel with plans for three other novels to follow. My original idea will become the third novel in the series. I needed two books worth of backstory to tell my tale. But that much information, that much plot, that much story needs to be outlined. You can’t just blunder along blindly writing whatever comes into your head, because what you write at this point must fit in, not only with this story, but with the other three in the series. There are a lot of writers, and many of my M.F.A. cohorts, who prefer to outline and plot before writing.
With my thesis novel, I did send chunks off for feedback instead of waiting for the whole story. There was just too much story to fill in and I needed to know it was all there and flowed smoothly. It’s a good thing I did, too, because I am still waiting on the feedback from my thesis advisor. Quite frankly, I’ve been considering pulling this one back out and doing some revising, even now.
I know how my writing process works, but it’s not the only way, or maybe even the best way. It’s a way that works for me.
What is your writing process? Are you a sprinter? A long distance writer? A procrastinator, who puts the writing off until right before deadline and then crams to get it done? A plotter, who outlines and plots the whole story before ever putting down the first word?
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“Hollywood Game Plan” Prepares Upcoming Screenwriters to Hit the Ground Running
Posted: July 22, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Nonfiction, Screenwriting | Tags: Book Review, Carole Kirschner, Hollywood, Hollywood Game Plan, Review, Screenwriting 2 Comments
More than any other industry, the film making arena is a world where connections are everything and success may depend on who you know. Breaking in takes persistence, determination, and maybe even a dash of creativity. Oh, and talent helps, too.
Hollywood Game Plan, by Carole Kirschner, is a must read for anyone trying to break in to the entertainment business. This book gives you the lowdown on what jobs there are in both the creative and the production areas and tells what it takes to land each position, all the way to the top of the Industry.
Much of the advice found within its pages, basic things like being on time, working hard, dressing appropriately, or listening and following directions, could apply to any industry. But, it also contains tips and tricks that are Industry specific to the world of film making, and pays heed to the rules of Hollywood etiquette, which should never be broken unless you’re trying to commit career suicide. From how to use your Industry contacts to move your way up the ladder, to when it is appropriate to seek out advice or assistance from higher-ups. Among the list of cardinal rules not to be broken are:
- Start at the bottom and work your way up – everybody has to pay their dues.
- Be willing to do any chore your boss requires, even the most menial, or most nerve racking, tasks with a smile.
- Never talk badly about an employer, even if he’s the boss form hell.
- You’re going to get fired. Everyone gets fired. Don’t take it personal. Move on.
- Be nice to people. You never know who may turn out to be a future boss.
- Network, network, network. Keep a record of contacts and follow-up appropriately on all.
- Work for free, if you can afford to, and do the best job possible. You never know where it could lead.
- Work harder than anyone else and anticipate your employer’s needs.
Hollywood Game Plan helps you create a solid plan for launching your career as a screenwriter, even if you must begin in a job other than the one you aspire to. This book outlines the step by step approach to laying the groundwork for your new career, from honing your resume and crafting a solid cover letter, to landing that first job, making preparations to make the move to L.A., to working your way up the Hollywood creative or production ladders, and into your dream job.
I give Hollywood Game Plan four quills. 
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read, and she never charges for them. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Who is Robin Conley?
Posted: July 18, 2016 Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Fiction, Screenwriting, Stories, Writing, Writing Tips | Tags: Critiques, project 365, Robin Conley, Weekly Writing Memo, Writing, writing advice, Writing Tips 2 Comments
It occurred to me that although I introduced Robin Conley as my cohort in the M.F.A. program when she first began doing guest posts for Writing to be Read, I really didn’t give a lot of information about my friend and former cohort, who happens to be a very talented writer with a sharp eye for what does, or doesn’t, make a story work.
When she was introduced in my M.F.A. cohort at Western State of Colorado University, there was one amazing thing about her which stuck in my mind. She had challenged herself and her writing abilities by writing a short story a day for a year, and called it Project 365. Not only did she challenge herself, but she took it public. She got the idea as an undergraduate at Western Michigan University in 2010. Robin explains how Project 365 came about,
“ …we were reading a book of plays called 365 Plays/365 Days by Suzan-Lori Parks… her work inspired me to try something like it for myself to help me push myself to write every day, and to try new styles of writing. There weren’t any rules except that I had to write a complete story every day… as long or as short as necessary to tell the story, but the purpose… was trying something new. I played with genres, new characters, new styles (minimalism, surrealism, literary vs. genre, etc.) In order to keep myself on track, I started a twitter account (@Jminspirations) at the same time and a blog, and forced myself to post every story on the blog and then put a link on my twitter account.”
