Category Archives: Writing tips and ideas

A blog about the topics of writing, Writing tips and ideas

Developing your story: Characters and so much more

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After taking a character development class the instructor passed out a form on how to critique the members of the group. That made me wonder. It would be awesome, in my opinion, if we could pass this on to our writing group members after they read what we presented to them. It would be also interesting to hand it out to reviewers prior to them submitting their reviews of our books. Granted that could get interesting but also informative.

 

What would you add or change if you did this yourself?

 

So if I could pass on a form this is what I would include. Each section is worth five points.

Plot

-Attention needs to be paid to plot development

-The story lacks credibility in places

-Good start/good ideas but loses direction and force

-The story holds interest throughout but the ending is disappointing

-Flows smoothly,well researched, almost there

-This is a well-crafted story and it is clear that the author has considered all the aspects of the plot

Characterization

-The characters do not always come over as real people

-Told from the viewpoint of too many characters, so that the readers learns little about them

-In general, the characters are believable , although there is room for improvement

-The characters are well drawn and true to life/does the character have an inner life

-Strong characterization means that the reader’s sympathies are instantly engaged.

Pace

-The story starts slowly

-The story needs a more varied pace

-Side-issues slow the story down

-In general, the story moves well, although there are times when interest wavers

-A good pace is maintained throughout

-This story’s page-turning quality is excellent

Dialogue

-The characters all tend to speak with the same voice

-Some attention should be given to the dialogue, which does not always ring true

-Although the dialogue is believable, there are places where it serves no obvious purpose

-In general, the dialogue sounds authentic

-the sharply written dialogue reveals much about the characters

-The dialogue is excellent, adding a sparking dimension to the story

 

 

A blog about the topics of writing, Writing tips and ideas

I’m running a cover reveal tour: Jasper and I need your help

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I am running a cover reveal tour from May 23th to September 7th of this year. I was fortunate to find a new publisher for my children’s series so this will be the 2nd edition. The books are being released in July so those who sign up after that will have a different media kit to use.

I am looking for people who might be interested in helping out with sharing the media kit I created and placing it on their blog or various social media platform.

Any help is appreciated.

I am absolutely in love with the new covers. They drew it from scratch and honestly I am blown away. My husband who does not get excited about stuff like this actually had a reaction when I showed him. “Wow, that looks good.” In other words high praise from the spouse.

So here is the link to the form I created. I thank anyone in advance who signs up or even considers helping out.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQkH_bXs0j9FdBT5pGjquyzh1MkNeJxckEyo0aF0D_N7PidQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

Writing tips and ideas

Where have all the book stores gone?

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Where have our book stores gone? Growing up in a small, and I mean small, area we didn’t have book stores to hang out in. Heck we didn’t even have a library the only one being at the high school. The hours being school hours.

Once I moved down this way I came across the wonderful thing called a bookstore. They were Barnes and Nobles, Books-A- Million and a host of others. Granted this was back in the day when we would flock to them. You know the Saturdays you would slump on the floor or in a chair and be there for hours and it was okay to do so.

Now finding a book store is getting harder and harder to find. That free event of hanging out is no longer a given for my husband and me. At the moment we have one store left which for us is a real shame. Especially since they can price how they feel. Gone are the used book stores as well in our area.

When I have a doctor visit that is a few hours away we take advantage of the stores in those cities for we surely miss them. I get the convenience of ebooks and buying online and all that. But sign of the times does not always have to include getting rid of a classic thing as simple as hanging out at a bookstore.