I found this to be amazing. Talk about inspirational. Wow!
At the time, that’s how I thought of her, the amazing girl who did the short story challenge. But over the past four years, I’ve gotten to know her better and she’s become a good friend to me, and in a way, she’s become my writing partner. We are working together in some of our writing endeavors, including her guest posts here. Through our Etsy store, Writing the World, we offer critiquing and proofreading services. Robin does guest posts for us, besides writing for her own blog. In addition to her own writing, she currently does writing for hire, volunteers as a script reader, and is teaching a couple of classes in screenwriting. (I think she may do some babysitting, too.) Besides being skilled at the craft, she’s smart and witty, and a she has a wonderful sense of humor.
I wanted my readers to know a little bit about Robin, so you’ll have a better idea of who you’re getting your weekly writing tips from. There’s no better way to tell you about her than to let her say it in her own words. The post runs a bit long, but Robin’s answers were so good, I couldn’t bring myself to cut much of them. I’m hoping after reading the following interview, you’ll be able to see a little bit of what I see in Robin, who I’ve come to know and consider a friend.
Kaye: We’ve already talked some about Project 365. How has that writing experience helped shape your writing career?
Robin: Project 365 was a strange part of my life that really pushed me to be a better writer. Every time I thought I wouldn’t be able to come up with a story idea, I somehow found one. It was stressful, and there were a lot of days where I wanted to do anything but write. Sticking with it taught me more about my writing than anything else I’ve done. By the final few months, I’d learned a lot about my process and my writing and I learned how to write no matter what else was going on.
So far, at least 2 of the stories have sprung into novels, and there are at least a dozen others that I also plan to turn into novels when I have the time. Many others I’ve revised and am working on sending out to publishers in hopes of finding a home for them. Of course, there are several that are just pretty crappy and probably won’t be used for anything other than as a “learn from my mistake” sort of thing, but that’s to be expected when doing so much in such a short time.
Kaye: What works have come out of the 365 stories?
Robin: One of my favorite stories that sprung from the 365 challenge is my Tour Guide that was part of my thesis novel, Labyrinth of the Dead, which I wrote for the MFA program. The world she is a part of was a pre-existing place I’d written about before, but the Tour Guide was a new character that I decided to play with while doing the challenge. She works in the underworld as a guide for the newly dead and leads them through the orientation process, so to speak.
Another story that came from the challenge has become a mystery novel, Indecision Killed the Cat. It’s about an anxiety-riddle woman who believes her troubled brother is missing, but no one believes her because of his past history of running off, and her irrational and unreliable way of thinking.
Kaye: In what way, if any has the challenge helped bring you to the point you’re at now?
Robin: Doing the challenge helped me grow more confident in my own writing. It let me explore genres and stories that I had been thinking about, but hadn’t tried writing in.
One of my main goals with the challenge was to help me focus. Before the challenge, I often found it hard to work on longer projects because I had so many ideas in my head and I felt overwhelmed by them or distracted… Now when I go to write I know exactly what I need to do in order to get started, where before I’d waste a lot of time. It really helped me be the writer I am today.
Kaye: What kinds of things influence your writing?
Robin: I’m influenced by everything. I love learning how things in the world work: people, jobs, cultures, nature… I love learning and I love watching how things are interconnected. When I write, it’s all about taking little details and connecting them in such a way that they tell a story. Every part of my life, every little thing I’ve interacted with every day, helps me tell stories.
Sometimes the smallest thing can inspire a story for me because it’s all about perspective. The way someone holds a beer bottle can be significant and inspiring. I know, it sounds silly and dramatic, but it’s true. It may inspire me because of the attitude, or the way the person is interacting with the bottle. Are they gesturing with it like it’s an extension of themselves? Or do they carry it like it’s nothing more than object? These kind of small details can make me start to wonder about a person, and before I know it, I’m no longer thinking about that person, I’m thinking about a character. Every character has a story, and I love finding out what it is. So once I have a glimmer, I have to delve deeper. Essentially, the answer to where stories come from for me, is simple: they come from curiosity. I want to know more, so I write until I find my answers.
Kaye: What’s your favorite genre to read? To write?
Robin: About 60% are books recommended to me by friends or family. I have several people who pretty much give me everything they read because they know I like to check out all types of stories as research for writing. If someone I know wanted to read it, I’m curious to see it for myself. My preferred genres are the classics, urban fantasy, horror, and anything involving zombies. In general, though, I’ll pick up any book that either has a character or plot that catches my attention, and I usually read several books at once. Right now I’m currently reading:
- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
- 21st Century Dead Edited by Christopher Golden
- House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
- The Tools of Screenwriting by David Howard & Edward Mabley
In writing, I seem to lean toward telling stories that involve some form of fantasy, or something involving horror or supernatural elements. While these types of stories are my favorite, I end up writing in a wide variety of genres because what usually draws me to wanting to write a story is the character or a particular conflict. I like to follow the story and take it wherever it leads me instead of trying to focus too much on one genre or style.
Kaye: Like me, you hold a duel M.F.A. in Creative Writing, with emphasis in both genre fiction and screenwriting. What prompted you to spend the extra year to add that additional screenwriting emphasis?
Robin: I love telling stories, and I love absorbing stories in any form (movies, music, oral storytelling, plays, books, etc.) When I took my out of concentration course for the fiction program I decided to take Screenwriting because it would help me expand my ability to tell stories. The more mediums I am familiar with, the more options I have when I choose to tell a story. Plus, when I took the Screenwriting class I just really fell in love with the visual format and wanted to know more, so I decided to add the extra year in order to learn as much as I possibly could about screenwriting before I graduated.
Kaye: What is the biggest challenge for you when writing short fiction? Or when tackling a novel length work? • What is your biggest challenge when writing a screenplay? • Have you ever played with poetry?
Robin: Short Fiction – condensing the story. I love getting lost in characters and worlds, and finding a short story is often hard for me. I really have to force myself to focus on one small part of the story and make it matter, without getting lost in the bigger story.
Novels – I think I most struggle with the outlining and preparing to write stage. I hate the pre-writing stuff and always want to just get started, but I find that the pre-writing really helps me write faster and clearer so I force myself to do it.
Screenwriting – During my first drafts I really focus on the plot and getting that to work on the page first, which means my protagonist’s personality often gets lost even though I know it well. Future drafts are often all about bringing that personality out and fixing character stuff, which is a slow and tedious process for me.
Poetry – It was my first foray into writing. It was awful stuff that will hopefully never see the light of day again. These days I simply appreciate poetry and admire those who have the skill. It’s not my strong suit.
Kaye: Which is your favorite type of writing? Short fiction, genre fiction, or screenwriting?
Robin: I’m kind of torn on this these days, because I love the visual format of screenwriting, but I also adore getting lost in the world of a novel. I think for me, which is my favorite really depends on what story I’m working on at the given moment and which medium it seems to fit best.
Kaye: Is there anything unique or unusual about your writing process?
Robin: The main thing I can think of is that in my first draft I really focus on getting my plot down first and writing the motions of the story, while drawing character out comes second. I know my characters in advance before writing, but they don’t always come out on the page well in the first draft since I’m focused on plot. Doing it this way helps me write faster, and gets the plot all out on the page so I can look at it and see what is and isn’t working, because sometimes you can’t tell until it’s written.
I look at it as being similar to drawing. First you do a rough sketch to plan the drawing (outline), then maybe you do the structure of the drawing in black and white (plot), and then you go through and add color (character and finer details). Writing this way lets me really focus on my plots and make sure they are logically sound before I really delve into bringing out the character elements and some of the smaller details that help bring a story to life. The key, though, is knowing your characters really well first so they fit the plot.
Kaye: We’re offering some proofreading and critiquing through the Etsy store. What’s your worst pet peeve when reading or critiquing a book or story?
Robin: 1. When the author writes a character doing something for the sake of getting the plot to go where the author needs it to go, rather than staying true to the characters.
2. When critiquing and someone sends me something that is clearly a first draft and I can tell they haven’t read it over. It’s one thing if we’ve talked about sending the first draft for some specific reason, but it’s another to send something to someone asking for a critique when you haven’t even done a basic revision pass. You may only get one critique, so don’t waste it by sending something that is filled with mistakes you could catch on your own!
Kaye: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Robin: I have a lot of random hobbies and like learning new things, so what I’m up to is constantly changing. Lately I’ve been teaching myself to knit, and relearning some Spanish. In general, I love reading, movies, anything involving animals or nature, traveling, and photography.
That’s it, folks. I hope this interview has given you a better idea of who Robin Conley is, and instilled confidence when she offers writing advice. If you have questions for Robin, leave a comment to this post.
Robin Conley offers great writing advice most Wednesdays on Writing to be Read. If you just can’t wait until next week to find out more, you can pop into her blog, Author the World, for more tips, or a weekly writing prompt.
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What’s a Nice Girl Like Me Doing Writing in a Genre Like This?
Posted: July 11, 2016 Filed under: Books, Fiction, Stories, Western, Writing | Tags: Delilah, I Had to Do It, Kaye Lynne Booth, Western, Writing 2 Comments
I recently sold I Had to Do It, a flash fiction story of the western flavor, to Zetetic: A Record of Unusual Inquiry. And of course, my regular readers know I’ve written a western novel, Delilah, as well, for which I’m diligently seeking a publisher at present. It might seem that I am leaning toward becoming a western writer, and I’ll admit, I do enjoy writing western.
But I’m an eclectic kind of gal by nature. My palate savors many cuisines, although I’m partial to Oriental and Latino foods. I listen to various genres of music, being heavy on the rock, but also enjoying metal, hip hop, country, pop, and even classical. I watch a wide range of movie genres, as well. On that same note, I read most of the genres, and seek opportunities to try genres that are new to me, but horror has always been my favorite. In fact, in 2012, when I began my M.F.A. in Creative Writing program at Western State Colorado University, western was one of the few genres which I hadn’t read.
In that first class, the first thing my instructor asked was, “In what genre do you usually write?” I considered the short stories I had written to date, many of which, I wasn’t sure what genre they fell into. The only experience I’d had with western was 850 words worth, I Had to Do It, and it hadn’t sold. But the idea was for us to write outside of our comfort zones, and western was the genre I was assigned for my first excerpt.
I’m not sure why I didn’t think I would like writing westerns. I’m a native of Colorado and proud of that, but I’ve never been a cowgirl per se. I enjoy western films. Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns are the best, but Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Quick and the Dead are right up there, too. But as I said, I hadn’t really read much in the western genre. But then, I wrote the excerpt for Delilah. After that first semester, revising my excerpt according to the feedback from my instructor and my cohorts, I started thinking that I might not be too bad at writing in the western genre. Three years and several rewrites later, Delilah is a story I’m rather proud of. The rejections do sting a bit, but I’m confident that if I endeavor to persevere and keep submitting it, eventually it will land with the right publisher, and it will be accepted. And if not, well, there’s always independent publishing. Delilah is a good story, and it’s well written, and I want very much to be able to share it with the world. One way or another, I will get the book published.
And yes, there will probably be other westerns in my future. I seem to have a knack for it, at least, so I’ve been told. I already have an idea for a western romance, although romance is another genre I never thought I’d find myself writing. I guess we’ll see.
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“Simplified Writing 101” Makes Academic Writing Seem… Simple
Posted: July 8, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Nonfiction, Writing | Tags: Book Review, Erin Brown Conroy, Simplified Writing, Writing 2 Comments
The guidelines set forth in Simplified Writing 101: Top Secrets for College Success, by Erin Brown Conroy, pave the way to good academic writing that will improve grades on college assignments. This book is not your usual writing tutorial. Most academic writing tutorials are dry and boring, just laying out the “rules” as law, and making readers struggle to get through the material. Brown Conroy’s relaxed writing style sets readers at ease, perhaps allowing for better retention of the information. It’s like an old friend or respected cohort sharing bits of wisdom, imparting knowledge in easy to understand language that won’t put readers off.
Simplified Writing 101 contains writing advice that can be expanded beyond Academia. Section 1 covers word choice. The list of words to avoid to make your writing clear and concise in the first three chapters aren’t just for academic writing, where one wants to sound professional, or at least knowledgeable. This list contains words that are vague or unnecessary, or that turn the readers off, pushing them away, causing them to reject the message without giving it a fair chance. It is based on sound writing principles, which can be equally applied to copywriting, where the aim is to persuade, or literary writing, where the goal is to enchant and entertain. They could even be applied to screenwriting, where, as in poetry, every word counts. Also in this section is a chapter on properly citing sources, making word choices and mastering a higher vocabulary found in well-written academic papers.
Section 2 covers structure and form, offering a closer look at well-crafted sentences. The chapters in this section cover fragments, run-on sentences, how to create rhythm by varying sentence length, and active vs. passive writing.
It also discusses the rhythm of your words and suggests that they should sing on the page. She uses an analogy with sports for those who are not musically inclined to ensure her point is understood, (using clear and concise writing, of course). Although I am not musical, nor am I a boxer, I easily understood the concept of varying sentence length and why it should be practiced. When Brown Conroy writes about active vs. passive writing, her suggestions are not limited to Academia. Active writing can be used in all types of writing to grab and hold readers’ attention.
Section 3 covers paragraphs. After learning how to create the building blocks, sentences, we’re ready to move on to the core foundation of your paper. The chapters in this section cover how to make your sentences work for you, how to keep your paragraphs focused, linear writing, how to lead your reader with well-structured sentences, how to achieve closure for each paragraph, and finishes up with connectives, transitions and connectors.
No tutorial on writing would be complete without instruction in punctuation, so that is what we find in Sections 4 and 5. Simplified Writing 101 gives the subject thorough coverage, including when and when not to use a comma, punctuating compound sentences and lists, misuse of exclamation points, how many spaces following end punctuation, use of quotations, how to use punctuation to control pacing in your writing, hyphens, en-dashes and em-dashes, semi-colons, and colons. A whole chapter is devoted to an inside look at how professors go about grading papers and the little mistakes, such as grammar and punctuation, which add up to a loss of points and bring down grades.
Grammar is found in Section 6, noting words that must go together, writing in the proper tense and correct person, and contractions. It also talks about commonly misused or mistaken words, and sticky pairs, or pairs of words that must be found together and using words that indicate tense. And Section 7 covers how to narrow your topic, creating your research question, create an outline, using your thesis statement into a blueprint for your paper. This section also includes a four step process to creating a first draft, found in Chapter 36 with multiple methods for planning, how to draft efficiently, revise for the best word arrangement, and edit for basic errors and mechanics.
Logically, Simplified Writing 101 provides sections on revision and completing the final product, to help students know what to do once that first draft is complete. In Section 8, Brown Conroy explores writing with style, the basics of good writing, and how to answer readers’ questions before they can ask them. Section 9 covers the creation of the final draft, including ways to avoid procrastination, doing as many rewrites as it takes, what to check and rewrite in academic papers, finding an editor or getting feedback, assignment submissions and email communications in Academia, and making professional connections.
A valuable reference, Simplified Writing 101 provides lists of different types of words, such as common connectives or conjunctive adverbs, and separates them into groups, depending on which type of writing they are appropriate for: academic use, mid-range academic use, or non-academic use. Each list is also separated into what job each group of words does, or what purpose they serve. There is also a list of common mistakes, the little things that drop down points and lower grades: use of brackets; dates; times; quotations and double quotations; use of slashes; proper capitalization; and rules of abbreviation, and a list of rules for writing numbers. These lists are nice because they provide an easy-to-use reference, in case memory fails us, which it is certain to do sometime during all of our writing careers, so they may come in very handy.
Simplified Writing 101 is the writing tutorial I wish I’d had as an undergraduate. As it was, I struggled through English classes, not really understanding, but Brown Conroy makes writing guidelines and rules crystal clear, and it all seems so simple. Use it as an introductory writing guide or keep it as a reference, but this tutorial is a must have for your personal library. It will see you through your academic career and beyond.
I give Simplified Writing 101 an A+, er, I mean, five quills. 
Simplified Writing 101: Secrets for College Success can be purchased in both hard copy and ebook.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read, and she never charges for them. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Chronology is full of surprises
Posted: June 24, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Steampunk, Stories | Tags: Anthology, Book Review, Books, Creative Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, horror, Review, Speculative Fiction, Steampunk, Writing 3 Comments
I’ve just had the pleasure of reviewing a new anthology of short fiction put out by Curiosity Quills Press. When asked if I’d like to review Chronology, I had the impression that it was a steampunk anthology, which is a genre I’m newly discovering. Some of the stories in this collection do have steampunk elements, such as Wind Up Hearts, the steampunk-ish romance that is sure to break readers’ hearts, by Bram Stoker Award finalist, Stan Swanson, or Flight of the Pegasus by Dr. Darin Kennedy. There’s also That Which is Hidden, a haunted steampunk-ish werewolf romance, by Julie Frost. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find the stories in Chronology to be a diverse mixture of speculative fiction.
Some are futuristic, leaning more toward science fiction, such as the apocalyptic Afterparty by Mark Woodring, Limited Liability, a futuristic outer space story by Matthew Graybosch or Gookie Visits Her Moma by G. Miki Hayden, an alternate universe science fiction story about a space bounty hunter whose current bounty takes her back to her home planet. Many others are more in the fantasy realm, such as Draconic King, by award winning author, James Wymore, or Yours Until the Ink Dries, a true faerie tale, as a young outcast girl discovers her true identity in her drawings, by Y.A. author Jordan Elizabeth. And then there are those stories that fall into the mythical realm, such as Strange Flesh, a well-crafted story of mythical creatures by Katie Young, or Wampus Cat, a tale of Appalachian legends come true by international bestselling author Scott Nicholson.
Still, others have a horror element or two, such as The Lair, a story of a cursed treasure hunt in jungle swamps, by best-selling independent author, Tony Healey, or Lava, a spectral love story by New York Times bestselling author, Piers Anthony, or In the Clutches of the Mummy Prince, by B.C. Johnson, which was not very scary. Also I had trouble relating with the main character in Johnson’s story, who wasn’t very likeable. There is also The Comeback, the weirdest zombie romance I’ve ever heard of, told from the zombie’s POV, by techno-thriller and MG fantasy author, Tara Tyler, and Inmate #85298, a chilling death row tale, by author and screenwriter, Andy Rausch.
Of course, there are also those stories that weren’t so easy to classify, including White Chapel, which sheds new light on the story of Jack the Ripper, by author, editor and podcast co-host, Andrew Buckley, or Signs Unseen, the story of a small town race war, by J.P. Moyahan, or Bait and Witch, a troublesome witch story by speculative fiction author, J.P. Sloan. There is also The Bull, by novelist and short story writer, J.R. Rain, which turns a Minotaur into a superhero, and The Unattended Life, a reminder to stop and smell the roses by J.E. Anckorn, and an intriguing airship romance, Above the Clouds, by Richard Roberts.
Yes, it is a big book, about 530 pages, but it is definitely a good read. In addition to the stories mentioned above there are the three I enjoyed the most, which I saved to tell you about in more detail. The following stories stuck out in my mind the most, but not in any particular order.
The Room Below, by novelist Wilbert Stanton is a horror story worthy of Lovecraft, or King. This story about a stay in a mental institution that puts One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to shame. It held my attention and kept me on the edge of my seat, and had a surprising, yet satisfying ending.
The Colorado King, by Nathan Yocum is a story in which survival is the name of the game as a father and daughter travel over post-apocalyptic badlands in search of kin and refuge, bringing with it some very hard lessons. This well-crafted tale grabs readers’ attention and doesn’t let go, yet it leaves readers feeling like there should be more, probably due to the fact that it is an excerpt. I’m guessing that it is from Yocum’s novel, The Zona.
And finally, Innocent Deception, by Matthew Cox is a well-crafted story which has a surprising reveal in its final pages. The daughter of a pharmaceutical company’s CEO is kidnapped and held for ransom, but the plan falls apart when the mother doesn’t want the kid back.
Overall, I give Chronology 3 Quills. 
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read, and she never charges for them. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
